You may think you can sum up their life stories, just from visual cues. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all my years as a reporter, it’s this: You would be wrong about that.
There’s not a single person I’ve ever interviewed who did not have a secret, a surprising facet to their personalities.
That’s what I love about the story of University of Dayton law professor Dennis Greene. The founding member of the ‘50s retro-rock group Sha Na Na died of esophageal cancer Sept. 5, at age 66.
I wish I could have seen the look on his students’ faces when they realized that the man before them – speaking so knowledgeably about intellectual property rights or Constitutional law – sang at Woodstock just before Jimi Hendrix’s legendary, incendiary performance.
The well-dressed professor once crooned “Tears on my Pillow” in a gold lame jumpsuit in the movie “Grease.” He danced with James Brown, hobnobbed with Andy Warhol, co-starred in comedies with Richard Pryor.
It’s not a part of his past that Greene cared to highlight. Friends described him as kind, talented, smart man who never initiated a conversation about his rock-n-roll past.
“He drove an old beater car — a big red bomb — and didn’t live like a star,” said Lisa Kloppenberg, former dean of the UD law school. “He lived in a very humble way and put his priorities on his family and being a mentor to our students.”
After leaving Sha Na Na, Greene achieved a master’s degree at Harvard and a law degree at Yale. It wasn’t as much a departure from his roots as it might seem; Sha Na Na grew out of an a capella singing group at the prestigious Columbia University, and many of his former bandmates also went on to impressive careers: two doctors, two lawyers, an entrepreneur and four academics.
Greene performed with Sha Na Na for 15 years, even hosting a popular TV show from 1977 to 1980.
“I still am asked for autographs, but these days, it seems it’s always for their mother,” Greene told Dayton Daily News reporter Mark Fisher in 2009.
But even today’s students are awestruck when they learn that Greene rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
On Woodstock’s final day, Sha Na Na walked onstage at 5:30 a.m. The next and final act: Hendrix.
Greene shared his Woodstock memories with Dayton Daily News executive editor Ron Rollins in a 2010 “Ohio Magazine” interview: “They flew us in on a military helicopter, no doors on it. It was me, Joe Cocker and two guys from our band…. It looked like a mountain of people…”
Greene told Rollins it was very cold and they ran out of food backstage. But, he added, “It was amazing how much sharing and giving there was among people caught in the most adverse conditions.”
I love the way Greene’s story defies the tragic archetype of rock stars who burned brightly only to flame out. A mere 14 months after Woodstock, Joplin and Hendrix were both gone.
And yes, they’re immortals, but one gets the sense Greene wouldn’t have traded places with them. “He moved on quickly after Sha Na Na and built such a full life,” Kloppenberg said. “He was a devout Catholic who was incredibly up-to-date on church issues. He was a stalwart for his family and friends across the country and beloved in legal education. He was so devoted to his work and serious about his writing, yet he was charismatic, the life of the party, and he could tell great stories.”
Added UD law professor Thaddeus Hoffmeister, “If there’s a reception you want to be at his table. It was the most fun and lively table and he would bring everyone into the conversation.”
His celebrity background was never his favorite topic, Kloppenberg said: “He was a Renaissance man who had all this complexity. So he took this creative period in his life and used it to help students.”
He taught entertainment law, for instance, as well as courses on “Mass Media, Law and Race” and “Politics, Race and Gender in Hollywood Films.”
Born in the Bronx, “Dennis was a great embodiment of the American dream, and he wanted other children to have those same opportunities,” Kloppenberg said. “He was such a mentor to our students and wanted to show them that African-Americans can be successful in business and law as well as the creative arts.”
Hoffmeister said he doesn’t know of another law professor in the country with a similar background: “He did a lot of out-of-the-box things that make him a well-rounded person and a better professor. He was able to keep students engaged and entertained.”
He was so vibrant that colleagues are still in shock after losing him so suddenly. “Dennis seemed more like 46,” said Sheila Hassell Hughes, former chair of UD’s English department. “He was very charismatic and confident, and full of energy and vigor.”
A public funeral service will take place at Sept. 19 at Church of the Immaculate Conception in New York City. A prayer gathering Tuesday at UD’s School of Law drew people from all over campus.
“Dennis was a genuine person who was liked by everybody,” Hoffmeister said. “His story shows me that people can be a lot more complex and deeper than what you see. You don’t know how much they’ve done in life.”
In other words, you just never know about people.
Contact this columnist at maryjomccarty@gmail.com.
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