Leo Zalman Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American television director and actor. He was the father of musician Michael Penn and actors

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

and

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006), credited as Chris Penn after 1991, was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor, he was typically cas ...

Early life

Penn was born in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

, the son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother, Elizabeth ( Melincoff; 18901961) and Maurice Daniel Penn ( Pinon; 18971981), who was of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. Leo Penn served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

bombardier with the 755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, stationed in England as part of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

Career

A life member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining ...

, 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 ''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 ...

.'' 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 Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...

and Joyce Van Patten in the episode "Cold Turkey" of the ABC legal drama series '' The Law and Mr. Jones'' starring

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

. 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 Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' in the episode "The Button-Down Break" and starred as Jerry Green in

Gertrude Berg Gertrude Berg (born Tillie Edelstein; October 3, 1899 – September 14, 1966) was an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. A pioneer of classic old-time radio, radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce, and star in a ...

'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 A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

'',''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', '' Blue Light'', '' Custer'', the 1976 western '' Sara'', ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', '' Starsky and Hutch'', '' Cagney & Lacey'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'', '' Hart To Hart'', '' Magnum, P.I.'', and '' Father Murphy''. In 1983, he was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for ''

The Mississippi The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota ...

''.

Politics

Penn supported the Hollywood trade unions and refused to accuse others to the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

in their investigation of suspected Communist infiltration of the film industry. He was subsequently

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

, and Paramount refused to renew his contract. As a result, Penn was not able to work as a movie actor. He found acting work in television, but CBS ousted him after receiving an anonymous accusation that he had addressed a Communist political meeting. Barred from acting in film or TV, he became a director.

Personal life and death

Penn married Eileen Ryan in 1957, and they had three sons: Michael Penn,

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

, and

. He died from lung cancer at Saint John's Health Center in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, on September 5, 1998, at the age of 77.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Leo Penn
as the Internet Off-Broadway Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Leo 1921 births 1998 deaths Male actors from Massachusetts American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Film directors from Massachusetts American television directors Jewish American male actors Deaths from lung cancer in California Male actors from Los Angeles American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent People from Lawrence, Massachusetts United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American male actors Hollywood blacklist 20th-century American Jews Military personnel from Massachusetts Leo