Eileen Ryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Eileen Annucci (1927-10-16)October 16, 1927 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 2022(2022-10-09) (aged 94) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery,Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1955–2016 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Eileen Ryan (née Annucci; October 16, 1927 – October 9, 2022) was an American actress. The wife of actor and directorLeo Penn, she was the mother of actorsSean Penn andChris Penn, and of singerMichael Penn.
Ryan was born inthe Bronx on October 16, 1927.[1][2] Her father, William, was Italian American and worked as a lawyer and a dentist; her mother, Rose Isabel (née Ryan), was Irish American and employed as a nurse, with her maiden name later chosen by Eileen to be part of herstage name.[1][3] Ryan studied atNew York University, graduating with abachelor's degree.[1]
Ryan debuted onBroadway in 1953, in the playSing Till Tomorrow. Five years later, she featured in another Broadway production,Comes a Day.[1] Both plays were ultimately short-lived.[4] She began to reduce her involvement in acting in order to look after her young family, which later relocated to theWest Coast. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ryan periodically had small roles in television shows, such asThe Twilight Zone,Bonanza, and others directed by her husbandLeo Penn.[1]
Ryan resumed acting on a more frequent basis in 1986,[1] when she appeared with her sonsSean andChris inAt Close Range as the brothers' grandmother.[5] She subsequently featured as the mother of Sean Penn's character inJudgment in Berlin (1988), which was directed by her husband.[1] She also starred inParenthood a year later oppositeJason Robards – whose withdrawal from his role inThe Iceman Cometh over three decades earlier enabled Ryan to meet her future husband[1] – before making an appearance inThe Crossing Guard (1995), which her son Sean directed.[6] Two years later, she went back to the stage in the playRemembrance, acting alongside her husband in a production by Sean Penn at the Odyssey Theater. Her final role was in the 2016 filmRules Don't Apply.[1]
Ryan married Leo Penn in 1957.[7] They met the year before while she was performing inThe Iceman Cometh at theCircle in the Square Theatre.[1] At the time, he was an actor and active union member, who wasblacklisted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s.[7][8] They remained married for over 40 years until his death in 1998.[7] Together, they had three children. One of them, Chris, predeceased her in 2006.[1]
Ryan died on October 9, 2022, at her home inMalibu, California, at the age of 94.[1][9][10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Three in One | Mrs. Johnson | Segment: "The Load of Wood" | [11] |
| 1986 | At Close Range | Grandma | [12][13] | |
| 1988 | Judgment in Berlin | Gerta X | [13][14] | |
| 1989 | Winter People | Annie Wright | [12][13] | |
| 1989 | Parenthood | Marilyn Buckman | [12][13] | |
| 1991 | The Indian Runner | Mrs. Baker | [13][14] | |
| 1993 | Benny & Joon | Mrs. Smail | [12][13] | |
| 1995 | The Crossing Guard | Woman in Shop | [14][15] | |
| 1999 | Anywhere but Here | Lillian | [12][14] | |
| 1999 | Magnolia | Mary | [12][14] | |
| 2001 | The Pledge | Jean | [14][15] | |
| 2001 | I Am Sam | Estelle | [14][15] | |
| 2002 | Eight Legged Freaks | Gladys | [12][14] | |
| 2004 | The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Marie's mother | [14][15] | |
| 2005 | Feast | Grandma | [12][14] | |
| 2006 | All the King's Men | Lily Littlepaugh | [14][15] | |
| 2009 | Give 'Em Hell, Malone | Gloria | [16] | |
| 2009 | Mother and Child | Nora | [12][14] | |
| 2010 | Venus & Vegas | Estelle | [16] | |
| 2011 | Collaborator | Betty | [12][13] | |
| 2016 | Rules Don't Apply | Frank's Grandmother | [14][16] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Goodyear Television Playhouse | Alma | "Mr. Dorothy Allen" | [17] |
| 1957 | Westinghouse Studio One | Betsy Fuller | "The Defender: Parts 1 & 2" | [14] |
| 1959 | Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond | Mrs. Horvath | "Make Me Not a Witch" | [18] |
| 1960 | The Twilight Zone | Nora Reagan | "A World of Difference" | [12][16] |
| 1960 | The Robert Herridge Theater | "With Glory and Honor" | [19] | |
| 1960 | The Detectives | Mrs. Sharman | "Little Girl Lost" | [16] |
| 1961 | The Detectives | Mrs. Coil | "Song of the Guilty Heart" | [16] |
| 1961 | The Asphalt Jungle | Anna Ashmond | "The Last Way Out" | [20] |
| 1961 | Outlaws | Ruth Lopez | "No Luck on Friday" | [21] |
| 1961 | Bonanza | Amanda Gates | "Land Grab" | [12][16] |
| 1962 | Bonanza | Abigail Jones | "The Wooing of Abigail Jones" | [12][22] |
| 1962 | Ben Casey | Laura Walton | "Give My Hands an Epitaph" | [12] |
| 1962 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Lorry | "End of a Minor God" | [12] |
| 1972 | Bonanza | Emily | "First Love" | [12][23] |
| 1973 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Shirley Cooper | "Catch a Ring That Isn't There" | [24] |
| 1973 | Cannon | "Press Pass to the Slammer" | [25] | |
| 1974 | Little House on the Prairie | Mrs. Kennedy | "The Voice of Tinker Jones" | [12][16] |
| 1986 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Bag Lady | "Babies Having Babies" | [14][26] |
| 1990 | Christine Cromwell | "Only the Good Die Young" | [14] | |
| 1992 | Matlock | Lily Wyckoff | "The Picture: Part 2" | [12][16] |
| 1993 | It's Nothing Personal | TV film | [14][16] | |
| 1996 | ER | Barbara Dean | "True Lies" | [12][16] |
| 1996 | NYPD Blue | Mrs. Treet | "He's Not Guilty, He's My Brother" | [12][16] |
| 1999 | Ally McBeal | Bria Tolson | "In Dreams" | [12][16] |
| 2000 | Arliss | Maddie Crowley | "Last Call" | [12][16] |
| 2001 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mrs. Rose Bennett | "To Halve and to Hold" | [12][16] |
| 2003 | The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | "Tough Love" | [12] | |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Maura O'Connell | "Transitions" | [12] |
| 2011 | Men of a Certain Age | "And Then the Bill Comes" | [12] | |
| 2011 | Private Practice | Marion | "Something Old, Something New" | [12][16] |
| 2011 | Prime Suspect | Susan Whitney | "Bitch" | [27] |
| 2014 | Grey's Anatomy | Marjorie Reed | "Puzzle with a Piece Missing" | [12][16] |
| 2014 | Getting On | Mrs. Roth | "No Such Thing as Idealized Genitalia" | [20] |
