Eagle Pennell

Eagle Pennell (28 July 1952 – 20 July 2002) was an American independent filmmaker. His film The Whole Shootin' Match is often credited with inspiring Robert Redford to start the Sundance Institute.

Early life

Born Glenn Irwin Pinnell in Andrews, Texas, Pennell grew up in Lubbock and College Station, where his father Charles taught engineering at Texas A & M University. He became interested in film as a teenager and would use his father's Super 8 camera to shoot skits starring his brother and sisters. He graduated from A&M Consolidated High School. Pennell then attended the University of Texas at Austin majoring in Radio-Television-Film but dropped out in 1973 during his junior year to do film work. His first job was with a firm that produced highlight films of Southwest Conference football games. In his spare time, he used the company's equipment to work on his own projects. Film critics Vincent Canby, Stanley Kauffmann and Roger Ebert also gave the movie rave reviews.

At the time of his death, Pennell had a grant from the Independent Television Service to develop a script based on his treatment My Dog Bit Elvis.

Personal life

Pennell struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for much of his adult life. For years before his death, he was intermittently homeless and often borrowed or begged for money. Pennell died in Houston, eight days short of his 50th birthday. He is buried in College Station Cemetery.

Filmography

Hell of a Note (Short) (1977) The Whole Shootin' Match (1978) Last Night at the Alamo (1983) Ice House (1989) Heart Full of Soul (1990) City Life (Documentary anthology) (1990) Doc's Full Service (1994)

Pennell is the subject of The King of Texas, a documentary that debuted at SXSW 2008. Directed by Claire Huie and René Pinnell (Pennell's nephew), the film was scored by Pennell's brother, Chuck. The documentary tells the story of Pennell's rise, fall, and tragic death, through interviews with family, friends, collaborators, and admirers.

The original King of Texas was a film Pennell wanted to make - a low-budget Western he planned to shoot near Brackettville on the set of John Wayne's version of The Alamo (1960).