Penelope Milford, an American stage and film actress who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1979 for her role in Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home,” died on Tuesday at the age of 77 in Saugerties, New York.
Her death was confirmed by her brother, Doug Milford. The cause was not immediately known.
Milford’s professional career on the New York stage began in 1971, when he co-starred opposite Richard Gere in the off-Broadway production of Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone, based on the life of musician and novelist Richard Farina.
In 1972, Milford made his Broadway debut in Julian Barry’s Tony Award-winning production of Lenny. Three years later, Milford won the Outstanding Actress in a Musical award for “Shenandoah.”
Around the same time, Milford began acting in films, first with a role in Norman Mailer’s infamous radical indie film Maidstone (1970), and then as a silent film star in Ken Russell’s 1977 biopic Valentino.
However, it was her role as Vi Manson in Coming Home, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, that propelled her into the top ranks of Hollywood actors. The film was nominated for nine Oscars, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and won three Oscars, including Best Actress for Jane Fonda and Best Actor for Jon Voight. In 1981, she also appeared in Franco Zeffirelli’s “Endless Love.”
During the 1980s, Milford also had several notable roles on television, co-starring Henry Fonda, Cloris Leachman, and Timothy Hutton in the Emmy Award-winning TV play The Oldest Graduate (1980), co-starring with Leonard Nimoy in the TV movie Seizures: The Cathy Morris Story (1980), and a key role in the groundbreaking TV movie about spousal abuse. “The Burning Bed” (1984), starring Farrah Fawcett, won numerous awards, including the WGA Award and the Golden Globe Award.
Milford, who was reportedly dissatisfied with the entertainment industry, went on to take on more prominent roles in acclaimed films such as Heathers (1988) and John McNaughton’s gritty 1996 crime shocker Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, starring Michael Rooker and winning several international film festival awards.
In the 1990s, Milford taught film acting in Chicago and Minneapolis, and in 2003 moved to the village of Saugerties in the Hudson Valley, where he was an avid preservationist, restoring historic mansions and contributing to local community efforts to maintain prestigious commercial districts and housing. She also performed in local theaters, sang in the Bard Symphonic Choir, and was active in the Woodstock Christian Science Church.
She was predeceased by her brother, actor and singer Richard Kim Milford, and is survived by her sister, Candace Saint, and her brother, Doug Milford.
