What Was Brian Dennehy's Net Worth?
Brian Dennehy was an American actor, writer, director, and producer who had a net worth of $6 million at the time of his death in 2020. Brian Dennehy won a Golden Globe for his performance as Willy Loman in the 2000 TV movie "Death of a Salesman," and he earned six Primetime Emmy nominations. Brian had more than 180 acting credits to his name, including the films "First Blood" (1982), "Gorky Park" (1983), "Cocoon" (1985), "Silverado" (1985), "Presumed Innocent" (1990), "Tommy Boy" (1995), "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), "Assault on Precinct 13" (2005), "The Big Year" (2011), and "Driveways" (2019), the TV movies "Ruby and Oswald" (1978), "The Jericho Mile" (1979), "A Killing in a Small Town" (1990), "To Catch a Killer" (1992), and "Our Fathers" (2005), and the television series "Dynasty" (1981), "Star of the Family" (1982), "Evergreen" (1985), "Just Shoot Me" (1998–2003), "The Fighting Fitzgeralds" (2001), "Public Morals" (2015), "The Blacklist" (2016–2020), and "Hap and Leonard" (2017).
Brian voiced Babe Ruth in "Everyone's Hero" (2006) and Django in "Ratatouille" (2007), and he wrote, directed, and starred in the TV movies "Jack Reed: A Search for Justice" (1994), "Jack Reed: One of Our Own" (1995), "Shadow of a Doubt" (1995), "Jack Reed: A Killer Among Us" (1996), and "Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance" (1996). He produced four of those TV movies as well, and he also produced "Death of a Salesman" and "The Fighting Fitzgeralds" and directed and produced the 1997 TV movie "Indefensible: The Truth About Edward Brannigan." Dennehy appeared in several Broadway productions, playing Hugh in "Translations" (1995), Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" (1999), James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (2003), Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind" (2007), Ephraim Cabot in "Desire Under the Elms" (2009), and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III in "Love Letters" (2014). He won Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for "Death of a Salesman" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night." In 2010, Brian was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Sadly, Dennehy died of cardiac arrest due to sepsis on April 15, 2020, at the age of 81.
Early Life
Brian Dennehy was born Brian Manion Dennehy on July 9, 1938, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was the son of nurse Hannah Manion and Associated Press wire service editor Edward Dennehy. Brian grew up in a Catholic household with brothers Edward and Michael, and his heritage was Irish. After the family moved to Long Island, New York, Dennehy studied at Chaminade High School. In 1956, he began attending Columbia University on a football scholarship, but he left to serve five years in the United States Marine Corps. While in the military, Brian was stationed in Korea, Japan, and the U.S., and he played football on Okinawa. After resuming his studies, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1965. While appearing in plays with regional theaters, Dennehy supported his family with jobs such as bartending, driving a taxi, and briefly working at Merrill Lynch as a stockbroker (a job he hated).
Career
Brian made both his film and television debuts in 1977, appearing in the films "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "Semi-Tough" and the TV movies "Bumpers," "Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye," and "It Happened at Lakewood Manor" and guest-starring on "Kojak," "Serpico," "Police Woman," "Lou Grant," and "M*A*S*H." Next, he appeared in the films "F.I.S.T." (1978), "Foul Play" (1978), "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days" (1979), "10" (1979), "First Blood" (1982), "Gorky Park" (1983), "Cocoon" (1985), "Silverado" (1985), "Legal Eagles" (1986), "Miles from Home" (1988), and "Indio" (1989) and the TV movies "A Real American Hero" (1978), "Ruby and Oswald" (1978), "The Jericho Mile" (1979), "Fly Away Home" (1981), "Blood Feud" (1983), "The Lion of Africa" (1987), and "Perfect Witness" (1989). In 1981, Dennehy had a recurring role as District Attorney Jake Dunham on the primetime soap opera "Dynasty," and the following year he played Leslie Krebs on the ABC sitcom "Star of the Family." In the '90s, he appeared in films such as "Presumed Innocent" (1990), "Gladiator" (1992), and "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), portrayed serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the 1992 TV movie "To Catch a Killer," and starred as Dr. Brian McKenzie on the medical drama "Birdland" (1994). He co-starred with Chris Farley and David Spade in 1995's "Tommy Boy," and in 1998, he began a four-episode stint as 'Red' Finch, the father of Spade's Dennis Finch, on the NBC sitcom "Just Shoot Me."
