Actor from “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Forrest Gump,” Bob Penny, dies at 87
Bob Penny, a professor and actor who appeared in Forrest Gump and Sweet Home Alabama, passed away on Christmas Day.
Bob Penny, who starred in movies including Forrest Gump and Sweet Home Alabama, passed away at 87.
The obituary for the Huntsville, Alabama, resident who passed away on Sunday, Christmas Day, does not mention a cause of death.
There are six nieces and one nephew left behind in addition to the actor, poet, and teacher’s siblings William Earl Penny and Jean Marion You. The family stated that a festival of life would be held in Birmingham later in the obituary placed on the website of the Laughlin Family Funeral home.
Penny, identified on IMDB as “Crony” in the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump, worked on over 40 movies and TV shows. He plays small-town attorney Wallace Buford in the 2002 Reese Witherspoon film Sweet Home Alabama.
Penny was born and raised in North Carolina. After moving away, he returned to teach prose and poetry for 21 years at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, according to the website.
Penny turned down the University’s invitation to hire him as a full-time professor of theatre and English in 1990 and instead chose to leave the classroom.
After that, he was able to devote more time to acting and continued to appear in movies and television shows for an additional 26 years, including as a juror in the Joe Pesci & Marisa Tomei comedy My Cousin Vinny.
The family concluded the memorial service by expressing their sincere gratitude to Lakin Boyd, Penny’s lifelong companion and carer, and to Thrive Long Term care employees in Huntsville.
Bob’s niece, Meghan Penny, posted a picture of her uncle on Facebook. “I had to spend a few days in alone thinking things through before I was ready to publish this. On Christmas Day, Uncle Bob (Dad’s brother) passed away gently while sleeping “Meghan typed.
“Bob was more to me than just an Uncle. We have a unique connection that has sustained and greatly expanded my life. He served as my confidant, my mentor, and my greatest friend. I feel a huge sense of relief that he is finally free “She continued by lamenting her loss.
“Sleep well, beautiful prince. And angelic flights will serenade you to sleep “Added she.
Who was Bob Penny?
“Bob was more than simply my uncle to me. We share a special bond that has enriched and significantly broadened my life. He was my mentor, my best friend, and my confidant. The fact that he is now free makes me incredibly happy “She went on to mourn her loss.
“Sleep soundly, lovely prince. Additionally, angelic flights will lull you to sleep “said she.
Dr Robert “Bob” Lynn Penny was raised in North Carolina despite being born in Anniston, Alabama, in 1935.
He enrolled in Wofford College in South Carolina to begin his studies before transferring to Columbia University in New York City.
The University of Alabama awarded his PhD in Tuscaloosa after he received his Master’s degree from the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
He finally settled in Birmingham, where he taught a class called Poetry and Prose for the following two decades after reclaiming his Alabama roots in Tuscaloosa.
In the end, he left the University in 1990.
Bob Penny was most well-known for what roles?
The roles that Bob Penny played in Forrest Gump, Sweet Home Alabama, and My Cousin Vinny are the most well-known.
In The Legend of Bagger, Vance and Heat of the Night featured him in supporting parts.
He said of the jobs, “I felt incredibly blessed,” to AL.com in 2008. I had these minor parts, but they undoubtedly assisted in covering the mortgage.