Leo Z. Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director.
Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Elizabeth (née Melincoff) and Maurice Daniel Penn. Leo Penn had distant Spanish ancestry, as his father's surname was originally "Piñon".
Penn served as an officer and bombardier in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
His first marriage, to Olive Deering, was dissolved in 1952. He was married in 1957 to actress Eileen Ryan, and became the father of singer Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn. He died of lung cancer on September 5, 1998 in Los Angeles, California and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.
Penn was a political supporter of communism and advocated U.S. neutrality in the war in Europe during the period of time where the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact created a Non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The moment Hitler violated that pact Penn urged that America enter the war.
Penn supported the Hollywood trade unions, and refused to accuse others to the House Un-American Activities Committee. He was black-listed, and Paramount refused to renew his contract. As a result Penn was not able to work as a movie actor. He found acting work in television, but CBS ousted him after receiving an anonymous accusation that he had addressed a political meeting. Barred from acting in film or TV, he became a director.
In 1954, Penn won the Theatre World Award for his performance in the play The Girl on the Via Flaminia. Later, Penn would find work as a television director for shows such as Star Trek, I Spy, St. Elsewhere, Kojak, Cagney & Lacey, Trapper John, M.D., and Father Murphy. In 1983, Penn was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for The Mississippi.
