Actor Bob Penny, who had roles in Forrest Gump and Sweet Home Alabama, has sadly died aged 87 on Christmas Day.
As reported by AL.com, Penny was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1935 and was a poet who spent three decades as an English professor, with two of those at the University of Alabama at Birmingham teaching poetry and prose.
It was during the 1980s that Penny first delved into acting as he sought to supplement his income on the side. He found roles in television commercials for a local department store as well as for a United Way campaign in Atlanta, per the Daily Mail.
In 1990, Penny retired from the University and sought to take on more acting work, which he managed to do. "I was really lucky. I had these very small roles, but they sure helped pay the mortgage," he told AL.com in 2008.
He is credited as a "crony" in the 1994 hit movie Forrest Gump, which claimed six Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for lead man Tom Hanks.
In the 2002 movie Sweet Home Alabama, Penny played a small-town lawyer. He also featured in the critically acclaimed movie Mississippi Burning in 1988, playing the role of Curtis Foy.
Other credits include My Cousin Vinny and The Legend of Bagger Vance, as well as the TV series In the Heat of the Night, before playing his last role as Harold in 2016's comedy series Still The King featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
Rhonda Erbrick, chairwoman of Birmingham Festival Theaters' board explained to AL.com how Penny also took to the stage where he entertained his audiences.
"Bob Penny captivated all of our hearts at Birmingham Festival Theatre and put his all into his work," Rhonda said. "He loved BFT, and we would often talk about how to make the hidden gem of a theatre sparkle brighter in the Magic City.
"Bob Penny is and was always an actor and a joy to be around. Birmingham Festival Theatre loved him dearly and now we mourn a grievous loss alongside the Birmingham Theatre Community at the loss of such a fine actor and human being."
Penny passed away on Christmas Day, and no cause of death is currently stated.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.
