Larry Pennell
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Lawrence Kenneth Pennell (February 21, 1928 – August 28, 2013) was an American television and film actor, often remembered for his role as Dash Riprock in the television series ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
''. His career spanned half a century, including starring in the first-run syndicated adventure series '' Ripcord'' in the leading role of skydiver Theodore "Ted" McKeever, and as Keith Holden in '' Lassie''. He was also a baseball player, playing on scholarship for the University of Southern California (USC) and later professionally for the
Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...
organization.


Early life and education

Pennell was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania to entrepreneur Harold Pennell and homemaker Ruth Pennell. His parents moved to Niagara Falls, New York during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in search of better opportunities. After a short time in New York, the family moved to California. They lived in a studio apartment overlooking Angels Flight in Downtown Los Angeles. His family moved again when he was still young, purchasing a home near
Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...
in Hollywood. He became a newsboy on the studio lot, but athletics distracted him from any early interest in film. Pennell played baseball throughout his youth. He attended
Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...
, at which he played first base and was later inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame. He was recruited by Rod Dedeaux to play baseball at USC, where he began playing in 1947. Pennell attended the university on a full baseball scholarship and became one of the school's all-time letter winners. He left school early to play professionally for the
Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...
organization, from 1948 to 1953.


Baseball career

Just shy of graduating from USC, Pennell left the university to play professionally for the Boston Braves organization. During his time with the organization, his teammates often referred to him as "Bud", a nickname that stuck with him throughout his life. He was with the organization for a total of seven seasons between 1948 and 1954, playing first base and outfield for the Evansville Braves, Boston's minor league affiliate. In his first year in professional ball, he broke the Appalachian League record for
runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...
with 147 and hit .338 for the season while hitting 18 home runs. He was portrayed in ''Hall of Famer'',
Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...
' autobiography, as a "fun-loving teammate." He did not play during the 1950–1953 seasons due to his service during the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. He served in
counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...
in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge upon completion of his service. Upon his return home, his baseball contract was purchased by the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
. Pennell never reported to spring training for the Dodgers and instead decided to pursue acting, a career he had dabbled in during the off seasons. Regarding his retirement from baseball, sportswriter Furman Bisher was quoted as saying "his future seemed unlimited...I shall always be frustrated by a desire to know how great a star he might have become."


