Lea Penman was a cousin of my grandfather, George Engel. George visited Lea and her family several times
in Denver, Colorado before she went on to become a successful Broadway actress from 1917 until 1949.
She performed in the Broadway hits "Boy Meets Girl" (1935), "What a Life" (1939) and as Dolly Tate in
the 1946 production of"Annie Get Your Gun" which ran for 1,147 performances at the Imperial Theatre.
As a screen actress she appeared in the 1926 silent film, "Romance of a Million Dollars", directed by Tom
Terriss. She appeared in one episode of the TV series "Suspense" in 1949. In 1950 she appeared as
Effie Floud in the film "Fancy Pants", starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball and was also cast as Mrs. Calhoun in the
film comedy "Stella", starring Victor Mature and Ann Sheridan. In 1955 she appeared as Mme Parole in the
film "We're No Angels" starring Humphrey Bogart, with Peter Ustinov and Basil Rathbone. In 1957 she was
Mrs. Stoneway in the crime movie "Portland Expose" which also included Frank Gorshin, as Joe who
later became "The Riddler" in the 1966 Batman TV series.
Her last appearance was in 1958-59 as Nora Caldwell in the TV series "Frontier Doctor"
|
|
|
