Jonathan Penner

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Jonathan Penner
Born (1962-03-05) March 5, 1962 (age 62)
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
  • actor
Years active1989–present
Known forThe Last Supper
The Bye Bye Man
Survivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Micronesia
Survivor: Philippines
Spouse
(m. 1991; died 2021)
Children2

Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, television personality, and film producer, known for producing and starring in the film The Last Supper, as well as acting in the television series Rude Awakening and The Naked Truth. He is also known for his multiple appearances on the American competitive reality series Survivor.

Life and career[edit]

Penner was born in New York City. He has had roles in television series Grapevine, The Naked Truth and Rude Awakening, and guest-starred on Seinfeld, CSI, CSI: NY, The Tick, Melrose Place, LateLine, Arrested Development, and The Nanny, where he appeared in two episodes as Danny Imperiali, whose firing and dumping of fiancée Fran Fine kicked off the entire series.

Penner has appeared in many films, with featured roles in Anarchy TV, Down Periscope, and The Last Supper, the latter of which he also co-produced, and which was directed by his wife, Stacy Title.

He had a small role in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993). Penner was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards in 1994 for Down on the Waterfront,[1] which he co-produced, co-wrote, and starred in, along with Jason Alexander and Edward Asner.[2]

He co-wrote the script for the 2003 The WB-produced re-imagining of The Lone Ranger, and later the 2017 horror film The Bye Bye Man. He is developing a King Kong television series for MarVista Entertainment and IM Global Television.[3][4]

Penner resides in Los Angeles, California, with his two children: Ava, born in 1999, and Cooper, born in 1995.[5] He was married to director Stacy Title from 1991 until her death in 2021; he was introduced to Stacy by his friend Jason Alexander, who is married to Stacy's cousin, Daena Title.[6]

Filmography[edit]

Acting Credits
Year Title Role Notes
1989 A Fool and His Money Morris Codman Film
1990 White Palace Marv Miller Film
1992 Grapevine David Klein TV series
1993 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Studio Executive Film
1993 Melrose Place Joel Walker Episode titled 'Married to It'
1993 The Nanny Danny TV series
1993 Coneheads Captain, Air Traffic Film
1993 Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday David (Scenes Deleted) Film
1995 The Last Supper Marc Film; also served as co-executive producer
1995-1997 The Naked Truth Nick Columbus TV series
1996 Down Periscope Stanley 'Spots' Sylvesterson Film
1998 Anarchy TV Jerry Film
1998 Seinfeld Zach Episode titled 'The Bookstore'
1998 LateLine Paul Episode titled 'Gale Gets a Life'
1998-2000 Rude Awakening Dave Parelli TV series
2001 The Tick Steve Filbert Episode titled 'The Big Leagues'
2004 Arrested Development Detective Fellows Episode titled 'Not Without my Daughter'
2004 CSI Detective Travis Episode titled 'Viva Las Vegas'
2006 E-Ring FBI Agent Jaffe Episode titled 'Five Pillars'
2006 CSI: New York Newt Glick Episode titled 'Run Silent, Run Deep'
2006 Hood of Horror Fowler Film
2006 Survivor: Cook Islands Contestant Eliminated; 7th Place
2008 Survivor: Micronesia Contestant Medically Evacuated; 15th Place
2012 Survivor: Philippines Contestant Eliminated; 7th Place
2017 The Bye Bye Man Mr. Daizy Film
Writing Credits
Year Title Notes
1999 Let the Devil Wear Black
2003 The Lone Ranger TV movie
2017 The Bye Bye Man

Survivor[edit]

In addition to his acting and writing credits, Penner is perhaps best known as a three-time contestant on Survivor.

