Biography
Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor. Renowned for his performances on stage and screen and once described as "perhaps the foremost living interpreter" of Eugene O'Neill's works, he received two Tony Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.
He had a decades-long relationship with Chicago's Goodman Theatre where much of his O'Neill work originated. He also regularly played Canada's Stratford Festival, especially in works by William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. He once gave credit for his award-winning performances to the plays’ authors: "When you walk with giants, you learn how to take bigger steps." Dennehy was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010.
His screen roles included First Blood (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Cocoon (1985), F/X (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), Tommy Boy (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Ratatouille (2007), and Knight of Cups (2015). Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000).
== Early life and education ==
Brian Manion Dennehy was born on July 9, 1938, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Hannah (Manion), a nurse, and Edward Dennehy, a wire service editor for the Associated Press. He had two brothers, Michael and Edward. He was of Irish ancestry and was raised Catholic.
