Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn was born in 1915 in to an Irish father and Mexican mother. He grew up in Los Angeles and worked several jobs before pursuing an acting career. Quinn went on to become a very successful actor, picked to play characters of various nationalities over the years. Quinn began by playing villains and tough, macho roles until he was offered a greater variety of parts.. He was cast as Stanley Kowalski in a Broadway run of A Streetcar Named Desire in the late 1940s. In addition to Hollywood films, Quinn appeared in several Italian produced films in the 1950s.
The big breakthrough for Quinn came in 1952, when Viva Zapata! was released. Elia Kazan cast Marlon Brando in the lead as the Mexican revolutionary, and Anthony Quinn won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his part. His second Oscar as a supporting actor came for his role as Paul Gauguin in Lust For Life in 1956. Vincent Minnelli directed and Kirk Douglas starred as the troubled Vincent Van Gogh.
An all-star cast was chosen for the tense war drama, The Guns of Navarone. J. Lee Thompson directed and Anthony Quinn co-starred with Gregory Peck, David Niven, James Darren, and Richard Harris. Quinn drew on his previous real life experience as a prizefighter when he starred in the boxing movie, Requiem for a Heavyweight. Ralph Nelson directed the movie and Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, and Julie Harris co-starred.
In 1962, David Lean released a film that is considered a masterpiece of the cinema. Lawrence of Arabia starred Peter O’Toole as the adventurer. Anthony Quinn played an Arab comrade and Omar Sharif; Jack Hawkins, and Alec Guinness also co-starred. Quinn then went on to star in the film he’s most associated with today when he was cast as Zorba in Zorba The Greek. Directed by Michael Cacoyannis,the best known scene in the movie is of the flamboyant Zorba teaching the character played by Alan Bates to dance. People have often attempted to emulate this dance in Greek restaurants ever since. Quinn starred in other movie with a Greek theme in The Magus, a fantasy movie set on a Greek island. He co-starred with Michael Caine and Candice Bergen in this Guy Green directed movie.
Though his appearances were less abundant in the 1970s, Anthony Quinn was still kept busy. He took the lead role in The Lion of the Desert, a war film directed by Moustapha Akkad. His co-stars in this movie were Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, Irene Papas, and John Gielgud. Quinn was cast as Socrates Onassis in the biographical TV movie, Onassis: The Richest Man In The World. Raul Julia played Aristotle Onassis, Jane Seymour played Maria Callas, and Francesca Annis played Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Quinn also appeared on television again in episodes of the series, Hercules. Kevin Sorbo played Hercules, and Quinn had the pleasure of playing Zeus.
Anthony Quinn’s romantic life was just as busy as his public, on-screen life and he fathered thirteen children in his lifetime. He was married three times, divorced twice, and had numerous mistresses. His first wife was Katherine DeMille, the actress and adopted daughter of director Cecil B DeMille. His second wife was a costume designer named Iolanda Quinn. Several of his children have followed Quinn’s footsteps and are involved in acting. They are Alex A. Quinn, Francesco Quinn, Lorenzo Quinn, and Valentina Quinn. After a celebrated career, Quinn died in 2001, age 86 years old. He will be remembered for his larger than life presence and his great contribution to the ethnic acting community. Anthony Quinn was the first actor born in to win an Academy Award. |
