Arthur Penn

American film director, one of the first to reach superstar status with the quality and popularity of his work. Erudite, articulate and emotionally intense, Penn speaks in a soft voice and is informal and gentle with his actors.

Penn's folks divorced when he was three and he was raised by his mother in New York City until he was 14, going to 13 different schools. His dad died in 1943. He married on 27 January 1955; two kids.

Successful and lucky as a Broadway theatre director 1958-1961, his films include "Two for the Seesaw" and "Toys in the Attic." He produced and also directed "The Miracle Worker," winning an Oscar nomination as Best Director on 23 May 1962. He then had a period of poor luck when nothing came together, 1962-1965, after which his luck turned with "Bonnie and Clyde," released on 13 August 1967. In 1970, he put out "Little Big Man."

Penn died of congestive heart failure at his home in Manhattan, New York on 28 September 2010, one day after his 88th birthday.