Cook Islands[edit]

Penner was a contestant on Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006.[7] He was one of the original five members of the Rarotonga tribe (Raro). He quickly became notorious among the cast for stealing another tribe's chicken on the first day. In episode three, the four tribes evenly divided into two new mixed tribes, Aitutaki and Rarotonga. Penner found himself on Aitutaki (Aitu). While a member of Aitu, he became part of an alliance that consisted of Yul Kwon, Candice Woodcock, Becky Lee and Sundra Oakley. This alliance lasted until episode eight when the members of Aitu and Raro were offered a chance to mutiny by joining the opposing tribe. Penner, along with Woodcock, chose to leave Aitu for Raro, the only two castaways to accept the offer. After the merge, he flipped again and voted with the former Aitus. Ultimately, Kwon voted him out to appease the former Raro members, who viewed Penner as duplicitous for having betrayed them. He was the fourteenth person voted out, finishing in seventh place. As his torch was snuffed, he turned to the Final Six and said, "And I'd like my hat back at some point", then left (Kwon actually did bring his hat back to him at the next Tribal Council). Penner humbly voted for Kwon to win in the Final Tribal Council.

Micronesia[edit]

Penner was also a contestant on Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites, the 16th season of Survivor which aired in 2008.[8] He was one of ten returning favorites on the Malakal tribe[9] and later switched to Airai. He was removed from the game during the sixth episode, due to a life-threatening infection in his injured knee. The Survivor medics stated that he had no choice but to be evacuated from the game as the sixth person to leave the competition.[10]

Philippines[edit]

Penner returned to play the game for a third time on Survivor: Philippines, the 25th season of Survivor.[11] He was one of the three returning players who had been medically evacuated during their previous season, the others being Michael Skupin (Survivor: The Australian Outback) and Russell Swan (Survivor: Samoa). During the season, Penner worked quite closely with castaway and fellow actress Lisa Whelchel.[12] He ended up being the 11th person voted out, placing seventh overall, which is where he had also finished the first time he participated on Survivor.[13] At the Final Tribal Council, he voted for Denise Stapley to win after claiming that Skupin and Whelchel were "ridden in like oxen" by Stapley, who indeed proved to be the eventual winner.[14]

In total, Penner has spent 78 days playing the Survivor game.[15] In an interview following his departure from Survivor: Philippines, he said he would be open to returning for another season.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Down on the Waterfront (1993)". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Survivor Cast: Jonathan". CBS.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 18, 2017). "King Kong Female-Led TV Series In Works At MarVista Entertainment & IM Global TV".
  4. ^ "Following Kong: Skull Island, a TV show called King Kong Skull Island". 18 April 2017.
  5. ^ Survivor Wednesdays 8/7c. "Survivor Cast: Jonathan". CBS.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Wallace, Amy (May 14, 2019). "Director Stacy Title Is Racing Against ALS to Make Her Final Movie". Vulture. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Penner fourteenth castaway to exit 'Survivor: Cook Islands'". Reality TV World. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  8. ^ "Survivor: S16 Palua All-Stars". Claycritters.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  9. ^ Ross, Dalton (2008-01-03). "New 'Survivor' cast revealed!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  10. ^ "CBS confirms Jonathan Penner, Michael Skupin and Russell Swan competing on 'Survivor: Philippines'". Reality TV World. 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  11. ^ Rome, Emily (2012-11-29). "'Survivor: Philippines': Jeff Probst on how Jonathan Penner 'blew it'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  12. ^ Helling, Steve (2013-01-14). "Survivor's Jonathan Penner: I Worked Every Trick I Had". People.com. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  13. ^ Rome, Emily (2019-11-29). "Jonathan Penner talks 'Survivor: Philippines' on the InsideTV Podcast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  14. ^ Exclusive: Michael Skupin talks about 'Survivor: Philippines' (Part 2) Retrieved December 2012
  15. ^ "'Survivor: Philippines': Jonathan Penner on Being Voted Out". Hollywoodreporter.com. 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  16. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (2012-12-01). "Interview: Jonathan Penner talks Survivor: Philippines". Hitfix.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-04-26.

External links[edit]