Lea Penman Film and Stage Actress

Lea Penman was an actress, known for We're No Angels (1955), Fancy Pants (1950) and The Romance of a Million Dollars (1926). She was previously married to Ronald D. Benjamin, George Treadwell Herbert and Clyde V. Fillmore. She died on October 12, 1962 in Hollywood, California (SOURCE: IMDB).

Penman was born in Red Cloud in 1895 to Thomas and Jean Blaine Penman. Thomas came to Red Cloud from Illinois and had a jewelry business, sharing a store with Dr. Henry Cook, who had once employed a teenaged Willa Cather (Dr. Cook's store was torn down recently but the space will be filled with a building that pays homage to the original structure. Construction began just a few weeks ago in September 2022). Lea Penman recalled Dr. Cook and the town of Red Cloud with fondness in later years. She spent her teen and early adult years in Denver, CO, eventually becoming a regular performer at the Historic Elitch Theater before moving on to Broadway and Hollywood.