Anthony Brennan

1934 - 2023

Anthony “Tony” Brennan is no longer with us in the physical sense. He was in hospice care for 15 days and departed in his sleep on April 5, 2023 from his home in Sebastopol, CA.

He was born in 1934 in England to the union of John and Olive Brennan. After his parents’ separation in 1936, Tony was raised by his grandparents in Sheffield until the age of 13. He would soon part from his grandmother and the comforts of Sheffield to join his father, his stepmother Alice Mary Davis, and his two siblings in London.

By the age of 14, Tony was obsessed with jazz and listened weekly to the Jazz Club on BBC radio. He would later become obsessed with other music genres including blues, reggae, and classical composer Gustav Mahler.

Tony emigrated to the United States in 1958. He received a Bachelor of Arts from California State University Long Beach in 1967 and a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA in 1977. In the mid 70s he was part of the production team that created Hitler’s Secret Weapon, a WGBH-TV produced documentary about the development of the V2 rocket in WWII. And, in the late 70s, he attended Bob Marley and the Wailers concerts in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

Tony was a photographer, filmmaker, Director of Media Development at CSULB, a woodworker, an avid gardener, and voracious reader. He traveled throughout Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and once shipped his VW camper to Jamaica to explore the island while always carrying a camera or two to document his experiences. His photo collections of children, blues, jazz and reggae musicians were exhibited in galleries in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Jamaica, and Lusaka, Zambia.

Tony is survived by his wife, Regina Brennan; brother John Brennan (Eva) Worcester, England; sister Tessa Stebbings (Brian-deceased) Algorfa, Spain; and a host of nieces, nephews and in-laws. He was preceded in death by his parents and stepmother. At Tony’s request there will be no funeral or memorial service but a private family celebration of life will be held in the summer. In lieu of flowers or donations please consider donating to a nonprofit of your choice.