Eileen Ryan

Eileen Ryan (née Annucci; October 16, 1927 – October 9, 2022) was an American actress. The wife of actor and director Leo Penn, she was the mother of actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn, and of singer Michael Penn.

For the American politician, see Aileen B. Ryan.

Eileen Ryan
With Howard Duff in "A World of Difference" from The Twilight Zone, 1960
Born
Eileen Annucci

(1927-10-16)October 16, 1927
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 2022(2022-10-09) (aged 94)
Malibu, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1955–2016
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1957; died 1998)​
Children

Life and career

Ryan was born in the Bronx on October 16, 1927.[1][2] Her father, William, was Italian American and worked as a lawyer and a dentist; her mother, Rose Isabel (née Ryan), was Irish American and employed as a nurse, with her maiden name later chosen by Eileen to be part of her stage name.[1][3] Ryan studied at New York University, graduating with a bachelor's degree.[1]

Career

Ryan debuted on Broadway in 1953, in the play Sing Till Tomorrow. Five years later, she featured in another Broadway production, Comes a Day.[1] Both plays were ultimately short-lived.[4] She began to reduce her involvement in acting in order to look after her young family, which later relocated to the West Coast. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ryan periodically had roles in television shows, such as The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, and others directed by her husband Leo Penn.[1]

Ryan resumed acting on a more frequent basis in 1986,[1] when she appeared with her sons Sean and Chris in At Close Range as the brothers' grandmother.[5] She subsequently featured as the mother of Sean Penn's character in Judgment in Berlin (1988), which was directed by her husband.[1] She also starred in Parenthood a year later opposite Jason Robards – whose withdrawal from his role in The Iceman Cometh over three decades earlier enabled Ryan to meet her future husband[1] – before making an appearance in The Crossing Guard (1995), which her son Sean directed.[6] Two years later, she went back to the stage in the play Remembrance, acting alongside her husband in a production by Sean Penn at the Odyssey Theater. Her final role was in the 2016 film Rules Don't Apply.[1]

Personal life

Ryan married Leo Penn in 1957.[7] They met the year before while she was performing in The Iceman Cometh at the Circle in the Square Theatre.[1] At the time, he was an actor and active union member, who was blacklisted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s.[7][8] They remained married for over 40 years until his death in 1998.[7] Together, they had three children. One of them, Chris, predeceased her in 2006.[1]

Ryan died on October 9, 2022, at her home in Malibu, California, at the age of 94.[1][9][10]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref
1957 Three in One Mrs. Johnson Segment: "The Load of Wood" [11]
1986 At Close Range Grandma [12][13]
1988 Judgment in Berlin Gerta X [13][14]
1989 Winter People Annie Wright [12][13]
1989 Parenthood Marilyn Buckman [12][13]
1991 The Indian Runner Mrs. Baker [13][14]
1993 Benny & Joon Mrs. Smail [12][13]
1995 The Crossing Guard Woman in Shop [14][15]
1999 Anywhere but Here Lillian [12][14]
1999 Magnolia Mary [12][14]
2001 The Pledge Jean [14][15]
2001 I Am Sam Estelle [14][15]
2002 Eight Legged Freaks Gladys [12][14]
2004 The Assassination of Richard Nixon Marie's mother [14][15]
2005 Feast Grandma [12][14]
2006 All the King's Men Lily Littlepaugh [14][15]
2009 Give 'Em Hell, Malone Gloria [16]
2009 Mother and Child Nora [12][14]
2010 Venus & Vegas Estelle [16]
2011 Collaborator Betty [12][13]
2016 Rules Don't Apply Frank's Grandmother [14][16]

