Anthony Perkins was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in
Friendly PersuasionFriendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler...
(1956) and as
Norman BatesNorman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
in
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Psycho (1960), and its three sequels.
Early life
Perkins was born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of Janet Esselstyn (née Rane), and stage and film actor
James Ripley Osgood PerkinsOsgood Perkins was an American actor.-Life and career:Perkins was born James Ripley Osgood Perkins in West Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Helen Virginia and Henry Phelps Perkins. He is a descendant of a Mayflower passenger John Howland. Perkins made his Broadway debut in 1924 in the George S...
, who died of a heart attack while performing onstage. Anthony was five at the time. He is a descendant of a Mayflower passenger,
John HowlandJohn Howland was a passenger on the Mayflower. He was an indentured servant who accompanied the separatists, also called the Pilgrims, when they left England to settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts...
. He attended The
Brooks SchoolBrooks School is a private, co-educational, preparatory, secondary school in North Andover, Massachusetts on the shores of Lake Cochichewick.-History:...
, The
Browne & Nichols SchoolBuckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is a private school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Charles River. The school educates students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was established by a merge of two independent schools, the Buckingham School founded...
,
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and
Rollins CollegeRollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
, having moved to
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1942, five years after his father's death.
Career
Perkins made his film debut in
The ActressThe Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut.The film was nominated for...
(1953). He received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his second film,
Friendly PersuasionFriendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler...
(1956). The tall (6'2") Perkins also portrayed the troubled former
Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
baseball player
Jimmy PiersallJames Anthony Piersall is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , New York Mets , and Los Angeles/California Angels .While he had a fairly good professional career as a center...
in the 1957 true story
Fear Strikes OutFear Strikes Out is a dramatic film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's autobiography Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story. The film stars Anthony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as his father, and it was directed by Robert...
.
Following this, he released three
pop musicPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
albums in 1957 and 1958 on
EpicEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
and
RCARCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
as "Tony Perkins". His single "Moon-Light Swim" was a hit in the United States, peaking at #24 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1957. He starred with
Shirley BoothShirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
and
Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
in the film
The MatchmakerThe Matchmaker is a play by Thornton Wilder.The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce A Day Well Spent had been extended into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842...
(1958).
Perkins also acted in theater. In 1958, he was nominated for a
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for
Best Actor in a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
for his performance in
Look Homeward, AngelLook Homeward, Angel is an acclaimed 1957 stage play by the playwright Ketti Frings. It opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre November 28, 1957, and ran for a total of 564 performances, closing on April 4, 1959....
on
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. During this time he also starred in
Green MansionsGreen Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest is an exotic romance by William Henry Hudson about a traveller to the Guyana jungle of southeastern Venezuela and his encounter with a forest dwelling girl named Rima.-Plot summary:...
(1959) with
Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
and the college comedy
Tall StoryTall Story is a 1960 American sports comedy film directed by Joshua Logan and starring Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda. Future star Robert Redford made his big-screen debut as a basketball player....
(1960) with
Jane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
.
Perkins was cast as
Norman BatesNorman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
in the
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
-directed film Psycho (1960). The film was a critical and commercial success, and gained Perkins international fame for his performance as the homicidal owner of the Bates Motel. Perkins' performance would garner him the Best Actor Award from the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers.
In 1961, Perkins would receive considerable critical acclaim for his performance in the film
Goodbye AgainGoodbye Again, also known as Aimez-vous Brahms?, is a 1961 Franco-American romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak It was produced and from a screenplay by Samuel A. Taylor, based on the novel Aimez-Vous Brahms? by Françoise Sagan. The music score was by Georges Auric with additional music...
, opposite
Ingrid BergmanIngrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, a performance which won him the Best Actor Award at the 1961
Cannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
After that came a successful career in Europe, including the role of Joseph K. in
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' 1962 adaptation of
KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
's
The TrialThe Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka...
. Upon returning to America, he took the role of a disturbed young murderer in
Pretty PoisonPretty Poison is a thriller film directed by Noel Black, starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld, about an ex-convict and high school cheerleader who commit a series of crimes....
(1968). He also played
Chaplain TappmanChaplain Captain Albert Taylor Tappman is a fictional character in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22...
in
Catch-22Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
(1970).
Perkins co-wrote, with composer/lyricist
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, the screenplay for the 1973 film
The Last of SheilaThe Last of Sheila is a 1973 mystery film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, It stars Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, James Mason, Ian McShane, Joan Hackett, and Raquel Welch....
