British-American film and TV actor. The son of an USAF member, Joe was raised in England ‘til he was six or seven when his folks moved to Georgia, where they divorced. Joe did not see his dad again until he was 22, after which they became fishing buddies. He and his mom moved to Florida, Texas and Mississippi before settling in California in 1968, where he graduated from high school in the Huntington Beach class of 1974. He had a few menial jobs before he discovered acting at 18. After a thorough apprenticeship, he got his SAG card in 1978 after appearing in the 1977 flick, “Delta County USA.”
TV turned out to be a good medium for Penny and in the ‘80s, he was visible in three different weekly series, trigger-happy Bugsy Siegel in “The Gangster Chronicles,” 1981, private eye Nick Ryder in “Riptide,” 1984-86 and undercover investigator Jake Styles in “Jake and the Fatman,” 1987-92. He was soon known as a Hollywood hunk, voted “Sexiest Man Alive” by the Star tabloid during his Jake and the Fatman days. After five seasons of Jake, Penny treated himself to a vacation that included Sweden, Finland and Russia.
He is a follower of the Nichinen Shoshu sect of Buddhism. While filming in Hawaii, he earned his diver certification. On the side, he has a band, “The Stray Dogs,” that has remained so far a private hobby. Family is important to Penny and he is known for loyalty and honesty.
Link to Wikipedia biography