Penelope Allison "Penny" Peyser^[1] (born February 9, 1951) is an American actress.

Early life

Peyser was born in Irvington, New York, United States. Her father, Peter Peyser, former mayor of Irvington, New York, was a three-term United States Congressman in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 1973.^[2]

Peyson was attracted to acting when, at the age of six, she saw Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady. Peyser performed in a high school production of The Boy Friend. After graduating from Emerson, she worked as a waitress in Manhattan, as "a glorified chorus girl" in Off-Broadway productions, and performed in The Hot l Baltimore.^[2]

Career

Peyser is best known for her role as Cindy Fox in the 1980s series Crazy Like a Fox.

Peyser moved to Hollywood upon landing a minor role in All the President's Men. Robert Redford, who produced and starred in the film, objected to casting a politician's daughter, but, as she told an interviewer for People, she informed Redford that her father was a liberal Republican who had criticized Richard Nixon, and she got the part.^[2]

Two months later, she was cast as Ramona Scott in Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. This was the first of a few long-running guest parts on television, including The Tony Randall Show, Crazy Like a Fox, and Knots Landing.

She played smaller guest roles in numerous TV series, including B. J. and the Bear, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Tour of Duty, Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, Criminal Minds, and The Mentalist.

Peyser worked with Paul Bartel and Steven Spielberg in a 1986 episode of Amazing Stories, of which she was the star.

Her feature films include All the President's Men, The In-Laws, and The Frisco Kid.

Peyser co-starred as Tracy Beaumont in the 1979 TV movie The Girls in the Office and also starred as Emma Geyser Bedell in the 1982 TV mini-series The Blue and the Gray.

Peyser is an active member of the Los Angeles theater community, having played lead roles in "A Moment in the Sun", "Red Flags" and The Twilight of the Golds for which she received rave reviews. She began her career on the New York stage in the off-Broadway production of "Diamond Studs" and the original production of Lanford Wilson's The Hot l Baltimore.

Peyser has written for the Los Angeles Times as well as other publications.

Peyser is the co-producer, writer and director of the award winning feature length documentary, Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon (2008), which includes new footage of trumpet legend Sheldon in performance, as well as on-camera interviews with Clint Eastwood, Billy Crystal, Merv Griffin, Chris Botti, Dave Frishberg, Tierney Sutton and many others. Her film won jury and audience prizes at the Nashville International Film Festival, The Newport Beach International Film Festival, The Indianapolis Film Festival and the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. Penny wrote, produced and directed the feature documentary, "Stillpoint: Life Inside a Zen Community" which will debut in November 2014.

Personal life

Peyser began dating James Carroll Jordan when they were working on Rich Man, Poor Man Book II; Jordan told an interviewer that they fell in love during their eighth episode together.^[2] They were married in 1977, but divorced in 1984. They have a son, James Buckly Jordan, Managing Partner of Canyon Creek Capital.

Peyser was married to David Brady from 1991 to 1998; they had a son, Devon P. Brady of Lionsgate Films.

Peyser is married to Doug McIntyre, a radio talk-show host at KABC in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Television