Actor Penn's death still a mystery

The cause of actor Chris Penn’s death remained a mystery today, despite a post-mortem examination.

The coroner’s office has ordered blood toxicology tests on Penn, the brother of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael, who was found dead in his Santa Monica, California, condominium on Tuesday.

The toxicology test is “just normal procedure for someone who’s 40 and has not seen their doctor”, coroner’s spokeswoman Brenda Shafer said.

Penn’s latest film, The Darwin Awards, in which he appears with Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes, premiered yesterday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“He gave an incredible performance in the film,” writer-director Finn Taylor said before the screening. “I think he is going to be remembered for years to come and we will miss him.”

Chris Penn appeared in numerous films, including Reservoir Dogs, Starsky And Hutch, Rush Hour and Corky Romano.

Corky star Chris Kattan described Penn’s death as “a huge shock”.

“He was an amazing actor and a great comedian,” Kattan said. “He was such a sweet soul and so funny. He had a really great innocence in his eyes. Of course he’ll be terribly missed.”

Sean Penn’s publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said the Penn family “would appreciate the media’s respect of their privacy during this difficult time”.