Leo Penn
Penn in 1964
Born	Leo Zalman 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.
Occupation(s)	Television director, actor
Years active	1946–1995
Spouses	Olive Deering ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1952)​ Eileen Ryan ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	Michael Sean Chris
Relatives	Dylan Penn (granddaughter)

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

Penn was born inLawrence, Massachusetts, the son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother, Elizabeth (née Melincoff; 1890–1961) and Maurice Daniel Penn (né Pinon; 1897–1981), who was of Lithuanian-Jewish descent.^[1][2][3] Leo Penn served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II as aB-24 Liberator bombardier with the 755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, stationed in England as part of theEighth Air Force.^[4]

A life member ofThe Actors Studio,^[5] Penn won theTheatre World Award in 1954 for his performance in the playThe 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 seriesCrossroads. 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 ofBeverly Garland's 1957–1958 groundbreaking crime dramaDecoy. In 1960, he played Cavage in "The Poker Fiend" onRichard Boone'sCBS western seriesHave Gun – Will Travel. In 1961, he was cast as Tiko in the episode "The World Is Her Oyster" of theABC adventure seriesThe Islanders, set in the South Pacific, and appeared in an episode of the ABC crime dramaThe Asphalt Jungle. He also appeared in another ABC adventure seriesStraightaway, which focuses on automobile racing. On March 3, 1961, he co-starred withPeter Falk andJoyce Van Patten in the episode "Cold Turkey" of the ABC legal drama seriesThe Law and Mr. Jones starringJames Whitmore. About this time, he also appeared onPat O'Brien's ABC sitcomHarrigan and Son. In the 1961–1962 television season, Penn acted in the CBS crime dramaCheckmate in the episode "The Button-Down Break" and starred as Jerry Green inGertrude Berg's CBS's sitcomMrs. G. Goes to College renamed at mid-season asThe Gertrude Berg Show.

Penn landed work as a director for many television series, includingI Spy,Lost in Space,Cannon,Star Trek,Blue Light,Custer, the 1976 westernSara,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., andFather Murphy. In 1983, he was nominated for anEmmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series forThe Mississippi.^{[citation needed]}

Penn supported the Hollywood trade unions^[6] and refused to accuse others to theHouse Un-American Activities Committee in their investigation of suspected Communist infiltration of the film industry. He was subsequentlyblacklisted, 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, butCBS 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]

Penn marriedEileen Ryan in 1957, and they had three sons:Michael Penn,Sean Penn, andChris Penn.^[6] He died from lung cancer atSaint John's Health Center inSanta Monica, California, on September 5, 1998, at the age of 77.^[6]

This sectionis missing information about his directing credits. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(June 2024)

• Leo Penn atIMDb
• Leo Penn at theInternet Broadway Database
• Leo Penn as theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Leo Penn atMemory Alpha
• Leo Penn atFind a Grave

• 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
• Penn family (show business)

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