Was just watching the tv show, "In the Heat of the Night" with my sister in law, she loves the show, the episode was, "Home Is Where the Heart Is" and as the credits were rolling I saw it was directed by Leo Penn.

Leo Penn!

Sean Penn's dad!

The show also had Diane Ladd as Maybelle the Madam.

Alan Autry the Mayor of Fresno of course was Sgt. V. L. "Bubba" Skinner.

Going back to Leo Penn, he has worked on some of my favorite shows in the past:

"Fame"

"St. Elsewhere"

"Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected"

"Trapper John, M.D."

"Kojak"

"The Bionic Woman"

"Little House on the Prairie"

"The Name of the Game"

"Bonanza"

"Gunsmoke"

"The Fugitive"

"Star Trek"

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"

"Lost in Space"

"I Spy"

"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"

"The Untouchables"

"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond"

"Arch Oboler's Comedy Theater"

And I kid you not, that doesn't even scratch the surface. The man worked EVERYDAY! He had the most amazing career! AND he was blacklisted during the McCarthy era!

I know he died sometime late in the 90's but at least he saw how successful his three sons, Sean Penn, Chris Penn, and Michael Penn had become.