Brian Dennehy Has Passed Away

Rest In Peace

I only saw him once on stage––in Love Letters opposite Carol Burnett––and remember his performance very fondly. I've been enjoying his recurring role on The Blacklist. Rest in Peace to a tremendous actor.

Sad news indeed. I was lucky enough to see him onstage twice - once opposite Carol Burnett in Love Letters, and then later the same season in Iceman Cometh opposite Nathan Lane. Also got to see the TOFT video of him in Long Day's Journey with Vanessa Redgrave and Philip Seymour Hoffman. A very commanding presence, and certainly had no trouble holding his own alongside those high-profile names.

Posting this only because it has always made me laugh. Below is a snippet from an interview he did with Nathan Lane for Time Out in 2012:

"The best Mary Tyrone he’s seen, Dennehy says, was Canadian actress Martha Henry at the Stratford Festival. He and Falls tried to get Henry for the Broadway transfer of the Goodman production, he says, but the producers wanted Jessica Lange, who had recently played the role in London. (Redgrave took the part after talks with Lange broke off.)

“Jessica really f*cked us over,” Dennehy adds, prompting Lane to interject in a baby-talk voice: “This is where we should turn the tape recorder off! ’Cause Daddy, Daddy can’t have any more merlot!”

Dennehy responds by leaning in to my recorder and clearly enunciating: “Jessica Lange is a B-*-T-C-H. B*tch, b*tch, b*tch. Put it in the f*cking magazine.” To which Lane replies, again, “Um, anyway…”

So saddened to hear this. A giant presence whenever he was on stage. First became aware of him as Don, the bartender in the 1979 movie "10" and enjoyed his on screen performances for the next 40 years. Unfortunately, I missed his most acclaimed stage performances but finally ticked off my bucket list item when I saw him in Desire Under The Elms. Was fortunate to see him on stage twice more in L.A., in The Steward of Christendom at the Mark Taper and then just over a year ago at the Geffen when he did a double bill of Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape. He was magnificent and filled the stage as always but after the brief curtain call, was very hunched over as he shuffled off stage and just did not look well. So not entirely surprised to hear this but extremely saddened nonetheless. R.I.P. Brian.

''Jessica Lange was a terrible scenery-chewer in the role if you ask me (though obviously the Tony committee felt differently).''

Not just the Tony committee, but the Tony voters who gave Lange the prize outright. For the record, she also won Best Actress in a Play from the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle.

That said, for me, the 2003 revival of ''Long Day's Journey,'' starring Dennehy and Redgrave, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard, was the most fulfilling version. What a shame it wasn't filmed for PBS' ''Great Performances.''

Updated On: 4/16/20 at 04:56 PM

Jordan Catalano said: "Well at “Love Letters”, he swatted people away who wanted their playbills signed yelling “F*cking awful people!” so he changed his opinions on fans lol"

Couldn't even wait until the body was cold, huh Jordo?

Sadly, I missed his turn in Iceman, but his Willy Loman and James Tyrone were joys to behold. It was also a pleasure to see him perform the role of Ephraim in an otherwise forgettable production of Desire Under the Elms. He established himself as an excellent theater actor following a more active career in film. Usually it's the other way around. RIP.

I would see him in the audience for many NY productions. For anyone who thinks they are too old to start a show business career he is an example of someone who did it with much success. RIP