Actor Chris Penn Dies

[Kalo]

Great article by Cintra Wilson about Chris as an actor: http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2004/07/2...n/index_np.html

[catesta]

40 is way too young for anyone to go.

R.I.P., Chris.

[medjuck]

I worked with a Chris on a film once. Liked him. Jeez the number of peopled I've worked with who are now dead is getting distressingly high.

[BruceH]

Chris Penn was a good actor who generally played fairly slight roles. One of my favorites is "The Music of Chance," an excellent film based on a Paul Auster novel. The film has a host of great performances (James Spader, Mandy Pantinkin, Charles Durning, Joel Gray, M. Emmett Walsh (one of my all time favs)). Penn has a small role as Walsh's thuggish son-in-law, but he's never less than completely believable in the role (and that's not meant as an insult). I also enjoyed him in "Short Cuts" and in "Resevoir Dogs." Sean is a very fine actor, but Chris always managed to get the audience's sympathies on his side in even the smallest roles. He was affable, even when he played a bad guy.

He should rest in peace.

Exactly.

I thought I was the only one in the country who liked The Music of Chance. Chris Penn's turn in it was right on target, not calling attention to himself at all.

[AllenLowe]

Ted Williams was good but he was no Marv Throneberry -

Edited January 26, 2006 by AllenLowe

[Jazzmoose]

Okay...Joe Jackson didn't have his career interrupted? Did he or did he not have a higher career batting average than Ted Williams? And if you're going to use the "different eras" argument to discount that fact, bringing up home runs is simply disingenuous. Jackson played in the dead ball era, when home runs were all but nonexistent.

[Dan Gould]

Mark is right that home runs shouldn't be a part of the discussion, but that said, you do need to take into account the fact that pitching was better in Williams' era and .400 hitters were much more common during Jackson's era. Also factor in that Williams had over 2700 more at bats and Jackson's career ended at the age of 31, before his numbers might have started to decline. Who knows if Jackson would have maintained his BA had he not been banned? For Williams to bat 2700 more times and finish at .344 should be taken into consideration, too.

[Jazzmoose]

Okay, I'll admit that you make good points. It's damned hard to compare hitters (or pitchers) of different eras any way.

[patricia]

I have been impressed with Christopher Penn's work since he did "At Close Range" with the great Christopher Walken, and Sean Penn, when both he and his brother were at the beginning of their careers as actors. But, I was most impressed with Christopher in "The Funeral", again with Christopher Walken, along with Benitio del Toro, Isabella Rosselini [who played his wife] Anabella Sciorra and Vincent Gallo [who went on to direct and star in "Buffalo 66"]

Penn held his own with Walken, no small feat. Find this film to see what I mean. Amazing performance.

RIP Christopher Penn. Too Soon.

Edited January 27, 2006 by patricia