Barry Dennen obit

Barry Dennen Dies: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’s Pilate And Barbra Streisand Mentor Was 79

 

He was not on the list.

Barry Dennen, who played Pontius Pilate in the original stage and film versions of Jesus Christ Superstar and earlier played a key role in Barbra Streisand’s emergence from cabaret unknown to superstar diva, died Tuesday morning in Burbank, where he was in hospice care. He was 79. Dennen had suffered a brain injury after a fall at home in June, according to Lucy Chase Williams, a close friend who confirmed the death to Deadline.

An actor, singer and voice artist, Dennen’s connection with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s megahit rock opera began after his late-1960s move from New York’s burgeoning Greenwich Village cabaret scene to swinging London. Director Hal Prince cast him as the Emcee in the West End premiere of Cabaret, playing the part originated by Joel Grey, opposite Judi Dench as Sally Bowles.

The cast recording of that production is notable for one of the major distinctions between the Broadway and West End shows, which comes in the Emcee’s “Gorilla Song,” in which the character sings about his love for a simian. The song’s last line, “If you could see her through my eyes/She wouldn’t look Jewish at all,” was changed at Prince’s insistence, for the Broadway opening after tryout performances drew strong protests, changing it to “meeskite,” the Yiddish word for “ugly.” When the show opened in London, however, the original “Jewish” was reinstated, doubtless for the more historically aware UK audience, and that’s what Dennen can be heard singing on the cast album. (“Jewish” also is what viewers of the Bob Fosse film hear.)

Dennen’s local fame had come earlier, in New York, within a smaller circle. As James Gavin, the pre-eminent historian of new York’s cabaret scene, told Deadline:

    “I first reached out to Barry Dennen in 1988 in the course of researching my first book, Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret. Barry had been referred to me as the man behind the young Barbra Streisand as well as a player in the Greenwich Village cabaret scene of the early ’60s – the Duplex, the Showplace, the youthful and naive let’s-put-on-a-show nightclub revues that were popular then. He was sly and droll and had presence. I fully believe that Barry was crucial in the emergence of the Barbra of legend; that he urged her to do cabaret when her acting efforts seemed stymied; that he steered her toward the talent contest at the Lion, the gay Village bar, and put an act together for her; and that he helped her with repertoire (Barry loved 1920s and ’30s songs and songbirds), attitude, and nightclub survival techniques and groomed her in all sorts of other ways.”

They also became lovers, as Gavin continued:

    “They lived together as a couple for a while. All this is recounted in Barry’s book, My Life with Barbra: A Love Story, which I found touching and sweet. His story with Barbra ended sourly; as was her wont, she moved on from him as she continued her meteoric rise. Barry was not without bitterness about it; he wanted credit and acknowledgment for what he had done for her, and that wasn’t and isn’t Streisand’s style. In my book he says: ‘I don’t think Barbra wants to acknowledge that in her early years she had a lot of people to be grateful to. I was astonished when somebody told me years later that Barbra’s published position was that she listened to her ‘voices,’ and her voices told her what to do. It had nothing to do with that; she had people with voices telling her what to do. People who were helping her with her hair, her makeup, her shoes, her dresses, the material, and her direction. I think it makes her feel guilty and uncomfortable that she’s never been able to find it inside herself to repay this in any way. And that’s between her and her conscience.’

    “About 10 years ago, feeling he deserved some recompense, he agreed to an auctioneer’s heeding that he put his original Streisand reel-to-reel home and club recordings up for auction at an exorbitant price, six figures, as I recall. Streisand acolytes went nuts, declaring that he was exploiting her, and I think her lawyers sent a threatening letter. He told me the tapes never sold. I wonder what will become of them.”

Dennen was born in Chicago on February 22, 1938. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child. After graduating from UCLA, he moved to New York City, where he began performing in workshops and on the cabaret circuit.

In London, Dennen was invited in 1970 by Lloyd Webber to sing the part of Pilate on the double LP of Webber & Rice’s groundbreaking rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. He returned stateside the following year and reprised his role as Pilate in the original 1971 Broadway production –which ran to July 1973, covering more than 700 performances — and then again in the Norman Jewison-directed film adaptation opposite Ted Neeley in 1973. Dennen’s role in Jesus Christ Superstar would reach legendary status as he would go on to be associated with the iconic musical for nearly 40 years, often with Neely and under the stewardship of his longtime agent and closest friend Pat Brady, of CESD Talent Agency.

Dennen’s additional stage credits include Silent Parnters, The Fantasticks, Ghetto, She Loves Me, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Pirates of Penzance.