, for which they received a 1974
Edgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the
Mystery Writers of AmericaMystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
In 1972, he starred in
The Life and Times of Judge Roy BeanThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a 1972 western film written by John Milius, directed by John Huston, and starring Paul Newman...
with
Paul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
,
Jacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
and
Victoria PrincipalVictoria Principal is an American actress, best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.-Early life:...
. Perkins was one of the many stars featured in the 1974 hit
Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
, reuniting him with Bisset and co-starring
Albert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
,
Sean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
,
Ingrid BergmanIngrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
,
Lauren BacallLauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
,
Martin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
,
Jacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
,
Jean-Pierre CasselJean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor.-Life and career:Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road...
,
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
,
Wendy HillerDame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
,
Vanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
,
Richard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
,
Colin BlakelyColin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
and
Michael YorkMichael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
. Perkins also hosted television's
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1976 and was featured in his only
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film, the box office-smash and space opus,
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's
The Black HoleThe Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy...
, in 1979.
His Broadway credits also included the
Frank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
musical
GreenwillowGreenwillow is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser.Based on the novel by B. J. Chute, the fantasy is set in the magical town of Greenwillow, where the eldest in each generation of Briggs men must obey the "call to wander," while the women they...
(1960), for which he was nominated for another
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for
Best Actor in a MusicalThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
and
Bernard SladeBernard Slade is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched...
's 1979 play
Romantic ComedyRomantic Comedy is a play by Bernard Slade, author of Same Time, Next Year.The plot focuses on Phoebe Craddock and Jason Carmichael, playwrights who meet and decide to collaborate just as he is getting married...
opposite
Mia FarrowMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
.
Perkins reprised the role of Norman Bates in three sequels to Psycho. The first, Psycho II (1983), was a box office success more than 20 years after the original film. He then starred in and directed
Psycho IIIPsycho III is a 1986 sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The film stars Anthony Perkins , Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue...
(for which he was nominated for a
Saturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
for Best Actor) in 1986, but refused to reprise his role as Bates in the failed television pilot
Bates MotelBates Motel is a 1987 television movie about Alex West, a mentally disturbed youth who was committed to an asylum after killing his abusive stepfather. There he befriends Norman Bates and ends up inheriting the infamous Bates Motel.-Plot:...
, famously boycotting the project in a very ardent, and well-received, oppositional public campaign. He did play Bates in the following made-for-cable
Psycho IV: The BeginningPsycho IV: The Beginning is a 1990 made-for-cable-television horror film that serves as both the third sequel and a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, as it includes both events after Psycho III while focusing on flashbacks of events that took place prior to the original film...
in 1990, over which he had much creative control although he was turned down for director. Anthony directed a film in 1988 called Lucky Stiff.
Films in which Perkins appeared in which his character had much resonance with Norman Bates include the sexually provocative Crimes of Passion (1984) opposite
Kathleen TurnerMary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
, and the Hungarian-produced Jekyll-Hyde remake
Edge of SanityEdge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...
and Daughter of Darkness.
Perkins has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, an honor he received for his influential and exceptional contributions to the motion picture industry. It is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
In 1991, Perkins was honored with the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at the
San Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
.
Although he was fighting
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, the actor appeared in eight television productions between 1990 and 1992, including Daughter of Darkness (1990) with
Mia Sara and The Naked Target (1992) with
Roddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
. He made his final appearance in In Deep Woods (1992) with
Rosanna ArquetteRosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and producer.-Early life:Arquette was born in New York City, the daughter of Brenda Olivia "Mardi" , an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor and director. Her paternal...
.
Perkins had agreed to provide the voice for the role of the dentist, Dr. Wolfe, in
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode
Last Exit to Springfield"Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season which originally aired March 11, 1993. It was directed by Mark Kirkland and was the last episode written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky...
after
Anthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
and
Clint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
both turned the role down, but he died before the role could be recorded. In the end, the role went to Simpsons regular
Hank AzariaHenry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
.
Perkins' life was documented in the 1996 biography Anthony Perkins: Split Image written by Charles Winecoff.
Personal life
On August 9, 1973, Perkins married photographer
Berry BerensonBerinthia "Berry" Berenson Perkins was an American photographer, actress, and model. Perkins was also known as the wife of actor Anthony Perkins and died in the September 11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.-Early life and family:Berinthia Berenson was the younger daughter of...