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref
1955 Goodyear Television Playhouse Alma "Mr. Dorothy Allen" [17]
1957 Westinghouse Studio One Betsy Fuller "The Defender: Parts 1 & 2" [14]
1959 Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond Mrs. Horvath "Make Me Not a Witch" [18]
1960 The Twilight Zone Nora Reagan "A World of Difference" [12][16]
1960 The Robert Herridge Theater "With Glory and Honor" [19]
1960 The Detectives Mrs. Sharman "Little Girl Lost" [16]
1961 The Detectives Mrs. Coil "Song of the Guilty Heart" [16]
1961 The Asphalt Jungle Anna Ashmond "The Last Way Out" [20]
1961 Outlaws Ruth Lopez "No Luck on Friday" [21]
1961 Bonanza Amanda Gates "Land Grab" [12][16]
1962 Bonanza Abigail Jones "The Wooing of Abigail Jones" [12][22]
1962 Ben Casey Laura Walton "Give My Hands an Epitaph" [12]
1962 Tales of Wells Fargo Lorry "End of a Minor God" [12]
1972 Bonanza Emily "First Love" [12][23]
1973 Marcus Welby, M.D. Shirley Cooper "Catch a Ring That Isn't There" [24]
1973 Cannon "Press Pass to the Slammer" [25]
1974 Little House on the Prairie Mrs. Kennedy "The Voice of Tinker Jones" [12][16]
1986 CBS Schoolbreak Special Bag Lady "Babies Having Babies" [14][26]
1990 Christine Cromwell "Only the Good Die Young" [14]
1992 Matlock Lily Wyckoff "The Picture: Part 2" [12][16]
1993 It's Nothing Personal TV film [14][16]
1996 ER Barbara Dean "True Lies" [12][16]
1996 NYPD Blue Mrs. Treet "He's Not Guilty, He's My Brother" [12][16]
1999 Ally McBeal Bria Tolson "In Dreams" [12][16]
2000 Arliss Maddie Crowley "Last Call" [12][16]
2001 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Mrs. Rose Bennett "To Halve and to Hold" [12][16]
2003 The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire "Tough Love" [12]
2005 Without a Trace Maura O'Connell "Transitions" [12]
2011 Men of a Certain Age "And Then the Bill Comes" [12]
2011 Private Practice Marion "Something Old, Something New" [12][16]
2011 Prime Suspect Susan Whitney "Bitch" [27]
2014 Grey's Anatomy Marjorie Reed "Puzzle with a Piece Missing" [12][16]
2014 Getting On Mrs. Roth "No Such Thing as Idealized Genitalia" [20]

References
  1. Genzlinger, Neil (October 11, 2022). "Eileen Ryan, Actress of Stage and Screen, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  2. Kelly, Richard T. (2011). Sean Penn: Die autorisierte Biografie. Riva Verlag. p. 31. ISBN 978-3-86413-103-5.
  3. Kelly, Richard T. Sean Penn: His Life and Times. Canongate U.S. 2004. ISBN 1-84195-623-6.
  4. "TV and film actor Eileen Ryan, Sean Penn's mother, dies". Associated Press. October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  5. Mills, Nancy (July 5, 1986). "Never-Retiring Eileen Ryan Is out of Retirement". Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. Part IV – 9. Retrieved April 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "The Crossing Guard (1995)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  7. Oliver, Myrna (1998) for the Los Angeles Times. "Lep Penn, 77, Actor and Notable Director", obituary, archives of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Deerfield Beach, Florida), September 12, 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. Stange, Ellen Silver (2016). New York State of Fame. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1682890264. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  9. Barnes, Mike (October 10, 2022). "Eileen Ryan, Actress and Mother of Sean Penn, Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. "Eileen Ryan Dies: Actor, Mother Of Sean, Christopher & Michael Penn Was 94". Deadline. October 10, 2022.
  11. Williams, Deane (2008). Australian Post-war Documentary Film: An Arc of Mirrors. Intellect Books. p. 74. ISBN 9781841502106.
  12. "Eileen Ryan". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  13. "Eileen Ryan". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  14. "Eileen Ryan – Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  15. "Eileen Ryan". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  16. "Eileen Ryan List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  17. Radio Daily/Television Daily. Vol. 70. Radio Daily Corporation. 1955. p. 4.
  18. Muir, John Kenneth (June 21, 2010). An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959–1961. McFarland. p. 113. ISBN 9780786455348.
  19. Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life. Cue Publishing Company. 1962.
  20. Levine, Daniel S. (October 10, 2022). "Sean Penn's Mom Eileen Ryan Has Died". Pop Culture Media. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  21. "No Luck on Friday (1961)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  22. Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life. Vol. 31. Cue Publishing Company. 1962. p. 46.
  23. Leiby, Bruce R.; Leiby, Linda F. (2001). A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History. McFarland. p. 187. ISBN 9780786410200.
  24. Williams, Deane (November 17, 2015). The Cinema of Sean Penn: In and Out of Place. Columbia University Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780231850858.
  25. Gianakos, Larry James (1992). Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1984–1986. Vol. 6. Scarecrow Press. p. 668. ISBN 9780810826014.
  26. "Babies Having Babies (1986)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  27. "Watch Prime Suspect Episode: Bitch". NBC. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
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