Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, singer and director.
He appeared in about 60 movies over 40 years. His most iconic role was without much doubt Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and its sequels. He received much acclaim for playing this lone motel owner with a horrific mother-related disorder, and for his other roles in such films as Friendly Persuasion (for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), On the Beach, Goodbye Again, and The Trial.
He also did extensive work in television and on the stage (including a starring role in the original Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Look Homeward, Angel), and enjoyed some success as a recording artist in the 1950s, even scoring a minor pop hit with his 1957 single "Moon-Light Swim".
Perkins was the son of actor Osgood Perkins, who died of a heart attack when he was five years old. He was married to actress and photographer Berry Berenson from 1973 until his death. The couple had two sons, actor Oz Perkins and musician Elvis Perkins.
Perkins passed away from AIDS-related pneumonia on September 12, 1992 at age 60. His widow Berry Berenson died as a passenger on board AA Flight 11 in the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
He is portrayed by James D'Arcy in 2012's Hitchcock, which is about the making of Psycho.
Films with pages on TV Tropes:
- Friendly Persuasion (1956) as Josh Birdwell note
- Green Mansions (1959) as Abel
- On the Beach (1959) as Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes
- Psycho (1960) as Norman Bates
- Psycho II (1983)
- Psycho III (1986) – also directed
- Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
- Five Miles to Midnight (1962) as Robert Macklin
- The Trial (1962) as Joseph K.
- Is Paris Burning? (1966) as Sergeant Warren
- Catch-22 (1970) as Chaplain Captain A. T. Tappman
- Play It as It Lays (1972) as B.Z. Mendenhall
- The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) as Reverend LaSalle
- The Last of Sheila (1973) - did not act in the movie but co-wrote the screenplay
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974) as Hector McQueen
- Les Misérables (1978) as Javert
- Winter Kills (1979) as John Cerruti
- The Black Hole (1979) as Dr. Alex Durant
- North Sea Hijack (1979) as Lou Kramer
- Destroyer (1988) as Robert Edwards
