Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor. Born in Manhattan, he began his acting career as a teenager in summer stock theatre, and appeared in films prior to his Broadway debut. His first film role was in The Actress. That same year, he debuted on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy, a performance for which he received critical acclaim.
Perkins starred in Friendly Persuasion, which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Following the film's success, he signed a seven-year, semi-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures, where he was regarded as the studio's last matinee idol. In 1957, he appeared in Fear Strikes Out.
During this period, Paramount promoted Perkins in romantic roles, pairing him on screen with actresses including Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Shirley MacLaine. He also took on more dramatic roles, including the Broadway production of Look Homeward, Angel, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award, and the film On the Beach. He was cast as a romantic lead opposite Jane Fonda in her film debut, Tall Story.
Perkins's portrayal of Norman Bates in Psycho became his most recognizable role. For this performance, he received a Bambi Award nomination for Best Actor and won the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers Award for Best Actor. The success of Psycho led to typecasting, prompting Perkins to buy out his Paramount contract and move to France, where he made his European film debut in Goodbye Again. For this role, he received a Bravo Otto nomination for Best Actor, a second Bambi Award nomination, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and a David di Donatello Award for Best Actor.
Perkins returned to American cinema in 1968 with Pretty Poison. He subsequently appeared in several commercially and critically successful films, including Catch-22, which earned him a National Society of Film Critics Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Play It as It Lays, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Murder on the Orient Express, and Mahogany.
He married photographer and actress Berry Berenson in 1973. He reprised the role of Norman Bates in Psycho II, Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning. His performance in Psycho III, which he also directed, earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor.
His final acting role was in the NBC television film In the Deep Woods, which aired a month after his death on September 12, 1992, from AIDS-related causes.
Early life
Early life: 1932–1937
Anthony Perkins was born on April 4, 1932, in Manhattan, New York City, the son of actor Osgood Perkins and Janet Esselstyn. His paternal great-grandfather was the wood engraver Andrew Varick Stout Anthony. Throughout his early years, Perkins had limited contact with his father, who was occupied with acting roles.The family employed a French nanny named Jeanne, which led to Perkins' fluency in French. In a 1983 interview with People magazine, he recalled, "I became abnormally close to my mother; whenever my father came home I was jealous. It was the Oedipal thing in a pronounced form, I loved him but I also wanted him to be dead so I could have her all to myself."
Osgood Perkins died of a heart attack on September 21, 1937. Following his father's death, Perkins experienced intense feelings of guilt. He later stated, "I was horrified. I assumed that my wanting him to be dead had actually killed him. I prayed and prayed for my father to come back. I remember long nights of crying in bed. For years I nursed the hope that he wasn't really dead. Because I'd see him on film, it was as if he were still alive. He became a mythic being to me, to be dreaded and appeased."
After his father's death: 1937–1947
A consistent female companion in Perkins' life was aspiring playwright Michaela O'Harra, who developed a close relationship with his mother. According to accounts from those who knew the family, including childhood friend John Kerr, the bond between O'Harra and Perkins' mother was notably intimate. While the exact nature of their relationship has been subject to interpretation, it has been widely suggested that Perkins' mother was not heterosexual. It was also during that time that Perkins' mother began to sexually abuse him. "She was constantly touching me and caressing me. Not realising what effect she was having, she would touch me all over, even stroking the inside of my thighs right up to my crotch." The behavior continued into his adulthood.In 1942, when Perkins was ten years old, his family moved to Boston. Through her connections in the theatre industry, his mother secured a position at the American Theatre Wing's Boston Stage Door Canteen, where she managed many of the canteen's operations. The job provided financial support for the two of them. When she was occupied with work, Perkins was often sent to stay with his grandmother.
During this period, Perkins began to struggle at the public school he attended. He was described as a "gifted drifter" and began exhibiting rebellious behaviour, which was attributed to his mother's neglect. In response, she enrolled him at Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts. The experience proved difficult: his childhood stutter reemerged, he avoided athletic activities, and his mother insisted he participate in baseball. The pressure of the new environment led to extended school absences during his second year due to consecutive bouts of scarlet fever, and his academic performance declined.
Perkins eventually negotiated with his mother that if he improved his grades, he would be permitted to return to Boston for school the following year. He subsequently ranked in the top third of his class. His headmaster noted that Perkins was significantly more mature than his peers and lacked interest in many of their typical activities. Following this improvement, he was allowed to transfer back to Boston.
Summer stock: 1947–1950
As Perkins matured, the absence of his father became increasingly significant to him. According to his mother, as he observed other boys with their fathers, he began to feel the loss of his own more acutely. His connection to his late father developed through an interest in theatre. To support this interest, a family friend who operated a summer stock company agreed to allow Perkins to participate in minor roles, initiating his early involvement in summer stock theater.Perkins' first experience was with the Brattleboro Summer Theater in Vermont, where he performed small parts in Junior Miss, Kiss and Tell, and George Washington Slept Here. In addition to acting, he worked in the box office, earning $25 per week and obtaining his Equity card. The following year, in keeping with an earlier promise, his mother enrolled him at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, an all-boys school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, he distinguished himself and gained a reputation as the class magician and pianist. He was known for his impersonations, including a popular imitation of actor Roddy McDowall, which he frequently performed between classes.
In 1948, Perkins returned to summer stock theatre, this time at the Robin Hood Theatre in Arden, Delaware, where his mother had secured a position as a manager. He again ran the box office and took on stage roles. His most notable performance that summer was in Sarah Simple. During this time he met Charles Williamson, the first boy to whom he was attracted romantically.
The following academic year, Perkins joined the varsity tennis team and the glee club at school. He also became co-literary editor of the school newspaper, The Spectator, to which he occasionally contributed articles. Around this period, Perkins began to question his sexuality.
College: 1950–1953
After Perkins graduated from high school in 1950, he enrolled at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, having been persuaded to attend after a college representative visited his school.That summer, Perkins returned to the Robin Hood Theatre in Delaware, which had by then become a prominent summer stock venue. While working there, he reconnected with Charles Williamson. They spent time together during breaks, including having lunch and swimming. Perkins developed a romantic attraction to Williamson during this time, though the feelings were not expressed or acted upon. Both were navigating their sexuality privately and did not discuss it openly.
During that summer, Perkins also played the role of Fred Whitmarsh in Years Ago, a part he would later reprise in its film adaptation.
At Rollins College that fall, Perkins struggled to find the same sense of community he had previously experienced. His arrival coincided with the Lavender Scare, a period marked by heightened scrutiny and discrimination against gay individuals. There were a few supportive peers, including Fred Rogers, who would later become known as a children's television host; Rogers allowed Perkins to use his piano, which he appreciated.
Perkins participated in several stage productions and frequently changed fraternities, a pattern that frustrated his mother. During his time at Rollins, he reportedly began to explore his sexuality more openly. Not long after his arrival, a number of homosexual students—many of whom were his acquaintances—were expelled and arrested after a fellow student had beaten one of them. Perkins was not among those disciplined, likely due to his relationship with a theater professor.
Despite avoiding expulsion, his association with those involved led to growing tension between him and other students, who knew of Perkins' sexuality. As a result of the increasingly hostile environment, Perkins transferred to Columbia University in New York City.