Frederick Dennis Greene (January 11, 1949 – September 5, 2015) was an American singer who was a member of

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After g ...

who were formed in 1969 at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York as the Columbia Kingsmen. The name change to Sha Na Na occurred because of another group with a similar name, which was known for the song "

Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and r ...

". The television show ''

'' aired from 1978 to 1981. Greene choreographed most of the moves for the show, on which he was known simply as Denny. Denny was portrayed in the series as the most intelligent member of Sha Na Na. He sang lead in the song "

Tears on My Pillow "Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their origi ...

" when he appeared with Sha Na Na in the movie '' Grease'', in 1978. Denny also performed at

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

with Sha Na Na, just before Jimi Hendrix.

Education

Greene was born in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

and raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. He received his high school diploma from the

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational University-preparatory school#North America, preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It i ...

. He obtained a BA degree from Columbia University in 1971. After he left Sha Na Na, he earned a Master of Education from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1984. He then attended law school, which he had been interested in doing since childhood, graduating with a J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 1987.

Career

After Greene graduated from Yale Law School, he worked as Vice President of Production and Features at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. Following that, he was President at Lenox/Greene films. He taught at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

and the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...

where he taught

entertainment law Entertainment law, also referred to as media law, is legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services in entertainment law overlap with intellectual property law. Intellectual property has many moving parts that include tradema ...

, “Race, Mass Media, and the Law”, and other courses. He was also a visiting professor at several other universities including

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

, and the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. Greene also served on the Board of Directors for the Society of American Law Teachers and is listed in ''Who's Who Among African-Americans''. From December 2007 until his death, Greene was a Professor of Law at the

University of Dayton School of Law The University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) is a private law school located in Dayton, Ohio. It is affiliated with the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university of the Society of Mary. The school is accredited by the American Bar As ...

, teaching classes such as

Torts A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

, Entertainment Law, and

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

. Greene died in Dayton on September 5, 2015, from esophageal cancer just a few weeks after his diagnosis. He was 66.

Movie appearances

* 1970 - ''

'' - as himself with Sha Na Na * 1972 - ''

Dynamite Chicken ''Dynamite Chicken'' is a 1971 American comedy film. Described in its opening credits as "an electronic magazine of American pop culture," it presents a series of interviews, stand-up comedy, countercultural sketches, documentary segments, and agi ...

'' - as himself with Sha Na Na * 1977 - ''

Greased Lightning ''Greased Lightning'' is a 1977 American biographical film starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. The film is loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR race winn ...

'' - Slack * 1978 - '' Grease'' - with Sha Na Na as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers * 1994 - ''Woodstock Diary'' - as himself with Sha Na Na * 2003 - ''

Festival Express ''Festival Express'' is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito B ...

'' - as himself with Sha Na Na

Publications

* 199
Tragically Hip: Hollywood and African American Film
* 1996 The Resurrection of Gunga Din, 81 Iowa Law Review * 1997 Immigrants in Chains: Afrophobia in American Legal History, 76 Oregon Law Review * 1998 Cultural Colonization in the Hollywood Film, 5 Asian Law Journal

References

External links

*

The Shawnee News-Star Online

Sha Na Na official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Frederick Dennis 1949 births 2015 deaths American rock singers Professional a cappella groups Hotchkiss School alumni Columbia University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Sha Na Na members University of Dayton faculty Florida A&M University faculty University of Oregon School of Law faculty Yale Law School alumni African-American rock musicians Singers from New York City 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people