Bryan Anthony Hennessey
February 21, 1949 – May 07, 2021
Bryan Anthony Hennessey (Feb 21, 1949 – May 7, 2021) was born in St John’s, a city he loved and where he lived most of his life.
He was a consummate performer starting his illustrious career at a very young age performing in his first band The Leftovers with his brother Jay and Rocky Wiseman of the famous Ravens, the first Newfoundland band with a rock ‘n’ roll hit record, ‘Youngblood’. Hennessey or Hen, as he was familiarly called by his friends and colleagues, was an integral part of the local music scene causing a sensation with his performance at the newly-opened Arts and Culture Centre when he “turned his back on the audience” drawing the ire of the local establishment and virtually launching what has come to be called the Cultural Revolution in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Pre-deceased by his parents James and Loretta, his brother Jay and his first wife Bonnie Oulton (m.1980-1998), who was also his singing and writing partner, Bryan leaves to mourn his cherished and beloved daughter Annie Loretta, his sister Maureen (Ed Power), his most recent partner Joan Sullivan (m.2001-2011) with whom he bonded over their love of writing and with whom he collaborated on many theatre projects and co-founded The Open Actor’s Project, and her daughter Marianne, and his many, many friends in the performing arts and all the fans of his music, acting and writing.
He loved reading and found great comfort in his many favourite authors like James Joyce, Leonard Cohen, or Vladimir Nabokov, and kept a prodigious library to which he was very attached. He loved writing and wrote a daily diary in which if you knew him at all, you are undoubtedly skewered. His love of music knew no bounds and his gratitude for the Beatles in particular is immortalized in his own work.
With his friends and school mates Sandy Morris, Noel Dinn, Wayne Brace, Derek Pelley, and Laverne Squires he was a founding member of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Band, the forerunner of Figgy Duff and the Wonderful Grand Band of which he was also a founding member. The list of his bands would be lengthy indeed. In his performances he held nothing back, so he became a fixture in the local scene appearing in many local bands, festivals, radio and television shows like the seminal Root Seller. He was a self-taught musician and could pick out a song on anything, harmonica, guitar, bass, or piano but was perhaps best known for his powerful vocals for which he became a constant performer at the Feast of Cohen.
On stage and on set he was immensely professional, prepared and generous. His film and television work included roles in The Dance Goes On, Understanding Bliss, Gullage’s, No Apologies, and more, but perhaps no roles pleased him more than the giant chicken Uncle Henny Penny in The Adventures of Faustus Bidgood, and sharing a scene with William Hurt in Rare Birds. Equally adept with comedy and drama he made countless theatre appearances with Resource Centre for the Arts, Sheilagh’s Brush, and the Ship’s Company Theatre of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, among others. Probably his favourite performances were his Everett Lewis opposite Niki Lipman in “World Without Shadows,” his collaboration with Greg Thomey (“Hanlon House”), the plays of Janice Spence (“The Best Man,” “The Cat Lover”), Edward Riche’s “Possible Maps”, and Rosemary House’s “Bloomsday Cabaret”.
In these later years he was very pleased to be a regular performer with Rising Tide and like the true Townie he was looked forward to and treasured his time at the annual festival in Trinity where he will be seriously missed by performers and audience alike.
Bryan’s playwrighting credits include “Jack of Hearts” and he directed numerous productions including the stage adaptation of “The Story of Bobby O’Malley.” He also published two books: “Absolutely Frank,” a collection of sketches he wrote and recorded for CBC Radio, and “Waking Up in the City of Dreams.”
Cremation has taken place. The Curmudgeon of Curmudgeons has left the building. A great meeting is taking place in the Ship Inn-heaven. A celebration of Bryan’s life will be held at a later date. Donations in his memory may be made to the ACTRA CAPE fund.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Bryan Anthony Hennessey 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Torbay, Province: T-N