Veteran actor Barry Dennen passes away at 79

The actor played Pontius Pilate in "Jesus Christ Superstar" both in its theatrical and movie versions. Facebook/BarryDennen

Hollywood mourns for another fallen legend. Celebrated actor and singer Barry Dennen passed at the age of 79.

According to The Wrap, the veteran actor's demise was attributed to a brain injury he incurred after an accident back in June.

Born in Chicago on Feb. 22, 1938, Dennen and his family moved to California when the actor was a child. He attended UCLA then moved to New York where he met and dated Barbara Streisand. He was instrumental in developing Streisand's nightclub act which later catapulted her into stardom.

Dennen relocated to London for a time where he worked and found success in theater. He worked for a long time in theater, film and television in the United States and England.

He landed a role in the movie adaptation of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1971. After appearing in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," he recommended it to be adapted for film.

In 1973, Jewison directed "Jesus Christ Superstar." Dennen came on board and reclaimed his role as Pontius Pilate.

He also appeared in a string of movie adaptations of musicals such as "The Kentucky Fried Movie," "Ragtime" and "Shock Treatment," which was the sequel to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Dennen also found himself in the voice acting field and had many voiceover roles. He lent his voice to Jim Henson's film "The Dark Crystal." His career in voiceover started to grow and soon after he worked on episodes of several cartoon series such "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries," and "Johnny Quest."

He also lent his voice for "The Smurfs," "Paddington Bear" and "Batman the Animated Series." Later on, his voiceover talents found him working on different video games including the "Star Trek" games and "Metal Gear Solid 2."

Dennen still appeared on TV with guest roles on shows like "Murder She Wrote," "Murphy Brown" and "Mr. Belvedere."

Dennen is survived by his two sons and his brother.

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