Los Angeles – Actor Christopher Penn, who appeared in films that included “Footloose” and “Rumble Fish,” was found dead in his California condominium Tuesday. He was 40.
An autopsy performed Wed nesday was unable to determine a cause of death, and further toxicology tests have been ordered.
In a coincidence, Penn’s latest film, “The Darwin Awards,” premiered later in the day at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Penn’s body was discovered in bed by his housekeeper, said Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. Santa Monica police found no signs of foul play when called to the actor’s home about 4 p.m., police said.
Penn, the brother of Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn, had been acting for 30 years and appeared on screen with stars including Harvey Keitel, Tom Cruise and Wesley Snipes.
“He got gigs; he found gigs; he found gigs in new areas; he was willing to do television; he was willing to do voice-over work for video games,” James Rocchi, a San Francisco film critic, said in a telephone interview from Utah.
Born in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 1965, he was the son of television director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan.
Penn began his career in 1979, playing the character Pete in the film “Charlie and the Talking Buzzard” before going on to make films such as “Rumble Fish” with Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke; “All the Right Moves” with Cruise; and “Footloose,” which starred Kevin Bacon.
Other credits include Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar” with Snipes and Patrick Swayze, and “At Close Range,” which starred his brother Sean.