. They had two sons: actor
Oz PerkinsOsgood Robert "Oz" Perkins II is an American actor.He was born in New York City, New York, the elder son of the actor Anthony Perkins and the photographer and actress Berry Berenson, who was killed in the 9-11 attacks...
(b. February 2, 1974), and musician
Elvis PerkinsElvis Perkins is an American folk-rock recording artist. He released his debut studio album, Ash Wednesday, in 2007...
(b. February 9, 1976).
He once said he felt too nervous around women, and resisted actresses
Jane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and
Brigitte BardotBrigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
, who had tried to seduce him during his youth. He was a very shy actor, especially in women's company. He reportedly had affairs with actors
Rock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
and
Tab HunterTab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
, dancer
Rudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, composer/lyricist
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
and dancer-choreographer
Grover DaleGrover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director.-Early years:Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur, and Emma Bertha Ammon...
prior to marrying Berenson. He had his first intimate heterosexual experience at the age of 39 while working on the 1971 film
The Life and Times of Judge Roy BeanThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a 1972 western film written by John Milius, directed by John Huston, and starring Paul Newman...
with an actress who also appeared in the film. According to an interview with
PeopleIn 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine Perkins declined to identify the actress, but "other sources" have identified her as
Victoria PrincipalVictoria Principal is an American actress, best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime drama Dallas from 1978 to 1987.-Early life:...
.
Death
Perkins died on September 12, 1992, from complications of AIDS. He was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family. His widow,
Berry BerensonBerinthia "Berry" Berenson Perkins was an American photographer, actress, and model. Perkins was also known as the wife of actor Anthony Perkins and died in the September 11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.-Early life and family:Berinthia Berenson was the younger daughter of...
, was killed on
American Airlines Flight 11American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
during the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Filmography
Film/TV
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1953 |
The Actress The Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut.The film was nominated for...
|
Fred Whitmarsh |
|
| 1954 |
Armstrong Circle Theatre Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour.-Synopsis:...
|
Philippe |
|
| 1954 |
The Man Behind the Badge The Man Behind the Badge is the title of a half-hour American television police drama series which aired on the CBS from 1953-1955 starring and hosted by character actor Charles Bickford. Years later, Bickford appeared as one of the owners of Shiloh Ranch in the NBC western series, The Vrginian.In...
|
Pedro |
2 episodes "The East Baton Rouge Story", "The Case of the Narcotics Racket" |
| 1955 |
Windows |
Benji |
1 episode "The World Out There" |
| 1955 |
General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
|
West Wind |
1 episode "Mr. Blue Ocean" |
| 1956 |
Westinghouse Studio One |
Clyde Smith |
1 episode "The Silent Gun" |
| 1956 |
Front Row Center |
Dexter Green |
1 episode "Winter Dreams" |
| 1956 |
Goodyear Television Playhouse The Goodyear Television Playhouse produced live television dramas from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television".Sponsored by Goodyear, the hour-long anthology series was telecast Sundays at 9pm on NBC...
|
Joey |
1 episode "Joey" |
| 1956 |
Friendly Persuasion Friendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler...
|
Josh Birdwell |
Nomination - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
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| 1957 |
Fear Strikes Out Fear Strikes Out is a dramatic film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's autobiography Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story. The film stars Anthony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as his father, and it was directed by Robert...
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Jim Piersall |
1 episode "The Candidates" |
| 1957 |
The Lonely Man |
Riley Wade |
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| 1957 |
The Tin Star The Tin Star was first a short story then a movie American western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins, in one of Perkins' first roles. The film became one of the few low budget westerns to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story or Screenplay...
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Sheriff Ben Owens |
1 episode "Halfway back from Hell" |
| 1958 |
This Angry Age This Angry Age' is a 1958 drama film directed by René Clément and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It is an adaptation of Marguerite Duras' 1950 novel, Un barrage contre le Pacifique. The film stars Anthony Perkins and Silvana Mangano...
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Joseph Dufresne |
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| 1958 |
Desire Under the Elms Desire Under the Elms is a 1958 American film version of the 1924 play Desire Under the Elms written by Eugene O'Neill. The film was directed by Delbert Mann from a screenplay by O'Neill and Irwin Shaw. The cast included Sophia Loren as Abbie , Anthony Perkins as Eben, Burl Ives as Ephraim, Frank...
