Chris Penn | |
|---|---|
 Penn inCorky Romano (2001) | |
| Born | Christopher Shannon Penn (1965-10-10)October 10, 1965 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 2006(2006-01-24) (aged 40) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–2006 |
| Partner | Steffiana De La Cruz (1993–1999) |
| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the younger brother of both actor and filmmakerSean Penn and musicianMichael Penn. Noted as a skilledcharacter actor, he was typically cast as a tough character, featured as a villain or a working-class thug, or in a comic role.
Penn had notable parts in such films asAll the Right Moves (1983),The Wild Life (1984),Footloose (also 1984),Pale Rider (1985),At Close Range (1986),Reservoir Dogs (1992),True Romance (1993),Short Cuts (also 1993),To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995),The Boys Club (1996),Rush Hour (1998),Corky Romano (2001), andStarsky & Hutch (2004). He won theVolpi Cup for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for anIndependent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance inThe Funeral (1996). He also provided the voice of corrupt cop Edward "Eddie" Pulaski in the action-adventure gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).
Penn was found dead in his apartment on January 24, 2006 at the age of 40. Anautopsy revealed the primary cause for his death was "nonspecificcardiomyopathy" (cardiovascular disease).[1][2]
Christopher Shannon Penn was born on October 10, 1965, inLos Angeles,California, toLeo Penn, an actor and director, andEileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. His paternal grandparents wereJewish immigrants fromLithuania andRussia,[3] and his mother was aCatholic ofItalian andIrish descent.[4] His older brothers are actorSean Penn and musicianMichael Penn.
Penn started acting at the age of 12 at the Loft Studio and made his film debut in 1979'sCharlie and the Talking Buzzard, starring Christopher Hanks. In 1983, he was featured inFrancis Ford Coppola's youth dramaRumble Fish and appeared in thehigh school football dramaAll the Right Moves as the best friend ofTom Cruise's character. He also appeared in the hit dance movieFootloose in 1984 as the best friend ofKevin Bacon's character; played a villain in theClint EastwoodwesternPale Rider (1985); and co-starred with his brotherSean Penn and motherEileen Ryan inAt Close Range (1986).
Penn, who had a black belt inkarate,[5] appeared in the 1989 motion pictureBest of the Best as Travis Brickley, a cocky member of the U.S. Karate team taking on the team fromKorea. The film also starredJames Earl Jones,Sally Kirkland,Eric Roberts,Phillip Rhee, and Simon Rhee. Penn reprised his role in 1993'sBest of the Best 2.
Two of his more memorable performances were inReservoir Dogs as Nice Guy Eddie andTrue Romance as Nicky Dimes (both characters in scripts written byQuentin Tarantino). In 1996 he won the award for Best Supporting Actor at theVenice Film Festival forThe Funeral.
In 1990, Penn was cast in a season one episode ofThe Young Riders. He appeared as a villain who is killed byJosh Brolin's character James Butler "Jimmy" Hickok. InRobert Altman's 1993 ensemble filmShort Cuts, Penn played a troubled swimming pool cleaner who is disturbed by his wife's profession, atelephone sex worker who takes calls from clients at home to which Penn's character is sometimes obliged to listen. This leads to very disturbing consequences. In 1995, he played a confused highway patrolman searching for a car with threedrag queens (played byPatrick Swayze,Wesley Snipes, andJohn Leguizamo) inTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
Penn appeared inJay-Z's 1998 music video "Can I Get A..." as a bartender who mixes drinks and dances. He also played the character Clive Cobb in the 1998 filmRush Hour.
In 2001, Penn was meant to appear inAmerican Pie 2 asSteve Stifler's father, but his scenes were eventually cut as there was insufficient time to include him in the film's plot. However, they appeared on the deleted scene reel on the DVD release.[6] Penn then went on to co-star oppositePeter Berg as the mafia brothers of Corky inCorky Romano. He also appeared as afall guy in a criminal conspiracy inMurder by Numbers, alongsideSandra Bullock.
In 2003, he appeared on theWill & Grace episode "Fanilow", asBarry Manilow's tour director and a character who is interested romantically in Will. Penn was featured in an episode of the television crime dramaLaw & Order: Criminal Intent ("Death Roe") during the2004–2005 season. He was also featured on the 2004 video gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the voice of crooked officer Eddie Pulaski. Penn played himself on a 2005 episode of theHBO seriesEntourage. He appeared inThe Darwin Awards, which premiered at theSundance Film Festival the day after his death.
