Brian Dennehy has died

Brian Dennehy, star of First Blood, Cocoon, Presumed Innocent, Best Seller, The Belly of an Architect, Tommy Boy, Romeo + Juliet, F/X: Murder by Illusion and Gorky Park has died aged 81.

“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our father, Brian passed away last night from natural causes, not Covid-related,” his daughter Elizabeth tweeted. “Larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather, he will be missed by his wife Jennifer, family and many friends.”

Dennehy began his professional acting career in small guest roles in such 1970s and 1980s series as Kojak, Lou Grant, Dallas, Dynasty, and Hunter.

For his role in the Peter Greenaway film The Belly of an Architect he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago International Film Festival.

He was nominated for Emmy Awards six times for his television movies. He was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for his performance as John Wayne Gacy in To Catch a Killer

Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000).

Dennehy won two Tony Awards, both times for Best Lead Actor in a Play. The first win was for Death of a Salesman (for which he also won a Laurence Olivier Award for the production’s London run), in 1999, and the second was for Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night in 2003.

He was a legend and he will be missed.