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Award-winning director Arthur Penn died Tuesday - just one day after his 88th birthday. Penn directed several landmark films during his career such as 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.
Born September 27, 1922, Penn began his directing career in TV's early years and received an Emmy nomination for 1957's Playhouse 90 production of The Miracle Worker. He brought the dramatic tale of Helen Keller to Broadway and won a Tony award. He received his first Academy Award nomination in 1962 for his film version, which starred Patty Duke as Keller and Anne Bancroft reprising her Broadway role as Annie Sullivan.
Bonnie and Clyde, the violent saga of Depression-era gangsters, earned Penn his second Oscar nomination and cemented his reputation for directing edgy films. In 1969, Penn received another Academy Award nomination for the quirky Alice's Restaurant, based on the Arlo Guthrie song.
Other notable Penn films include 1966's The Chase starring Marlon Brando and Robert Redford, and 1970's Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman. Penn explained his penchant for characters on the fringe of society in a 2008 interview with the Boston Globe: "The outsider appeals to me because I believe there are so many odd characteristics of human behavior that don't get into films."
Off-screen, Penn advised presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy on how to work camera angles for his 1960 televised debate with Richard M. Nixon. These "Great Debates" marked TV's entry into the world of politics and brought presidential candidates into the living rooms of millions of voters. Kennedy won the election that year and many say his Penn-coached "Great Debate" poise played a huge role in that victory.
Penn was the brother of legendary photographer Irving Penn. --Francine Ruley
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