In addition to the Jesus Christ Superstar movie, Dennen performed in several classics including The Shining, Trading Places, Fiddler on the Roof as well as Titanic. In addition, he appeared in on TV shows such as Wonder Woman, Batman, L.A. Law, Newhart, Hill Street Blues, Tales From the Darkside, Murphy Brown, and Murder, She Wrote.  He also was an accomplished voice-over artist, providing his talent to the Jim Henson classic The Dark Crystal as well as video games including World of Warcraft, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Darksiders 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Avatar: The Last Airbender and others.

Dennen is survived by his sons Timothy and Barnaby, who he had adopted from his early marriage to English actress Pamela Strong. Dennen lost his life partner James McGachy to cancer in 2001. His brother, Lyle, and his wife, Xenia, live outside London.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1970      The Juggler of Notre Dame           The Juggler        

1971      Fiddler on the Roof          Mendel               

1973      Jesus Christ Superstar    Pontius Pilate    

1974      Madhouse          Gerry Blount     

1975      Brannigan            Julian    

1977      The Kentucky Fried Movie            Claude LaMont Segment "High Adventure"

1978      Rabbit Test         Mad Bomber     

1980      The Shining         Watson               

1981      Shock Treatment              Irwin Lapsey      

1981      Ragtime               Stage Manager

1982      The Dark Crystal               Chamberlain / Podling    Voice

1983      Trading Places   Demitri                

1983      Superman III       Dr. McClean      

1984      Memed, My Hawk           Hikmet

1984      Not for Publication          Señor Wopperico            

1991      Liquid Dreams   The Major          

1994      Clifford Terry the Pterodactyl     

1994      The Shadow       Tulku     Voice, Uncredited

1994      Twin Sitters        Thomas               

1997      Titanic   Praying Man      

2003      Manhood            Singing Groom  

2014      Heavenly Sword                Flying Fox / Prophet Takashi        Voice

2015      Justice League: Throne of Atlantis             Defense Advisor               Voice, Direct-to-video

2015      Superstars: The Documentary     Himself/Pontius Pilate   

2016      Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival        Heaven's Denizen            Uncredited

 

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes    Source

1968      Batman                Fred       2 Episodes          

1987      Tales from the Darkside                 Aldo the Puppeteer        Ep. "No Strings"               

1992      Batman: The Animated Series     Shadow Agent (voice)    Ep. "Off Balance"             

1993      Animaniacs         Czar (voice)         Ep. "Pavlov's Mice"         

1999      Batman Beyond                Captain (voice) Ep. "Disappearing Inque"             

2006      The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy   Gepetto, Blubbery Joe, Salesperson (voice)          2 Episodes          

2006      Avatar: The Last Airbender           General Sung, Additional Voices                2 Episodes          

2010      The Dalton's       Jack Dalton, Peabody (voice)       Ep. "Cowed"      

2012      Star Wars: The Clone Wars           King Ramsis Dendup, Citizen, Rebel (voice)           3 Episodes          

2013      Mad       Shifu, Gatored Community Announcer   Ep. "POblivion/Umbrellamentary"           

2013      Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload Mandarin (voice)                             

 

Video games

Year       Title       Role       Notes    Source

1995      Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom         Melek                  

1998      Grim Fandango Chief Bogen, 1st Thunder Boy, Blue Casket's Waiter                         

1999      Star Trek: Hidden Evil     Adm. Ratok                        

2001      Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty           Fatman                 English Dub        

2002      Star Trek: Bridge Commander     Gul Oden, Captain Terrik                              

2002      The Mark of Kri The Dark One                    

2003      Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time          Vizier                    

2005      Jade Empire        Master Li                            

2005      Fantastic Four    Mole Man                          

2007      Law & Order: Criminal Intent      Crime Scene Tech, George Bennett, Frederick Grant, others         

2007      Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth Additional Voices                            

2008      Too Human         Mimir                   

2009      Dragon Age: Origins        Uldred, Rogek, Senior Enchanter Torrin                 

2010      Fallout: New Vegas          Dean Domino     Dead Money DLC             

2011      White Knight Chronicles II            Lorias                   

2011      Dungeon Siege III             The Venerable Odo, Mayor Moritz Grimmelhaus, Additional Voices          

2012      Darksiders II       The Chancellor, Eternal Throne Guard 2, Human Soul 2  

2013      Dota 2   Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Rubick                   

2013      Infinity Blade III                 Benedict Burgess Batteric III                       

2014      Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII         Poltae Headman               English Dub        

2014      Diablo III: Reaper of Souls             Additional Voices                            

2015      Final Fantasy Type-0 HD                Commandant     English Dub        

2016      World of Warcraft: Legion