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Eben Cabot |
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| 1958 |
The Matchmaker The Matchmaker is a 1958 American comedy film directed by Joseph Anthony. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1955 play of the same name by Thornton Wilder.-Plot:...
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Cornelius Hackl |
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| 1959 |
Green Mansions Green Mansions is a 1959 American romantic adventure film directed by Mel Ferrer. Based upon the 1904 novel Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson, the film starred Audrey Hepburn as Rima, a jungle girl who falls in love with a Venezuelan traveller played by Anthony Perkins. Also appearing in the...
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Abel |
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| 1959 |
On the BeachOn the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
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Lt. Peter Holmes - Royal Australian Navy |
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| 1960 |
Tall Story Tall Story is a 1960 American sports comedy film directed by Joshua Logan and starring Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda. Future star Robert Redford made his big-screen debut as a basketball player....
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Ray Blent |
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| 1960 |
Psycho |
Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
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| 1961 |
Goodbye Again Goodbye Again, also known as Aimez-vous Brahms?, is a 1961 Franco-American romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak It was produced and from a screenplay by Samuel A. Taylor, based on the novel Aimez-Vous Brahms? by Françoise Sagan. The music score was by Georges Auric with additional music...
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Philip Van der Besh |
Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
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| 1962 |
Phaedra Phaedra was a 1962 motion picture directed by Jules Dassin as a vehicle for his wife Melina Mercouri, after her world-wide hit Never on Sunday.The film was the fourth collaboration between Dassin and Mercouri, who took the title role...
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Alexis |
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| 1962 |
Five Miles to Midnight Five Miles to Midnight is a 1962 French-Italian-American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak...
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Robert Macklin |
French title: Le couteau dans la plaie |
| 1962 |
The Trial The Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka...
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Josef K |
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| 1963 |
Le glaive et la balance Le glaive et la balance is a 1963 French-Italian drama film directed by André Cayatte. It was written by Cayatte, Henri Jeanson and Charles Spaak. It stars the American actor, Anthony Perkins as the protagonist.-Plot:...
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Needa |
English title "The Sword and the Balance" |
| 1964 |
Une ravissante idiote Une ravissante idiote is a 1964 Cold War comedy directed by Édouard Molinaro. François Billetdoux and André Tabet wrote a screenplay based on Charles Exbrayat 1962 novel of the same name...
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Harry Compton/Nicholas Maukouline |
AKA The Ravishing Idiot |
| 1965 |
The Fool Killer |
Milo Bogardus |
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| 1966 |
Is Paris Burning? Is Paris Burning? is a 1966 film dealing with the 1944 liberation of Paris by rival branches of the French Resistance and the Free French Forces.-Plot:...
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Sgt. Warren |
French title: Paris brûle-t-il? |
| 1966 |
ABC Stage 67 ABC Stage 67 was the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals....
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Charles Snell |
1 episode "Evening Primrose" |
| 1967 |
The Champagne Murders Le scandale is a 1967 French suspense thriller directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Anthony Perkins. It was the first of two films that Chabrol made with Perkins, who is most famous for his role in Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who Chabrol admires above all other directors.For his role...
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Paul Wagner |
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| 1968 |
Pretty Poison Pretty Poison is a thriller film directed by Noel Black, starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld, about an ex-convict and high school cheerleader who commit a series of crimes....
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Dennis Pitt |
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| 1968 |
Play of the Month Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles...
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Tommy Turner |
1 episode "The Male Animal" |
| 1970 |
Catch-22Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
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Chaplain Capt. A.T. Tappman |
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| 1970 |
WUSA WUSA is a 1970 drama film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It was written by Robert Stone, based on his novel A Hall of Mirrors. The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign which is apparently involved in a so-called "right-wing conspiracy". It culminates with a...
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Rainey |
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| 1970 |
How Awful About Allan How Awful About Allan is a 1970 television film thriller, directed by Curtis Harrington, his second collaboration with writer Henry Farrell, and starring Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris...
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Allan |
TV movie |
| 1971 |
Someone Behind the Door Someone Behind the Door is French film directed by Nicolas Gessner. The original French title was Quelqu'un derrière la porte. The film was shot on location in Folkestone, England.-Plot:...
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Maggie Petroceli |
Original French title: Quelqu'un derrière la porte |
| 1971 |
La Décade prodigieuse La Décade prodigieuse is a French murder-mystery film directed by Claude Chabrol and based on the novel Ten Days' Wonder by Ellery Queen....
