Bob Penny, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ actor and Forrest Gump, dies at 87

Bob Penney, a character representative With roles in “Forrest Gump” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” he passed away on Sunday. He was 87 years old.

Penny’s cause of death was not revealed in an online obituary shared by the Laughlin Service funeral home.

Additional credits included “fried green tomatoes,” “When Will I Be Loved”, “Mississippi Is Burning”, “My Cousin Vinnie” and “The Legend of Bagger Vance” as well as seven episodes of the TV series “In the Heat of the Night”.

Born in Anniston, Alabama, in 1935, Benny has appeared in more than 30 films and TV Shows throughout his career as an actor. Prior to acting, he spent three decades as a professor of English and taught poetry at the University of Alabama.

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He obtained a master’s degree in English from North Carolina University in Chapel Hill and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

Benny has received many awards over the years, both for his teaching and his poetry.

During the 1980s, Penny found work on the acting side TV ads For a local store and for the United Way campaign in Atlanta.

Bob Penny appeared with Reese Witherspoon on “Sweet Home Alabama”.
(Getty Images)

He retired from teaching in 1990 and pursued a career in acting.

“Then the movies started coming out,” Benny told AL.com in 2008. “I was really lucky. I got to play these very small roles, but it definitely helped pay off the mortgage.”

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He was credited as “Nepotism” in 1994 Tom Hanks movie “Forrest Gump” and appeared as small-town attorney Wallace Buford in 2002’s “Sweet Home Alabama” with Reese Witherspoon.

Penny was credited in the 1994 Tom Hanks movie “Forrest Gump.”
(Getty Images)

Penny has also been involved in theater and has performed on stage in stage productions, including The Odd Couple and Don Juan in Hell in Birmingham.

“Bob Penny has captured all of our hearts at Birmingham Festival Theatre and put everything he can into his work,” said Rhonda Erbrick, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Theatre, in a statement. She added that Penny “was and still is an actress and a pleasure to be around”.

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Benny is survived by his brother, sister, six nieces and nephew.

“Special thanks to longtime friend/caregiver, Laken Boyd,” his online obituary reads.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.