Actor Chris Penn dead, no sign of foul play: report

[KIISQueen]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Chris Penn has died in a Santa Monica residence, with no signs of foul play, a local ABC television affiliate reported on Tuesday.

Penn, 43, was the brother of actor Sean Penn and starred in dozens of films.

He played baby-faced criminal Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in director Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and starred along with his brother in the 1986 film "At Close Range." He also played Willard Hewitt in "Footloose" in 1984.

Recently, Penn voiced Officer Eddie Pulaski in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

Santa Monica police and the Los Angeles County Coroner were not immediately available for comment.

[Memo]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/24/chris.penn.obit.ap/index.html

[eSDee]

Damn that sucks.

[Showtime]

I met him last year at this really late night dinner we had for my fds bday. He seemed pretty cool... like he still partied, but wasn't out of control or anything.

RIP Chris.

[VTGreg]

Sorry to hear about his passing. It's a shame it wasn't his brother instead.

[MikeD]

Sorry to hear about his passing. It's a shame it wasn't his brother instead.

Yeah, I guess Sean found out that being a soldier in Iraq isn't the only way one can go.

It will be interesting to see what the cause of death was.

[LegendKiller]

Not very nice things to say. Sean, while pretty damn annoying, is minimal in influence beyond hollywood lefty parties and whiney statements.

RIP Chris Penn.

[MikeD]

I will give Sean credit for being an excellent, excellent actor. His performance in "I Am Sam" was flat out incredible. I'll give credit where it's due.

As I said before, sorry to hear about Chris' passing. It's a shame to see a life cut short at such a young age.

[Sirrich3]

Wow, wonder what the autopsy will find. R.I.P!

[Kevster]

I just heard about this on KROQ radio this morning. He was a very good supporting actor. According to IMDB, he was going to be in American Pie II as Stifler's Dad, but the scenes were cut.

Here's his IMDB listing: Linkage (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001606/)

[ShawnLee]

Sorry to hear about his passing. It's a shame it wasn't his brother instead.While I don't like Sean Penn either, I think this is out of line...

Sad. I like his characters. Corky Romano was stupid-funny, but enjoyable.

[zero2dash]

He was funny in Rush Hour in his scenes with Chris Rock...other than that I can't honestly say I've seen him in anything else. (I shamefully admit that I haven't seen Reservoir Dogs yet.)

[VTGreg]

While I don't like Sean Penn either, I think this is out of line...

Sad. I like his characters. Corky Romano was stupid-funny, but enjoyable.

I apologize. I don't seriously wish that Sean Penn were no longer living nor that he passed away instead of his brother.

[KIISQueen]

update

The cause of actor Chris Penn's death remained undetermined after an autopsy, and the coroner's office has ordered blood toxicology tests.

Penn, the brother of Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael, was found dead Tuesday in his Santa Monica condominium.

The toxicology test is "just normal procedure for someone who's 40 and has not seen their doctor," coroner's spokeswoman Brenda Shafer said Wednesday.

Penn's latest film, "The Darwin Awards," in which he appears with Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes, premiered later in the day at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

"He gave an incredible performance in the film," writer-director Finn Taylor said before the screening. "I think he is going to be remembered for years to come and we will miss him."

Chris Penn appeared in numerous films, including "Reservoir Dogs," "Starsky & Hutch," "Rush Hour" and "Corky Romano."

"Corky" star Chris Kattan described Penn's death as "a huge shock."

"He was an amazing actor and a great comedian," Kattan said. "He was such a sweet soul and so funny. He had a really great innocence in his eyes. Of course he'll be terribly missed."

Sean Penn's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, issued a statement Tuesday saying the Penn family "would appreciate the media's respect of their privacy during this difficult time." She released no further comment.

Penn's agent, Cary Berman of the William Morris Agency, referred calls to Buxbaum. Penn's manager, Jonathan Brandstein, did not return a call for comment.

Although he was not as well known as his brother Sean, 45, critics said he often was underrated.

"Just as talented as Sean -- just a lot less cocky," Slate magazine critic Cintra Wilson wrote of him last year. He "makes you seamlessly believe in characters so much you barely even notice them."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/25/chris.penn.obit.ap/index.html

[esme]

LOS ANGELES -- Investigators suspect actor Chris Penn's death was the result of natural causes or an accident because he had a prior illness and had taken drugs in the past, a coroner's spokesman said Thursday.

The 40-year-old actor was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on Tuesday.

Penn had suffered from an illness and used multiple drugs in the past, said David Smith, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman. He declined to release details of the illness or say if the drugs were prescribed.

Medical examiners performed an autopsy Wednesday but won't know what caused Penn's death until toxicology tests are completed in about six weeks. ....Link (http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=213677&GT1=7651)

....that's sad