Star Of The Month-Anthony Perkins

 ANTHONY PERKINS

BIRTH: April 4, 1932

DEATH: September 13, 1992

AGED: 60 years old

DIED FROM: Pneumonia due to AIDS

MARRIED: Berry Berenson

AFFAIRS: Let me count the ways! Tab Hunter( 4 year relationship), Grover Dale (6 yr relationship), Stephen Sondheim, Rudolph Nureyev, Victoria Principal, plus many, many others. There is now a sad rumour, that he and Paul Newman had an affair. This came out only after Paul Newmn’s death and there is no real evidence to support this rumour. 

CHILDREN: Oz Perkins and Elvis Perkins, both in the entertainment industry 

FAMOUS PARENT: Osgood Perkins

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Best Supporting Actor for “Friendly Persuasion”

OSCAR WINS: Nil…should have been nominated and win for “Psycho”

TALENT: He could sing and was in musicals on Broadway. One song, (Frank Loesser created this song for Perkins because he hated Perkins and, deliberately, wrote this song believing it was shit), “ Never Will I Marry” became a hit and has been sung by many famous singers like Frank Sinatra, Perkins was an excellent impersonator and could do a very funny impersonation of Roddy McDowall. They were gret friends

KNOWN FOR: His quirky mannerisms; his charm and genial personality; his oddly, boyish good looks. He was known to stutter.

I’m late here but it’s been a busy weekend, but I’m still here:) Poor Anthony Perkins will forever be known for his “alter ego” Norman Bates from Psycho, the 1960 film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He should be known for his wider talent of work he has done in film and Broadway creating some mighty fine work heralded by critics and his fellow actors. 

This man was one conflicted, layered man who fought his sexuality to the point where he went to a psychiatrist to change his wish to be with men rather than women. Of course, we now know, this can’t be done, but, back in the day, many people thought it could be taken out of him, sort of speak. I guess, some still think this today, but, this is very wrong. Anyhoo, let’s add that Anthony also had huge mother issues where, as a young child, he wished his dad dead. When his famous dad died ( Osgood was a big actor during the silents and early sound films), Perkins felt intense guilt for wishing this and, later, sought treatment for these feelings. Let’s add even more mental fuck up( sorry, but this word is perfect), when his mom started caressing him including  all the way to, you know where and she continued sexually abusing him into his young adulthood. As he grew up, his mom became great friends with playwright, Marchaela O’Hara eventually moving in with Perkins and his mom. Yup, the consensus is that they became lovers and stayed together. 

Hitchcock must have sensed Perkin’s sexual ambiguity and he was hired to be Norman Bates. Perkins  and Hitchcock got along very well where, for years after, Perkins was invited to Hitchcock’s home for dinners when Hitchcock would entertain other people during the making of other films. Perkins was very well liked by many and found him charming, intelligent and sweet. He would stand up when he saw injustice. When he made a film with Shirley MacLaine, “The Matchmaker(1958)”, Perkins salary was $75,000 but Shirley’s was $25,000, so Perkins went all the way to the head of the studio demanding that MacLaine received the same amount as he, but this fell on deaf ears. During the 50s and 60s, Perkins had 2 major relationships first with Tab Hunter and 2nd with Dancer and actor Grover Dale, where he lived with them, entertaining friends and it was an open secret that Perkins was gay. Perkins, was so conflicted that, in the late 60s, he sought psychological counselling. His first time, with a woman, was with Victoria Principal during  the making of the film, “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.” He soon met Berry Berenson, an actress and photographer, and married her. By all accounts, he did love her but he continued to have sexual encounters with many men during their marriage but never separated. Perkins decided to embrace his alter ego and he directed 3 more films on Norman Bates, Psycho 2, 3 and 4, a TV prequel. I saw 2 and 3 and I just don’t like them especially that poor Vera Miles dies with a Big knife thrown into her mouth. Oops, spoiler alert. 

It was during the making of Psycho 3, that he found out he had AIDS and died from pneumonia with Berry and his 2 sons by his side. Sadly, Berry Berrenson was on one of the planes, on 9/11, that crashed into the Twin Towers. Perkins grew up in a very abusive household and during a time when homosexuality was against the law. Despite this, he became a romantic leading man before doing Psycho cementing his fame in this excellent film. He was genial, generous and a nice man. This is the man we need to remember.

FILMS 

1. Psycho-1960

2. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean-1972

3. The Tin Star-1957

4. Murder anon the Orient Express-1974

5. Pretty Poison-1968

6. Friendly Persuasion-1956

7. On The Beach-1959

8. Green Mansions-1959

9. Mahogany-1975

10.  Desire Under The Elms-1955