Who is Penny Perry? Former Hallmark casting director sues network VP Lisa Hamilton Daly over not wanting to cast "old talent"
Penny Perry, a former Hallmark casting director, recently sued the network's executive VP of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, and two others for alleged age discrimination. According to Variety, the lawsuit, filed on October 9 in Los Angeles, saw the 79-year-old casting director allege that Daly wanted to replace "old talent" like 60-year-old Holly Robinson Peete, 59-year-old Teri Hatcher and 42-year-old Lacey Chabert.
According to the lawsuit, Lisa Hamilton Daly allegedly said the company would have to find younger actors to replace Chabert as she was "getting older." She also claimed that Peete was getting "too expensive," adding:
“No one wants her [Holly Robinson Peete] because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”
Penny Perry also alleged she was suddenly fired from Hallmark in April 2024. According to the suit, she claimed that Daly allegedly said she wanted to hire someone "who knows more young talent" because the casting director was “too long in the tooth."
Penny Perry is a casting director responsible for the casting in several films like Midnight Express, Ordinary People, and The NeverEnding Story, among others. She reportedly gave actors like Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick Dempsey, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, and Cathy Bates their first acting jobs.
Perry Penny accused Hallmark of alleged “vile and ageist conduct”
In her age discrimination lawsuit, Penny Perry claimed the company's alleged “vile and ageist conduct” is “straight from Hallmark’s playbook when they sought to push out other employees in their 60s and 70s because of their age." She also claimed that the network allegedly did not cater to her disabilities, claiming she had multiple sclerosis and blindness in one eye.
In the suit, Perry alleged that Lisa Hamilton Daly said she was “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company.” Perry continued that she was allegedly excluded from meetings and was forced to shift her office to a different floor, adding that the company hired a younger man to replace her after she was fired.
Hallmark denied the accusations, calling them "outrageous." In a statement to Variety, the company said that the actresses mentioned in the lawsuit "have a home at Hallmark," adding it does not comment on "pending litigations."
“Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark. We do not generally comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we are not going to discuss an employment relationship in the media," the statement read.
Penny Perry has worked with Hallmark for over 15 years
According to her IMDb page, Penny Perry was born in Los Angeles in 1945. She has over 40 years of experience in the film industry and has been involved in several award-winning television series and movies.
As per her website, Perry held the positions of Vice President for Sony/Columbia Pictures and Vice President of Talent for HBO/Silver Screen before working at Hallmark. She is also the president of the Rocking Horse production company and partner of her casting company, Perry/Reece/Davis Casting.
In a September 2023 interview with Backstage, she explained her role at Hallmark (previously called Crown Media Holdings) and what it entailed. She added that she worked as a casting director with the company for over 15 years.
"I am Senior Vice President of Talent in Crown Media Family Networks’ programming department. I am responsible for negotiating overall deals, series deals, and original movie deals on all our programming projects—those in process and in development. I personally cast all our lead actors and supervise the casting of all other roles," she said.
On a personal front, Perry has been married three times. She also has three children.