Brian Dennehy, Two-Time Tony Winner and Screen Star, Dies at 81

Two-time Tony winnner Brian Dennehy, a giant of the stage and screen, died on April 15 at the age of 81 following a hospital stay in New Haven, Connecticut. The cause was cardiac arrest due to sepsis. Known for his five decades on film, television and the stage, Dennehy was one of the foremost interpreters of the works of Eugene O'Neill.

The actor's daughter, Elizabeth Dennehy, announced the news on Twitter on April 16. "It is with heavy hearts we announce that our father, Brian passed away last night from natural causes, not Covid-related. 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," she wrote.

Dennehy received the 1999 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his staggering performance as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He went on to win a 2006 Olivier Award for the West End transfer of the production as well as a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the 2000 TV movie adaptation. In 2003, he won another Tony Award for portraying James Tyrone in O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. His other Broadway credits included Love Letters, Desire Under the Elms, Inherit the Wind and Translations.

Dennehy's two Tony Awards were for collaborations with the director Robert Falls, artistic director of the Goodman Theatre company in Chicago. In addition to Long Day's Journey into Night, which transferred to Broadway, their artisttic partnership on works by O'Neill included Desire Under the Elms, The Iceman Cometh, Hughie and A Touch of the Poet.

Dennehy was born on July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The family moved to Long Island, and he graduated from the Catholic boys' school Chaminade High School in Minneola. He earned a BA in history at Columbia University in 1960, attending on a football scholarship. Dennehy went on to graduate school at Yale University, where he studied acting. He began his career with some minor roles in films like Looking for Mr. Goodbar and Foul Play before he garnered wider attention for the blockbuster Sylvester Stallone hit First Blood in 1982. Dennehy quickly moved on to higher profile roles in such films as Gorky Park, Cocoon, Silverado, F/X, Tommy Boy and many more. He was nominated for six Emmy Awards for his television movies: A Killing in a Small Town, The Burden of Proof, To Catch a Killer, Murder in the Heartland, Death of a Salesman and Our Fathers.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Arnott, and children Elizabeth, Cormack, Kathleen, Deirdre and Sarah.