fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Leonard Francis Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director and the father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.

Leo Penn
Born	Leonard Francis Penn (1921-08-27)August 27, 1921 Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 5, 1998(1998-09-05) (aged 77) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Nationality	American
Occupation	Television director, actor
Years active	1946–1998
Spouses	Olive Deering ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1952)​ Eileen Ryan ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	Michael Penn Sean Penn Chris Penn
Relatives	Dylan Penn (granddaughter)

Early life

Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants Elizabeth (née Melnicoff) and Maurice Daniel Penn (Lithuanian-Jewish family).[1][2][3]

Penn served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as a B-24 Liberator bombardier with the 755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, stationed in England as part of the Eighth Air Force.[4]

Career

A life member of The Actors Studio,[5] Penn won the Theatre World Award in 1954 for his performance in the play The Girl on the Via Flaminia. He acted in numerous roles in the early years of television. In 1956, he was cast as Mr. Rico in the episode "Ringside Padre" of the religion anthology series, Crossroads. In 1957, he appeared in the episode "One If by Sea" of the military drama series, Navy Log. He was also cast in an episode of Beverly Garland's 1957-1958 groundbreaking crime drama, Decoy. In 1960, he played Cavage in "The Poker Fiend" on Richard Boone's CBS western series, Have Gun – Will Travel. In 1961, he was cast as Tiko in the episode "The World Is Her Oyster" of the ABC adventure series, The Islanders, set in the South Pacific, and appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama The Asphalt Jungle. He also appeared in another ABC adventure series, Straightaway, which focuses on automobile racing. On March 3, 1961, he co-starred with Peter Falk and Joyce Van Patten in the episode "Cold Turkey" of the ABC legal drama series, The Law and Mr. Jones starring James Whitmore. About this time, he also appeared on Pat O'Brien's ABC sitcom, Harrigan and Son. In the 1961-1962 television season, Penn acted in the CBS crime drama Checkmate in the episode The Button-Down Break and starred as Jerry Green in Gertrude Berg's CBS's sitcom Mrs. G. Goes to College renamed at mid-season as The Gertrude Berg Show.

Penn landed work as a director for many television series, including I Spy, Lost in Space, Cannon, Star Trek, Blue Light, Custer, the 1976 western Sara, St. Elsewhere, Kojak, Starsky and Hutch, Cagney & Lacey, Little House on the Prairie, Columbo, Hawaii Five-O, Trapper John, M.D., Hart To Hart, Magnum, P.I. and Father Murphy. In 1983, Penn was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for The Mississippi.

Politics

Penn supported the Hollywood trade unions[6] and refused to accuse others to the House Un-American Activities Committee in their investigation of suspected Communist infiltration of the film industry. Penn was subsequently blacklisted, and Paramount refused to renew his contract. As a result, Penn was not able to work as a movie actor.[7] He found acting work in television, but CBS ousted him after receiving an anonymous accusation that he had addressed a Communist political meeting.[8] Barred from acting in film or TV, he became a director.[9]

Personal life

This section does not cite any sources. (March 2011)

His first marriage, to Olive Deering, was dissolved in 1952. He was married in 1957 to actress Eileen Ryan, with whom he had three sons: singer Michael Penn, and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn. His granddaughter (his son Sean's daughter) is actress Dylan Penn. He was the father-in-law of the American singer Madonna during Sean's first marriage from 1985 to 1989, and later became the father-in-law of American actress Robin Wright when Sean married her in 1996.

Leo Penn died of lung cancer in Santa Monica, California, on September 5, 1998, at the age of 77, and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	ATC Corporal	Uncredited
1947	Fall Guy	Tom Cochrane
1949	The Undercover Man	Sydney Gordon
1949	Not Wanted	Steve Ryan
1959	The Story on Page One	Morrie Goetz
1962	Birdman of Alcatraz	Eddie Kassellis	Uncredited
1962	A Man Called Adam	Director
1977	Sixth and Main	Doc
1984	The Wild Life	Tom's Dad
1995	The Crossing Guard	Hank

References

External links

• Leo Penn at IMDb
• Leo Penn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Leo Penn as the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Leo Penn at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Leo Penn at Find a Grave

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