- Frederick "Dennis" Greene
Frederick "Dennis" Greene was born
January 11 ,1949 , inNew York, New York . He was raised inHarlem and theBronx . He was a co-founder of a musical group called The Kingsmen. The group formed in 1969 atColumbia University in New York, and went on to become better known asSha Na Na . The name change occurred because of another group with the same name, which was known for the songLouie Louie .The television show "Sha Na Na" was on the air from 1978 to 1981. Greene choreographed the majority 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. Greene sang lead in the song,
Tears on My Pillow when he appeared with Sha Na Na in the movie "Grease", in 1978.Education
Greene received a B.A degree from Columbia University in 1971. After he left Sha Na Na, he went to law school, which he had been interested in doing since childhood. He studied several areas of law, including
Constitutional Law , Entertainment Law, and Race and American Law . He earned an M.A. degree fromHarvard University in 1984, and a J.D. fromYale University in 1987. Greene is a distinguished member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.Career
After Greene graduated from Yale, he worked as Vice President of Production and features at
Columbia Pictures . Following that, he was President at Lenox/Greene films. He has taught atFlorida A&M University and theUniversity of Oregon , as well as being a visiting professor at several other universities.Greene has also served on the board of directors for the Society of American Law Teachers, and is listed in Who's Who Among African-Americans.
Current Status
As of December 2007, Greene is a Professor of Law at The University of Dayton School of Law, teaching classes such as Torts, Entertainment Law, and Constitutional Law.
Movie appearances
* 1970 - "
Woodstock (film) " - as himself with Sha Na Na
* 1972 - "Dynamite Chicken " - as himself with Sha Na Na
* 1977 - "Greased Lightning " - 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 " - as himself with Sha Na NaPublications
* 1994 [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/TragicallyHip.html 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 Hollywo] od Film, 5 Asian Law JournalReferences
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338760/ IMDb]
* [http://law.udayton.edu/NR/exeres/2920798B-C57D-4511-A303-19037CD547F5.htm University of Dayton School of Law]
* [http://www.rockabilly.net/articles/shanana2.shtml The Shawnee News-Star Online]External links
* [http://www.shanana.com/faq.htm Sha Na Na official site]
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