Bob Penny, who taught at a university in Alabama and had small roles in films such as “Forrest Gump” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” has died at the age of 87.
An obituary from Laughlin Service Funeral Home in Huntsville says Penny died on Christmas Day. The cause of death was not given.
Penny was born in Anniston in 1935. For 30 years he worked as a professor of English, mainly at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he taught poetry and prose.
In the 1980s, Penny worked alongside it by appearing in TV ads for a local department store and an Atlanta United Way campaign. After Penny left college in 1990, she devoted more time to acting.
😢 Professor Bob Penny was my best, most favorite and most loved professor of English at UAB. RIP, Dr. Penny! https://t.co/bHqibIaCeO
— Annie Blue (@annieroosie) December 29, 2022
“Then the movies started coming,” said Penny ALREADY. com in 2008. “I was really lucky. I had these very small roles, but they certainly helped pay the mortgage.
Penny starred in over 30 movies and TV shows. In the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” he was referred to as a “buddy.” In the 2002 movie “Sweet Home Alabama,” he played a bumbling small-town lawyer.
Take a look at:
Penny also starred in the movies “Mississippi Burning,” “My Cousin Vinny,” and “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” as well as the TV series “In the Heat of the Night.”
When not in films, Penny was in theater productions in Birmingham. He starred in ‘The Odd Couple’ and ‘Don Juan in Hell’, among others.
Actor Bob Penny, who played minor roles in the films “Forrest Gump” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” has passed away. https://t.co/NRaeJEPjUy
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 30, 2022
“Bob Penny captivated all of our hearts at the Birmingham Festival Theater and put everything into his work,” Rhonda Erbrick, chair of the theater’s board, said in a statement. She added that Penny “is and always was an actor and a pleasure to be around.”
Just follow us on Lee Daily for more news like this.