Penn was found dead in hisSanta Monicaapartment on January 24, 2006, at the age of 40.[7] An autopsy and subsequent toxicology report performed byLos Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner revealed the primary cause of death wascardiovascular disease. The report also noted that the prescription drugpromethazine withcodeine and an enlarged heart were possible contributing factors to his death.[8] The toxicology report revealed thatValium,morphine,marijuana and an elevated level of codeine were found in his bloodstream.[9] Penn gained considerable weight throughout the 1990s.Sean Penn said in an interview onLarry King Live that his brother probably died because of his weight.[10]
Penn's grave is located atHoly Cross Cemetery inCulver City, California.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Charlie and the Talking Buzzard | Pete | Credited as Christopher Penn (debut role) |
| 1983 | All the Right Moves | Brian Riley | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| Rumble Fish | B.J. Jackson | Credited as Christopher Penn | |
| Nobody's Heroes | N/A | Director/Producer/Writer | |
| 1984 | Footloose | Willard Hewitt | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| The Wild Life | Tom Drake | Credited as Christopher Penn | |
| 1985 | Pale Rider | Josh LaHood | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| 1986 | At Close Range | Tommy | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| 1987 | Made in U.S.A. | Tuck | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| 1989 | Return from the River Kwai | Lieutenant Crawford | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| Best of the Best | Travis Brickley | Credited as Christopher Penn | |
| 1991 | Mobsters | Tommy Reina | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| Leather Jackets | Steve 'Big Steve' | Credited as Christopher Penn | |
| Future Kick | 'Bang' | ||
| 1992 | Reservoir Dogs | Eddie 'Nice Guy Eddie' Cabot | |
| 1993 | Best of the Best II | Travis Brickley | Credited as Christopher Penn |
| The Music of Chance | Floyd | ||
| The Pickle | Gregory Stone | ||
| Short Cuts | Jerry Kaiser | ||
| True Romance | Detective Nicky Dimes | ||
| Josh and S.A.M. | Derek Baxter | ||
| Beethoven's 2nd | Floyd | ||
| 1994 | Imaginary Crimes | Jarvis | |
| 1995 | Fist of the North Star | 'Jackal' | |
| To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar | Sheriff Dollard | ||
| Under the Hula Moon | 'Turk' Dickson | ||
| Sacred Cargo | Vince Kanevsky | ||
| 1996 | Dead Man's Walk | Charles Goodnight | |
| Mulholland Falls | Detective Arthur Relyea | ||
| The Funeral | 'Chez' | Nominated –Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead | |
| The Boys Club | Luke | ||
| 1997 | Deceiver | Detective Philip Braxton | |
| 1998 | Papertrail | FBI Agent Jason Enola | |
| One Tough Cop | Duke Finnerly | ||
| Rush Hour | Clive | ||
| Family Attraction | Father | Short film | |
| 1999 | The Florentine | Bobby | |
| 2000 | Cement | Bill Holt | |
| 2001 | Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) | Bubba | |
| Corky Romano | Peter Romano | ||
| 2002 | Murder by Numbers | Ray | |
| Redemption | Tony Leggio | Direct-to-video | |
| Stealing Harvard | David Loach | ||
| 2003 | American Pie: Beneath the Crust Vol. 2 | Stiffler's Dad | Deleted scenes |
| Masked and Anonymous | Crew Guy #2 | ||
| Shelter Island | Sheriff DeLuca | ||
| 2004 | Starsky & Hutch | Manetti | |
| After the Sunset | Rowdy Fan | ||
| 2006 | The Darwin Awards | Tom Andy | Posthumous release |
| Juarez: Stages of Fear | Unknown Role | Direct-to-video; posthumous release, also executive producer | |
| Holly | Freddie Vibal | Posthumous release | |
| 2007 | King of Sorrow | Detective Enola | |
| 2013 | Aftermath | Tony Bricker | Filmed in 2005; posthumous release (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Magnum, P.I. | Wounded Soldier in Vietnam | Episode: "Heal Thyself"; credited as Christopher Penn |
| 1985 | North Beach and Rawhide | Dan Donnelly | TV movie |
| 1987 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Will Tussennbrook | Episode: "Rip Van Winkle"; credited as Christopher Penn |
| 1990 | The Young Riders | Brad Enright | Episode: "Matched Pair" |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Kevin Fitzpatrick | Episode: "Life Support" |
| 1996 | Dead Man's Walk | 'Goodnight' | Miniseries Episode: "#1.2" |
| 2002 | AFP: American Fighter Pilot | Narrator | Voice role |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | Pete Wilton | Episode: "Grave Young Men" |
| The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | Waylon Shaw | Series regular (6 episodes) | |
| Will & Grace | Rudy | Episode: "Fanilow" | |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Tommy Onerato | Episode: "Death Roe" |
| Everwood | Frank Sullivan | Episode: "Fate Accomplis" | |
| Entourage | Chris Penn (Himself) | Episode: "An Offer Refused" |
| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Date Rape" | Perpetrator | Sublime |
| 1995 | "Somebody's Crying" | Beachgoer | Chris Isaak |
| 1998 | "Can I Get A..." | Bartender | Jay-Z feat.Ja Rule &Amil |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Officer Edward "Eddie" Pulaski | |
| 2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition | Archival recordings Remaster ofGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas only |
