Chris Penn, brother of the more famous and far dumber Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica Condo this morning. According to all the news accounts I have seen police are ruling out foul play and an autopsy will determine what killed the 40 year old actor.
Penn was actually a decent actor, I always liked him in the limited roles he got. He had looked considerably heavier in recent appearances—not Chris-Farley-My-Hearts-Exploding, or Kirstie Alley I’m-only-a-nutty-scientologist-because-they-have-huge-buffets-in-their-compounds heavy, but a little overweight.
I will always love Penn for playing Travis in Best of the Best 2. Nobody but me likes that movie but I was entertained by it. Come on, Wayne Newton introducing death matches? What’s not to like?
He had a bit of a comic touch I think, though he never really seemed to explore it. Penn had some funny expressions and was reasonably amusing in a limited role in Rush Hour 2.
Anyone that’s played Grand Theft Auto San Andreas has heard his voice plenty playing the role of one of the crooked cops opposite Samuel Jackson. He’s had tons of minor and supporting roles, just nothing really big time. A minor part in Starsky and Hutch, True Romance and Mulholland Falls. If memory serves his biggest film would have been Reservoir Dogs.
It’s yet another strange coincidence for this here blog as well. See, last night I was watching CSI Miami and I saw Eric Roberts. Then I realized I hadn’t seen Roberts in quite a while. I liked him in the Specialist with Stallone and I loved him in Heaven’s Prisoners, a film nobody knows about, with Alec Baldwin. Of course he was great in Best of the Best and then I thought of Best of the Best 2 and that crazy Travis, and this morning he’s dead. OK, it’s a bit of a stretch but it’s still a coincidence. I was even thinking of writing a little about Eric Roberts and the Best of the Best movies today, surely I would have mentioned Penn.
I hesitate to say it, but both of these guys seem a little underutilized. Penn had some good moments and the ability to blend humorous tones into serious roles. I still think Roberts has a pretty good screen presence and he makes a great villain. I am a little shocked not to see more of him.
For Chris Penn’s complete and rather arge filmography, see our friends at IMDB.
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