- Studied drama and subsequently acted in campus plays at the University of California. Signed to a contract by Paramount in 1945, but this was not renewed after he was blacklisted several years later during the Red scare.
- His father, whose original surname was Piñon, had distant Spanish ancestry.
- Was a bombardier with the 8th Air Force during World War II.
- Despite the claims that he was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, he did actually work as an actor throughout the entire 1950s. But his job as television director was far more prosperous, and began in the 1960s.
- He was the son of Elizabeth (Melincoff) and Maurice Penn, who were Jewish emigrants from Lithuania/the Russian Empire.
- Father-in-law of Aimee Mann.
- Ex-brother-in-law of Alfred Ryder.
- Former father-in-law of Madonna and Robin Wright.
- Grandfather of Dylan Penn and Hopper Penn.
- Leo Penn married actress Eileen Ryan. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. His three sons are: Sean Penn (actor), Chris Penn, and Michael Penn (musician).
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