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Charles Van Horn - le fils déséquilibré de Théo |
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| 1972 |
Play It as It LaysPlay It as It Lays is a 1970 novel by the American writer Joan Didion. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The book was made into a 1972 movie starring Tuesday Weld as Maria and Anthony Perkins as B.Z...
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B.Z. |
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| 1972 |
The Life and Times of Judge Roy BeanThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a 1972 western film written by John Milius, directed by John Huston, and starring Paul Newman...
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Reverend LaSalle |
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| 1974 |
Lovin' Molly Lovin' Molly is a 1974 drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner in the title role, Ed Binns, and Susan Sarandon. The film is based on one of Larry McMurtry's first novels, Leaving Cheyenne...
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Gid |
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| 1974 |
Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
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McQueen |
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| 1975 |
Mahogany |
Sean |
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| 1978 |
Remember My Name |
Neil Curry |
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| 1978 |
First, You Cry |
Arthur Heroz |
TV movie |
| 1978 |
Les Misérables Les Misérables is a TV film based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was written by John Gay and directed by Glenn Jordan.-Differences from the novel:...
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JavertJavert is a fictional character from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. He is a prison guard, and later policeman, who devotes his life to the law. He is always referred to just simply as "Javert" or "Inspector Javert" by the narrator and other characters throughout the novel; his first name...
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TV movie |
| 1979 |
Winter KillsWinter Kills is a 1979 film based on the novel by Richard Condon. Its cast includes Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Richard Boone, Toshirō Mifune, Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Malone, Ralph Meeker, Elizabeth Taylor, Berry Berenson and Susan Walden.Most of the film was lensed by...
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John Cerruti |
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| 1979 |
Twee vrouwen |
Alfred |
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| 1979 |
The Black HoleThe Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy...
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Dr. Alex Durant |
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| 1980 |
Deadly Companion Deadly Companion is a 1980 Canadian mystery film based on the novel The Three Roads by Ross Macdonald.-Plot:...
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Lawrence Miles |
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| 1980 |
North Sea Hijack North Sea Hijack is a British action film from 1979 starring Roger Moore, James Mason, Anthony Perkins, and Michael Parks. It was directed by Andrew V...
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Kramer |
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| 1983 |
For the Term of His Natural LifeFor the Term of His Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke, was published in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 , appearing as a novel in 1874. It is the best known novelisation of life as a convict in early Australian history...
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Rev James North |
TV movie |
| 1983 |
The Sins of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray has inspired many cinematic, literary, and artistic adaptations. -Film:Listed in chronological order of release.*Dorian Grays Portræt *:Directed by Axel Strøm...
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Henry Lord |
TV movie |
| 1983 |
Psycho II |
Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
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| 1984 |
The Glory Boys |
Jimmy |
TV |
| 1984 |
Crimes of Passion |
Rev. Peter Shayne |
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| 1986 |
Psycho III Psycho III is a 1986 sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The film stars Anthony Perkins , Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue...
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Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
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Nomination - Saturn Award for Best Actor The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed, who felt that films within those genres...
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| 1987 |
Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story |
Talleyrand |
TV mini-series |
| 1988 |
Destroyer |
Robert Edwards |
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| 1989 |
Edge of Sanity Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...
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Dr. Henry Jekyll / Jack 'The Ripper' Hyde |
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| 1990 |
Daughter of Darkness |
Anton/Prince Constantine |
TV movie |
| 1990 |
I'm Dangerous TonightI'm Dangerous Tonight is a 1990 horror themed television movie directed by Tobe Hooper. It made its debut on the USA Network before being released on home video.-Plot:...
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Prof. Buchanan |
TV movie |
| 1990 |
The Ghost Writer |
Anthony Strack |
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| 1990 |
Psycho IV: The Beginning Psycho IV: The Beginning is a 1990 made-for-cable-television horror film that serves as both the third sequel and a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, as it includes both events after Psycho III while focusing on flashbacks of events that took place prior to the original film...
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Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
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TV movie |
| 1991 |
Der Mann nebenan |
Robert Edwards |
AKA The Man Next Door |
| 1992 |
The Naked Target |
El Mecano |
Original title: Los gusanos no llevan bufanda |
| 1992 |
In the Deep Woods |
Paul Miller, P.I. |
TV movie |
External links
- Anthony Perkins interviewed by Mike Wallace
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
on The Mike Wallace Interview March 22, 1958