The Oscar-nominated actress starred in the film “Coming Home.”
American stage and screen actress Penelope Milford, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1979 for her role in Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home,” died Tuesday in Saugerties, New York, at the age of 77.
Her death was confirmed by her brother, Doug Milford. The reason was not immediately available.
Milford’s professional career began on the New York stage in 1971 co-starring opposite Richard Gere in the Off-Broadway production of Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone, based on the life of musical novelist Richard Farina.
In 1972 Milford made her Broadway debut in Julian Barry’s Tony Award-winning play “Lenny.” Three years later, Milford received a Drama Desk Outstanding Actress in a Musical nomination for “Shenandoah.”
During this same period, Milford began appearing in films, first playing a role in Norman Mailer’s famous and infuriating film Maidstone (1970), and playing a silent film star in Ken Russell’s 1977 biopic Valentino.
But it was her role as Vi Munson in “Coming Home,” nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, that put her in the top ranks of Hollywood performers. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including a nomination for Supporting Actress, and won three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Jane Fonda and Best Actor for Jon Voight. In 1981 she also appeared in the film “Endless Love” directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
In the 1980s, Milford also had several prominent roles on television, co-starring with Henry Fonda, Cloris Leachman, and Timothy Hutton in the Emmy Award-winning television play “The Oldest Living Graduate” (1980), and starring with Leonard Nimoy in the television movie “Seizure: The Story of… Kathy Morris” (1980), in addition to playing a major role in the popular TV movie about spousal abuse. “The Burning Bed” (1984) starring Farrah Fawcett won numerous awards, including a WGA Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Reportedly dissatisfied with the entertainment industry, Milford played a number of lead roles in acclaimed films such as “Heathers” (1988) and John McNaughton’s 1996 shocking crime thriller “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” which starred Michael Rooker and won several international film festival awards.
In the 1990s, Milford taught film acting in Chicago and Minneapolis, and in 2003 she moved to the village of Saugerties in the Hudson Valley, where she was passionate about conservation, restoring a historic residence and serving her community’s efforts to preserve the business district and homes. She also performed in local theater, sang in the Bard Symphony Choir, and was active in Woodstock Christian Science Church.
She was predeceased by her brother, actor/singer Richard Kim Milford, and is survived by her sister Candice Saint and brother Doug Milford.