Veteran actor Brian Dennehy has died, aged 81. Dennehy played a wide variety of roles over the years, but is best known for appearing in a series of iconic films in the '80s and '90s, including First Blood, Cocoon, Presumed Innocent, and Tommy Boy. In a statement, Dennehy's daughter Elizabeth confirmed on Twitter that he died of "natural causes," rather than symptoms relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

　　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. pic.twitter.com/ILyrGpLnc3

　　— Elizabeth Dennehy (@dennehyeliza) April 16, 2020

　　Dennehy worked in the '70s in small guest roles in various movies and shows, before getting his first major break as the small town sheriff who tries to get John Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone, to leave his community in the hugely successful First Blood. This led to memorable supporting roles in a number of big movies over the next few years. These include the fantasy hit Cocoon, Best Seller alongside James Woods, and the Harrison Ford thriller Presumed Innocent. In 1995, he starred in the hit comedy Tommy Boy, playing the father of Chris Farley's character Tommy.

　　Dennehy also had considerable success on stage too. He won two Tony awards, first for Death of a Salesman in 1999 and then for Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003, and continued to make theatrical performances, winning acclaim in 2015 for a Chicago production of The Iceman Cometh. In addition, the actor was nominated for six Emmy awards over his career, most notably for his portrayal of serial killer John Wayne Gacy in 1992's To Catch a Killer.

　　Dennehy's most recent movies include the 2018 comedy Tag and Terrence Malick's 2015 drama The Knight of Cups. His final role will be in Son of the South, an upcoming drama directed by Spike Lee's longtime editor Barry Alexander Brown.