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Article published in Dropline.biz on February 6, 2006 Chris Penn Dies at 40 (1965-2006) By Stephen Alexander (co-authored by Dino M. Zaffina)
Los Angeles County Coroner, Captain Edward Winter reported, “I can confirm the identity of the decedent as Christopher Penn age 40. Mr. Penn was found dead in his bed. My office will be conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death.vToxicology tests have also been performed, but the results will not be available for several weeks. It was a sad ending for the brother of Oscar Award winner, Sean Penn and son of actress, Eileen Ryan (I Am Sam, Magnolia, and Parenthood), television director, Leo Penn (Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, Columbo, and In the Heat of the Night), and brother, singer, Michael Penn. Penn’s weight had fluctuated dramatically over the years. Recently, he ballooned to 310 pounds, despite his love for boxing and his active sparring in the gym. Chris Penn was born in Los Angeles, California on June 10, 1965. He began his acting career at age 12, under the tutelage of Peggy Feury at the Loft Studio in Los Angeles. Penn’s first big role was in 1983 in Francis Ford Coppola’s teen gang movie, Rumble Fish. He played opposite Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Vicent Spano, Nicolas Cage, and Laurence Fishburne. Audiences first took notice of Chris when he starred opposite Kevin Bacon in Footloose. Chris played Bacon’s best friend and rebellious dance advocate. Although Penn’s acting career has spanned over 25 years, he has not achieved the same critical acclaim or notoriety of his older brother, Sean. His performance in the 1986 film At Close Range, which he starred in with Sean, was overshadowed by his brother’s brilliant character. Penn later received some recognition for his roles in both Reservoir Dogs and Mulholland Falls. Ironically, Chris was scheduled to attend the Sundance Film Festival on the very next day, January 25, 2006, for the premiere of The Darwin Awards. He also just wrapped production on Aftermath and King of Sorrow. Chris Penn’s other credits include: 2006 – King of Sorrow 2006 – Aftermath – Tony 2006 – The Darwin Awards – Tom 2006 – Holly – Freddie 2005 – Juarez: Stages of Fear 2005 – Everwood – “Fate Accomplis” – Bill Hammond 2005 – Law & Order: Criminal Intent – “Death Roe” – Tommy Onerato 2004 – After the Sunset – Rowdy Fan 2004 – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Officer Eddie Pulaski 2004 – Starsky & Hutch – Manetti 2003 – Will & Grace – “Fanilow” – Rudy 2003 – Shelter Island – Sheriff Deluca 2003 – The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire – Waylon Shaw 2003 – CSI: Miami – “Grave Young Men” – Pete Wilton 2003 – Masked and Anonymous – Crew Guy #2 2002 – Stealing Harvard – David Loach 2002 – Redemption – Tony Leggio 2002 – Murder by Number – Ray Feathers 2002 – AFP: American Fighter Pilot – Narrator 2001 – Corky Romano – Peter Romano 2000 – Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) – Bubba 1999 – The Florentine – Bobby 1999 – Cement – Bill Holt 1998 – One Tough Cop – Duke Finnerly 1998 – Rush Hour – Clive Cod 1998 – Flagpole Special 1998 – Family Attraction – Father 1997 – Deceiver – Detective Phillip Braxton 1997 – The Boy Club – Luke Cooper 1997 – Papertrail – Jason Enola 1996 – The Funeral – Chez Tempio 1996 – Dead Man’s Walk – Charles Goodnight 1996 – Mulholland Falls – Arthur Relyea 1996 – Cannes Man – Cameo appearance 1995 – Under the Hula Moon – Turk Dickson 1995 – To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar – Sheriff Dollard 1995 – Fist of the North Star – Jackal 1995 – Chicago Hope – “Life Support” – Kevin Fitzpatrick 1995 – Sacred Cargo – Vince Kanevsky 1994 – Imaginary Crimes – Jarvis 1993 – Beethoven’s 2nd – Floyd 1993 – Josh and S.A.M. – Derek Baxter 1993 – Short Cuts – Jerry Kaiser 1993 – True Romance – Nicky Dimes 1993 – The Music of Chance – Floyd 1993 – Seinfeld – “The Pilot” – Stagehand 1993 – The Pickle – Gregory Stone 1993 – Best of the Best II – Travis Brickley 1992 – Leather Jackets – Big Steve 1992 – Reservoir Dogs – Nice Guy, Eddie Cabot 1991 – Future Kick – Bang 1991 – Mobsters – Tommy Reina 1990 – The Young Riders – “Matched Pair” – Brad 1989 – Best of the Best – Travis Brickley 1989 – Return from the River Kwai – Lt. Crawford 1987 – Made in USA – Tuck 1987 – Faerie Tale Theatre – “Rip van Winkle” – Will Tussenbrook 1985 – At Close Range – Tommy Whitewood 1985 – North Beach and Rawhide – Dan Donnelly 1985 – Pale Rider – Josh LaHood 1984 – The Wild Life – Tom Drake 1984 – Footloose – Willard Hewitt 1983 – All the Right Moves – Brian 1983 – Rumble Fish – B.J. Jackson 1982 – Magnum, P.I. – “Heal Thyself” – Wounded Soldier in Vietnam 1979 – Charlie and the Talking Buzzard – Pete _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
Articles Written or Co-Authored by Dino M. Zaffina |
© 2022 Dino M. Zaffina. All rights reserved.
Chris Penn found dead in bed of his Santa Monica home by his housekeeper around 3:45 p.m. on January 24, 2006. Police responded to the scene after a telephone call from the housekeeper. Lt. Frank Fabrega of the Santa Monica Police Department said, “There were no obvious signs of foul play.”
Penn has battled drug addiction in the past. In 1993, he commented by saying, “It was a tough time, I couldn’t face my family and I had trouble facing myself.” By 1993, Penn claimed that he had been clean for over 3 1/2 years. He didn’t look back with regrets; he believed that it was a mistake and that he learned from it. He felt that he was a better person having gone through the rough time.