R.I.P. Chris Penn

Brother of actor Sean Penn, son of actress Eileen Ryan (who starred with her sons in the extremely watchable 1986 James Foley crime thriller At Close Range), Chris Penn was found dead earlier today in Santa Monica. He was one of those character actors who popped up in all kinds of small parts in random, forgettable movies (like Rush Hour and Starsky and Hutch). Despite a long career in film acting, really kicking off in 1983 with a small role in Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish, Chris only got one true chance to shine...but shine he did, like the proverbial diamond in that Pink Floyd song that's actually about Syd Barrett.



As Nice Guy Eddie in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Penn made his permanent contribution to film history. It's a role that will be beloved, quoted and remembered long after the careers of more serious, well-reviewed ac-tors have been tossed aside for a new flavor of the month. Only a certain amount of actors will ever, in their lives, get a role like Nice Guy Eddie, and not even all of them will be able to make the most out of it like Chris Penn.

So, yeah, the guy's legacy is complete. It's still a goddamn tragedy. Dead at 43 due to unknown (but not entirely mysterious) circumstances. Sudden. Unexpected. And it's not like the guy had retreated from public life or anything...He had two movies coming out next year. Tragic. Obviously, your thoughts have to go out to the guy's family, even if his brother's performance in Mystic River was shockingly overrated.