Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
,
writerA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and
film producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
known for starring in
The Last Supper and the television series
Rude AwakeningRude Awakening is a TV series created by Claudia Lonow, aired by Showtime on 55 22-min episodes for 3 seasons .-Story:Rude Awakening tells the story of Billie Frank, an out of work alcoholic ex-soap opera actress. She tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her...
and
The Naked TruthThe Naked Truth is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 1996, and on NBC from 1996 to 1998. The series stars Téa Leoni and co-starred Holland Taylor...
, as well as for appearing on the television show
SurvivorSurvivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
.
Life and career
Penner was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is related to actor
Jason AlexanderJay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, who is married to Daena Title - the cousin of Penner's wife,
Stacy TitleStacy Title is a film director and producer. Her filmography as director includes Let the Devil Wear Black , The Last Supper and Down on the Waterfront .She is the wife of Jonathan Penner and has directed him in several movies...
.
Penner has starred on three television series:
Grapevine-Plot Synopsis:David owned a restaurant in Miami, while his girlfriend Susan worked for a cruise line, and his brother Thumper was a sportscaster. The series was a 1990s take on Love, American Style in its couple-of-the-week format. Each episode presented the regular characters telling a story...
,
The Naked TruthThe Naked Truth is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 1996, and on NBC from 1996 to 1998. The series stars Téa Leoni and co-starred Holland Taylor...
and
Rude AwakeningRude Awakening is a TV series created by Claudia Lonow, aired by Showtime on 55 22-min episodes for 3 seasons .-Story:Rude Awakening tells the story of Billie Frank, an out of work alcoholic ex-soap opera actress. She tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her...
and guest-starred in
SeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
,
CSICSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
,
CSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
,
The Tick,
Melrose Place,
LateLineLateLine is an American TV sitcom that ran on NBC from March 17, 1998, through March 16, 1999. Due to an abrupt cancellation, there were seven unaired episodes .Created by John Markus and Al Franken , LateLine depicted the...
,
Arrested Development, and
The NannyThe Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
, where he appeared in several episodes as Danny Imperiali, whose firing and dumping of fiance Fran Fine kicked off the entire series. Penner has appeared in many films, with featured roles in
The Last Supper,
Anarchy TVAnarchy TV is a 1998 low budget, independent comedy film. It was directed by Jonathan Blank, and features Alan Thicke, Jessica Hecht, Jonathan Penner, Tamayo Otsuki, and Ahmet, Dweezil, Diva and Moon Unit Zappa...
and
Down PeriscopeDown Periscope is a 1996 comedy film starring Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a rust-bucket Navy submarine, the USS Stingray, who is fighting for his career....
. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1994 for the short film
Down on the Waterfront, which he co-produced, co-wrote, and starred in.
In addition to his acting credits, Penner was a contestant on
Survivor: Cook IslandsSurvivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
and formerly held the
Survivor record of the most votes against on a single season, until Phillip Sheppard from
Survivor: Redemption IslandSurvivor: Redemption Island is the twenty-second season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, which premiered on February 16, 2011. Applications were due in January 2010, and filming lasted from August to September 2010. The season was filmed in the vicinity of San...
received 17 total votes during his duration of playing. During the following season,
Survivor: Fiji, he blogged at
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Survivors Strike Back. He also participated in
Survivor: MicronesiaSurvivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which...
. The series began airing in February 2008.
Cook Islands
Penner was a contestant on
Survivor: Cook IslandsSurvivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
in 2006. 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 WoodcockSurvivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
, Becky Lee and
Sundra OakleySurvivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
. 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
WoodcockSurvivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
, chose to leave Aitu for Raro, the only two survivors to accept the offer. After the merge, he flipped again and voted with the former Aitus. Ultimately, Yul voted him out to appease the former Raro members, who viewed Jonathan as a two-faced rat 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 asked,"And I'd like my hat back at some time.", then left. Jonathan humbly voted for
YulYul Kwon is a television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in Virginia. He first gained national recognition as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands...
in the final tribal council.
Micronesia
Penner was a contestant on
Survivor: MicronesiaSurvivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which...
, the sixteenth season of Survivor, which began airing on February 7, 2008. He was one of ten returning favorites on the Malakal tribe 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.
External links