Bob Penny of Forrest Gump fame passed away on December 25,
aged 87. A retired instructor of poetry
at the University of Alabama, he also acted in films like Forrest Gump and
Sweet Home Alabama.
Several Hollywood and theatre personalities expressed grief at the passing away of a senior actor. “Bob Penny captivated all of our hearts at
Birmingham Festival Theatre and put his all into his work,” Rhonda
Erbrick, chairwoman of the theater’s board, was quoted to have said in a
statement by the Economic times. She added that Penny “is and was always
an actor and a joy to be around.”
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Who was Bob Penny?
Bob Penny was a poet and professor who also acted in films
and appeared in television shows. He was born on June 29, 1935 in Anniston, Alabama.
He reportedly spent his early years in North Carolina but later moved back to
his home state, where he worked for a long period as a professor of poetry at
the University of Alabama.
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He won the applause prize for theatre from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in 1996. After retirement, he worked in TV
commercials before he got a chance in films. “Then the movies began to come. I
was really lucky. I had very small roles but they helped pay the mortgage,”
Penny was reported to have told AL.com in 2008 as quoted by the Economic Times. The performances, along with money, also earned him critical praise.
He was seen in popular films such as Mississippi Burning (1988),
Oscar winning Forrest Gump (1994), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) and Sweet Home
Alabama (2002) among others. He also appeared in TV shows including In the Heat
of the Night that starred American actor Carroll O’ Connor and fellow American
actor Howard E. Rollins Jr. The veteran actor played roles in 30 films and television series.