In 2001, Brian played Mr. Fitzgerald on the sitcom "The Fighting Fitzgeralds," then he appeared in the films "Summer Catch" (2001), "She Hate Me" (2004), "Assault on Precinct 13" (2005), "The Ultimate Gift" (2006), and "Righteous Kill" (2008) and the TV movies "Death of a Salesman" (2000), "Three Blind Mice" (2001), "The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron" (2003), "Our Fathers" (2005), "The Exonerated" (2005), and "Marco Polo" (2007). Dennehy co-starred with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson in the 2011 comedy "The Big Year," and around this time, he appeared in the films "The Next Three Days" (2010), "Alleged" (2010), "Twelfth Night" (2012), and "Knight of Cups" (2015). He portrayed Chairman William Rogers in the 2013 TV movie "The Challenger Disaster," and in 2015, he had a recurring role as Joe Patton on the police drama "Public Morals." From 2016 to 2020, Brian played Dominic Wilkinson in nine episodes of the NBC crime thriller "The Blacklist," and in 2017, he was a cast member on the SundanceTV drama "Hap and Leonard." In the last few years of his life, Dennehy appeared in the films "The Seagull" (2018), "Tag" (2018), "The Song of Sway Lake" (2018), "Driveways" (2019), and "3 Days with Dad" (2019), and "Son of the South" was posthumously released in 2020.
Personal Life
Brian married Judith Lee Scheff on April 20, 1959, and they welcomed daughters Elizabeth, Kathleen, and Deirdre before divorcing in 1974. Elizabeth and Kathleen both grew up to become actresses. Dennehy wed Jennifer Arnott on July 17, 1988, and they remained together until his death in 2020. Brian and Jennifer adopted two children, Cormack (born 1993) and Sarah (born 1995).
Dennehy served in the United States Marine Corps for five years, and he claimed that he had been wounded in combat and that he served in Vietnam. In an interview with "The Globe" in the late '90s, he admitted that he had misrepresented his military record, stating, "I lied about serving in Vietnam, and I'm sorry. I did not mean to take away from the actions and the sacrifices of the ones who did really serve there…I did steal valor. That was very wrong of me. There is no real excuse for that. I was a peace-time Marine, and I got out in 1963 without ever serving in Vietnam… I started the story that I had been in 'Nam, and I got stuck with it. Then I didn't know how to set the record straight."
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Death
On April 15, 2020, Dennehy passed away at the age of 81 in New Haven, Connecticut. His agent, Brian Mann, said that the cause of death was "cardiac arrest due to sepsis." Brian's daughter Elizabeth announced the sad news on Twitter, writing, "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."
Connecticut Estate
In 1999 Brian bought a 46-acre property in the town of Woodstock, Connecticut. This remained his home for the rest of his life.
Awards and Nominations
Dennehy was nominated for six Primetime Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for "A Killing in a Small Town" (1990), "The Burden of Proof" (1992), and "Murder in the Heartland" (1993), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for "To Catch a Killer" (1992), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Death of a Salesman" (2000), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Our Fathers" (2005). He won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Death of a Salesman" in 2001, and the TV movie also earned him a PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. Brian received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets" in 2001, and he won a CableACE Award for Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for "Foreign Affairs" in 1994.
For "Driveways," Dennehy earned an award from the Sochi International Film Festival and nominations from the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA), Chlotrudis Awards, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards, and Satellite Awards. He also received Satellite Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for "A Season in Purgatory" (1997), Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television for "Thanks of a Grateful Nation" (1999), and Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Our Fathers" (2005). Brian won an American Television Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries for "To Catch a Killer" (1993), and he earned an Online Film & Television Association Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries for "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (2003). For his stage work, Dennehy received two Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Play, winning for "Death of a Salesman" in 1999. His other Drama Desk nomination was for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (2003), and he earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play for "Death of a Salesman."