Acting career

In the baseball off-seasons, Pennell returned home to Hollywood. Shortly after his contract was purchased by the Brooklyn organization, he decided not to report to spring training and instead began his career in films. After being seen by a talent scout, Pennell got a screen test at Paramount Pictures where he went under contract. Then he traveled to New York City to learn from drama teachers such as
Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...
and
Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. A member of Yiddish Theater's Adler dynasty, Adler began acting at a young age. She shifted to producing, directing, and teaching, founding the ...
. It was in 1955 when Pennell's acting career was launched. He appeared in his first role as Oliver Brown in the movie '' Seven Angry Men'', a film about abolitionist John Brown, starring
Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...
. That role led him to a lead in Hell's Horizon, which was followed by '' The Far Horizons'', starred
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
and Donna Reed. His next film role was as George Crandall opposite
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
in '' The FBI Story''. Other roles followed, including the leading role as Johnny Jargin in the car racing adventure movie '' The Devil's Hairpin''. Early in his acting career, Pennell went to Europe to appear in films, including ''
Old Surehand ''Old Surehand'' (, also known as ''Flaming Frontier'') is a 1965 German Western (genre), Western film starring Stewart Granger, Pierre Brice and Letitia Roman. The film is based on a novel by Karl May. It was shot at the Spandau Studios an ...
'', a German production based upon a Karl May's novel. In European films he was occasionally credited as Alessandro Pennelli. He returned to the United States and made guest appearances in several western television series such as '' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater'', ''
Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...
'', ''
Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Ri ...
'', ''
Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...
'', ''
Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...
'', ''
The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...
'', '' The Virginian'', ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'', ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', '' Rango'', '' Custer'', '' Branded'', '' The Rough Riders'', '' Cimarron City'' and ''
Tombstone Territory ''Tombstone Territory'' is an American Western television series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The first season was sponsored by Bristol-Myers (consumer products) and the seco ...
''. In 1961, he landed the leading role on the television series '' Ripcord'' as the handsome skydiver Theodore (Ted) McKeever. His co-star was Ken Curtis, later as Festus Hagen on ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'', as his inseparable, level-headed older mentor and best buddy James (Jim) Buckley. Ripcord ran for a total of 76 half-hour episodes from 1961 to 1963 and inspired a range of tie-in merchandise such as toy parachutes, action figures, jigsaw puzzles, board games, clean slates, reading books, comic books and coloring books, to name a few. More television guest appearances followed on '' The Outer Limits'', '' Thriller'', '' The Millionaire'', '' The West Point Story'', ''
Wire Service A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...
'', '' The Case of the Dangerous Robin'', ''
Steve Canyon ''Steve Canyon'' is an American Action-adventure comics, action-adventure comic strip by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'', ''S ...
'', '' Sea Hunt'', ''
The Aquanauts ''The Aquanauts'' (later known as ''Malibu Run'') is an American adventure/ drama series that aired on CBS September 14, 1960 - February 22, 1961 (or September 14, 1960 - September 27, 1961). The series stars Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate and Ro ...
, The Everglades'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', '' Dragnet'', and '' Suspense Theater''. As Dash Riprock on ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he appeared in ten episodes as a film star courting Elly May Clampett ( Donna Douglas). After ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', Pennell guest-starred in other television series like '' Blue Light'', '' My Friend Tony'', '' Mayberry, R.F.D.'', ''
Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...
'', '' Land of the Giants'', '' Bracken's World'', '' BJ and the Bear'' and '' Salvage 1''. Pennell travelled to Europe in 1965 where he starred '' Our Man in Jamaica'' and ''
Old Surehand ''Old Surehand'' (, also known as ''Flaming Frontier'') is a 1965 German Western (genre), Western film starring Stewart Granger, Pierre Brice and Letitia Roman. The film is based on a novel by Karl May. It was shot at the Spandau Studios an ...
''. Throughout his career, Pennell appeared in a variety of genres in television series and movies. He was cast in a lead role as Keith Holden in 1972 in the CBS series ''Lassie''. He made guest-starring appearances in various shows, including ''
Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...
'', '' Longstreet'', ''
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
'', '' Banacek'', '' Mission: Impossible'', ''
The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...
'', '' McMillan and Wife'', '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''
The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...
'', ''
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...
'', '' Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law'', ''
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' (titled onscreen as ''O'Hara, United States Treasury'') is an American crime drama television series starring David Janssen and broadcast by CBS during the 1971–72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited ...
'', '' Run, Joe, Run'', '' Apple's Way'', ''
Silk Stalkings ''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night '' Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the '' ...
'', '' Diagnosis Murder'', ''
Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...
'' and ''
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'' and soap operas such as ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' and ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
''. Pennell's film credits include roles in films such as '' The Great White Hope'' (1970), starring James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in which Pennell played former heavyweight champion Frank Brady. Pennell also appeared in the big budget World War II film '' Midway'' (1976), as Captain Cyril Simard, alongside Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda. He had roles in other major films such as '' The Revengers'', '' Journey Through Rosebud'' and '' Matilda''. Pennell bore a striking resemblance to Clark Gable and played the actor in three roles. One of his notable roles as Gable was in the television film '' Marilyn: The Untold Story'' (1980). It was said of his work in that role "Pennell's performance is a little gem." In 1992, Pennell and
Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...
rejoined for a third time to appear in '' Mr. Baseball''. Other films include ''The Fear'' (1999), '' Bubba Ho-Tep'' (2002) starring
Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...
, ''Five Minutes'' (2002), ''Last Confession'' (2005), ''Seasons of Life'' (2006) and ''The Passing'' (2011). Pennell experimented with his acting with drama teachers such as Milton Katselis and Daniel Mann. Pennell's stage work encompassed over 50 plays, including ''The Poker Game'', ''Desperate Hours'', ''Pieces of Time'' and ''Dead Autumn's Soul''. He wrote and starred in ''The Signing'' and ''Close-Up'' and won best actor at The Method Fest 2002 for his work in the short film ''Five Minutes''. Throughout his career, Pennell accumulated over 400 credits in roles across stage, film and television as well as commercials and print advertisements.


Filmography


Selected film credits


Selected television credits


Selected theater credits

* ''Dream a Little Dream'' – Lead – Company of Angels, Los Angeles * ''Sing the Song Lady'' – Lead – Network Studio, North Hollywood * ''Monroe'' – Lead – Crystal Sands, Hilton Head, South Carolina * ''The Signing'' (written by Larry Pennell) – Lead – Stella Adler Theater, Beverly Hills Playhouse * ''Close-Up'' (written by Larry Pennell) – Lead – Stella Adler Theater, Beverly Hills Playhouse * ''Pieces of time'' – Lead – Pan Andreas Theater, Hollywood * ''Desperate Hours'' – Lead – New Dramatist's, Inc., New York City * ''Dead Autumn's Soul'' – Lead – New York City * ''The Poker Game'' – Lead – (Pre-Broadway) New York City * ''Mary, Mary'' – Lead – Tiffany's Attic Theater, Kansas City


Personal life

Pennell met his wife Patricia Throop, a fashion model, actress, former Miss Oregon and finalist in the 1954 Miss America Pageant. He was shooting a film when they met. Throughout his life he enjoyed sports of all kinds such as baseball, football, tennis, boxing, running and horseback riding. Also he was an avid historian and a patriot with ancestral links in the American Revolution and the Mayflower Compact. Pennell died in Santa Monica, California on August 28, 2013, at age 85.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennell, Larry 1928 births 2013 deaths American male film actors Male Western (genre) film actors American male television actors Place of death missing Baseball players from Pittsburgh Male actors from Pittsburgh 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors People from Uniontown, Pennsylvania Evansville Braves players USC Trojans baseball players Baseball players from Fayette County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen