'Forrest Gump' Actor Bob Penny Dead at 87

Actor Bob Penny, who scored minor roles in the films "Forrest Gump" and "Sweet Home Alabama," has died.

Bob passed away in Huntsville, Alabama on Christmas Day, according to an online obit from Laughlin Service Funeral Home. His cause of death was not disclosed.

Penny was a bit part actor in dozens of films and TV shows during his long career stretching back to the '80s. Some of his movie credits include, “Mississippi Burning,” “My Cousin Vinny” and “The Legend of Bagger Vance." He played a “crony” in “Forrest Gump,” and a bumbling, small-town lawyer in “Sweet Home Alabama." He also landed a role in the TV series “In the Heat of the Night.”

He began his acting career doing TV commercials for a local department store and ad campaigns for The United Way.

Bob was 87.