---
name: "Leo Penn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/leo-penn"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "27 August 1921"
died: "5 September 1998"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 83
updated: "2026-09-16T18:06:55.043468+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Leo Penn

Director. Born 27 August 1921 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA. Died 5 September 1998.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 27 August 1921, Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 5 September 1998
- **Active:** 1963–1982
- **Also known as:** Leo Z. Penn
- **Works often with:** John Meredyth Lucas, Joseph Sargent, Oliver Crawford, Robert Butler, Vincent McEveety, Alexander Singer

## Biography

Leo Penn (also credited as Leo Z. Penn) was an American television director and actor. Born on 27 August 1921 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he died on 5 September 1998 in Santa Monica, California. He began as an actor, appearing in films and on stage, but was blacklisted in the 1950s after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He later turned to directing.

Penn directed episodes of numerous series, including *The Fugitive* (1963), *Star Trek* (1966), *Columbo*, *Little House on the Prairie*, *Starsky & Hutch*, *Kojak*, *Hawaii Five-O*, *Magnum, P.I.* and *Matlock*. He also directed the feature films *A Man Called Adam* (1966) and *Judgment in Berlin* (1988). He received an Emmy Award for directing a *Columbo* episode.

He was the father of actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn and musician Michael Penn, and was married to actress Eileen Ryan.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)
- *Columbo* (1971), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/columbo.md)
- *Star Trek* (1966), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-1966.md)
- *The Fugitive* (1963), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fugitive-1963.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Cagney & Lacey* (1982), Director
- *St. Elsewhere* (1982), Director

## Also known for

- *Little House on the Prairie* (1974), Director
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), Director
- *The Bionic Woman* (1976), Director
- *Starsky & Hutch* (1975), Director
- *Hawaii Five-O* (1969), Director
- *Remington Steele* (1982), Director
- *Matlock* (1986), Director
- *Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea* (1964), Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/leo-penn