Anthony Perkins - From My Heart 1958

Anthony Perkins - From My Heart













Early life

Perkins was born in New York City, the son of Janet Esselstyn (née Rane) and stage and film actor James Ripley Osgood Perkins.[1] He attended The Brooks School, Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Columbia University and Rollins College, having moved to Boston, Massachusetts after his father's death in 1942.[2]





Career



Perkins on the cover of his biography, Split ImagePerkins' first movie was The Actress (1953). He received the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his second film, Friendly Persuasion (1956). Following this, he released three pop albums in 1957 and 1958 on Epic and RCA as "Tony Perkins".[3] His single "Moon-Light Swim" was a hit in the U.S., peaking at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957.[4] After other acclaimed performances both in film and on Broadway, he starred as Norman Bates in the 1960 film Psycho. The role affected the remainder of his career.



Following the success of Psycho, Perkins had a successful career in Europe. He created a portrayal of Joseph K. in Orson Welles' The Trial (1962), a cinematic adaptation of the novel by Franz Kafka. Upon returning to America, he took the role of a disturbed young murderer in Pretty Poison (1968). He also played Chaplain Tappman in Catch-22 (1970). Perkins also co-wrote, with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, the screenplay for the (1973) film The Last of Sheila, for which the writers received a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. He returned to the role of Norman Bates for the sequels, Psycho II, Psycho III (which he directed) and Psycho IV: The Beginning.



Among his Broadway credits are the Frank Loesser musical Greenwillow (1960) and Bernard Slade's 1979 play Romantic Comedy opposite Mia Farrow. Perkins's life was meticulously documented in the 1996 biography Anthony Perkins: Split Image written by Charles Winecoff.[5]





Personal life

Perkins was bisexual, having had affairs with a number of men, including 1950s and 1960s film stars Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, dancer Rudolf Nureyev, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and dancer-choreographer Grover Dale, with whom Perkins had a six-year relationship prior to his marriage to Berry Berenson. He claimed to have been exclusively gay until his late 30s, when he met actress Victoria Principal.[6]



Perkins died at age 60, on September 12, 1992, from complications of AIDS. Perkins's widow, Berenson, died on American Airlines Flight 11, during the September 11, 2001 attacks. He had two sons: actor Osgood "Oz" Perkins (b. 1974), and musician Elvis Perkins (b. 1976).















01 - The Kentuckian Song

02 - The Careless Years

03 - Taking A Chance On Love

04 - Saddle The Wind

05 - The More I See You

06 - Too Marvelous For Words

07 - Ole Buttermilk Sky

08 - Boy On A Dolphin

09 - Swinging On A Star

10 - Speak Low

11 - You Keep Coming Back Like A Song

12 - This Is My Lucky Day