Penny Santon

Penny Santon, born Pierina Burlando on September 2, 1916, was an American actress whose work spanned film, stage, and television across several decades. She died on May 12, 1999, in Burbank, California, at the age of 82.

Santon established her stage credentials early in her career, appearing on Broadway in 1951 in The Rose Tattoo. Her television work included a recurring role as Mama Rosa Novelli in the American crime drama series Matt Houston. She also appeared in a 1956 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, playing an Italian Tenant in the season two episode "Toby," and returned to television in a 1961 episode of Rawhide, a 1963 episode of Wagon Train, a 1978 two-part episode of Laverne and Shirley in which she played Grandma DeFazio, and a 1997 episode of Friends in which she appeared as Nonna.

Her film career began in the mid-1950s and continued through the 1990s. Among her earlier screen appearances were roles in Interrupted Melody (1955), The Wrong Man (1956), and Full of Life (1956), in which she played Carla Rocco. She went on to appear in Dino (1957) as Mrs. Minetta, This Earth Is Mine (1959) as Mrs. Petucci, and Cry Tough (1959) as Señora Estrada. Santon had an uncredited role in the 1961 film West Side Story as Madam Lucia and appeared in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) as Mama Rossini. Additional film credits from that period include California (1963), in which she played Dona Ana Sofia Hicenta, and Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). Her later film work included roles in Funny Girl (1968) as Mrs. Meeker, Kotch (1971) as Mrs. Segura, Rhinestone (1984), Fletch (1985) as Velma Stanwyk, Short Circuit (1986) as Mrs. Cepeda, and One Good Cop (1991) as Mrs. Cristofaro.