Test Of Character

Roger Ebert used to have this rule, which he called "The Stanton-Walsh Rule." The terms maintained by this edict were that any film that included either Harry Dean Stanton of M Emmet Walsh in a supporting role would not be "altogether bad." The exceptions that prove this rule would be Dream A Little Dream for Stanton and Wild Wild West for Walsh. They can't all be Maseratis, even for Harry and M Emmet.
Which is pretty much how I feel about Brian Dennehy. Mister Dennehy passed away last week at the age of eighty-one. At this point in history it should probably be noted that his death was not attributed to COVID-19. Besides, if you're familiar with his work, you would be surprised to find that any one virus could take down this mountain of a man. With one hundred eighty-three credits on his IMDB page spanning more than forty-three years, it's hard for me to recall a time when Brian Dennehy wasn't in front of a camera. He was the tough guy who could fill up a doorway and bring the action to a pause while he surveyed the scene. Like Stanton and Walsh, Dennehy was a character actor who rarely took top billing. His job was to show up and make things interesting. He did just that in his second theatrical appearance in Semi-Tough alongside Burt Reynolds. This role didn't show off all the talent that he had to offer, but it got the ball rolling. Most folks will recognize him as the mean old sheriff taunting Sly Stallone in First Blood. Or a few years later, when he was a little softer but still menacing in Cocoon. Or the corrupt lawman of Silverado.
And the list goes on. But it should also include the two Tonys he won for his turns as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and James Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Still, it's much more likely that you recognize him for his role in Tommy Boy with Chris Farley. This was a working actor. A character actor, as Patton Oswalt's favorite Brian Dennehy story goes. In it, Patton describes being at a Hollywood party where he is struggling with whether or not to belly up to the buffet, whereupon he meets Mister Dennehy and it is eventually his encouragement that allows Patton to succumb to the temptation of all that food. "Character actors, right?"
Maybe he wasn't a movie star like Burt Reynolds or Sylvester Stallone, but he stomped on the Terra. And the buffet. He was a huge talent, and he will be missed. Aloha, Brian Dennehy.