On The Beach Cover Gregory Peck Ava Gardner Waltzing Matilda Israel Music 1960

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ON THE BEACH COVER GREGORY PECK AVA GARDNER WALTZING MATILDA ISRAEL MUSIC 1960
Waltzing Matilda- sheet music from the movie "On The Beach" by United Artists, Starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins. Published in 1960 by Illan Melody press, Tel Aviv. On the cover Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. The film logo is in red. Good condition, some age stains. 4 pages. Size: 10x7 inch. 

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Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".[1] The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) with one's belongings in a "matilda" (swag) slung over one's back.[2] The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker, or "swagman", making a drink of billy tea at a bush camp and capturing a stray jumbuck (sheep) to eat. When the jumbuck's owner, a squatter (landowner), and three troopers (mounted policemen) pursue the swagman for theft, he declares "You'll never catch me alive!" and commits suicide by drowning himself in a nearby billabong (watering hole), after which his ghost haunts the site. The original lyrics were written in 1895 by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, and were first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that it has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, in the Queensland outback, where Paterson wrote the lyrics.[3] In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance.[4][5] The song was first recorded in 1926 as performed by John Collinson and Russell Callow.[6] In 2008, this recording of "Waltzing Matilda" was added to the Sounds of Australia registry in the National Film and Sound Archive, which says that there are more recordings of "Waltzing Matilda" than any other Australian song.[4] Contents 1 History 1.1 Writing of the song 1.2 Alternative theories 1.3 Ownership 2 Lyrics 2.1 Typical lyrics 2.2 Glossary 2.3 Variations 3 Status 3.1 Official use 3.2 Sports 3.3 Military units 4 Covers and derivative works 4.1 Films 4.2 TV series 4.3 Video games 4.4 Stage 4.5 Derivative musical works 5 References 6 Sources 7 External links History Writing of the song Combo Waterhole, thought to be the location of the story that inspired "Waltzing Matilda" The Australian poet Banjo Paterson wrote the words to "Waltzing Matilda" in August 1895[7] while staying at Dagworth Station, a sheep and cattle station near Winton in Central West Queensland owned by the Macpherson family. The words were written to a tune played on a zither or autoharp by 31‑year‑old Christina Macpherson (1864–1936),[8][9] one of the family members at the station. Macpherson had heard the tune, "The Craigielee March", played by a military band while attending Warrnambool steeplechase horse racing in Victoria in April 1894, and played it back by ear at Dagworth. Paterson decided that the music would be a good piece to set lyrics. He produced the original version during the rest of his stay at the station and in Winton.[10][11] The march was based on the music the Scottish composer James Barr composed in 1818 for Robert Tannahill's 1806 poem "Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigielee".[12] In the early 1890s it was arranged as "The Craigielee" march music for brass band by Australian composer Thomas Bulch.[10] Fortified temporary shearing shed at Dagworth Station following the 1894 arson of the main shed. The three troopers at left are thought to be those referred to in "Waltzing Matilda", while the squatter was Bob Macpherson, fourth from right.[10] It has been widely accepted[13] that "Waltzing Matilda" is probably based on the following story: In Queensland in 1891 the Great Shearers' Strike brought the colony close to civil war and was broken only after the Premier of Queensland, Samuel Griffith, called in the military. In September 1894, some shearers at Dagworth Station were again on strike. The situation turned violent with the striking shearers firing their rifles and pistols in the air and setting fire to the woolshed at Dagworth, killing dozens of sheep. The owner of Dagworth Station and three policemen gave chase to a man named Samuel Hoffmeister, an immigrant said to have been born in Batavia[7] also known as "Frenchy".[14] Rather than be captured, Hoffmeister shot and killed himself at the 4 Mile Creek south of Kynuna at 12.30 pm on 2 September 1894. Bob Macpherson (the brother of Christina) and Paterson are said to have taken rides together at Dagworth. Here they would probably have passed the Combo Waterhole, where Macpherson is purported to have told this story to Paterson. Although not remaining in close contact, Paterson and Christina Macpherson had different recollections of where the song was first composed- Christina said it was composed "in Winton" while Paterson said it was at "Dick's Creek" on the road to Winton. Amongst Macpherson's belongings, found after her death in 1936, was an unopened letter to a music researcher that read "... one day I played (from ear) a tune, which I had heard played by a band at the Races in Warrnambool ... he [Paterson] then said he thought he could write some words to it. He then and there wrote the first verse. We tried it and thought it went well, so he then wrote the other verses." Similarly, in the early 1930s on ABC radio Paterson said: "The shearers staged a strike and Macpherson's woolshed at Dagworth was burnt down and a man was picked up dead ... Miss Macpherson used to play a little Scottish tune on a zither and I put words to it and called it Waltzing Matilda."[10] The song itself was first performed on 6 April 1895 by Sir Herbert Ramsay, 5th Bart., at the North Gregory Hotel in Winton, Queensland. The occasion was a banquet for the Premier of Queensland. In February 2010, ABC News reported an investigation by barrister Trevor Monti that the death of Hoffmeister was more akin to a gangland assassination than to suicide. The same report asserts, "Writer Matthew Richardson says the song was most likely written as a carefully worded political allegory to record and comment on the events of the shearers' strike."[15] Alternative theories Several alternative theories for the origins or meaning of "Waltzing Matilda" have been proposed since the time it was written. Still, most experts now essentially agree on the details outlined above. Some oral stories collected during the twentieth century claimed that Paterson had merely modified a pre-existing bush song, but there is no evidence for this. In 1905, Paterson himself published a book of bush ballads he had collected from around Australia entitled Old Bush Songs, with nothing resembling "Waltzing Matilda" in it. Nor do any other publications or recordings of bush ballads include anything to suggest it preceded Paterson. Meanwhile, manuscripts from the time the song originated indicate the song's origins with Paterson and Christina Macpherson, as do their own recollections and other pieces of evidence.[10] There has been speculation[16] about the relationship "Waltzing Matilda" bears to a British song, "The Bold Fusilier" or "The Gay Fusilier" (also known as "Marching through Rochester", referring to Rochester in Kent and the Duke of Marlborough), a song sung to the same tune and dated by some back to the 18th century but first printed in 1900.[17] There is, however, no documentary proof that "The Bold Fusilier" existed before 1900, and evidence suggests that this song was in fact written as a parody of "Waltzing Matilda" by English soldiers during the Boer War where Australian soldiers are known to have sung "Waltzing Matilda" as a theme.[10] The first verse of "The Bold Fusilier" is: A bold fusilier came marching back through Rochester Off from the wars in the north country, And he sang as he marched Through the crowded streets of Rochester, Who'll be a soldier for Marlboro and me? In 2008, Australian amateur historian Peter Forrest claimed that the widespread belief that Paterson had penned the ballad as a socialist anthem, inspired by the Great Shearers' Strike, was false and a "misappropriation" by political groups.[18] Forrest asserted that Paterson had in fact written the self-described "ditty" as part of his flirtation with Macpherson, despite his engagement to someone else.[19] This theory was not shared by other historians like Ross Fitzgerald, emeritus professor in history and politics at Griffith University, who argued that the defeat of the strike in the area that Paterson was visiting only several months before the song's creation would have been in his mind, most likely consciously but at least "unconsciously", and thus was likely to have been an inspiration for the song.[19] Fitzgerald stated, "the two things aren't mutually exclusive"[19]—a view shared by others who, while not denying the significance of Paterson's relationship with Macpherson, nonetheless recognise the underlying story of the shearers' strike and Hoffmeister's death in the lyrics of the song.[10] Ownership Paterson sold the rights to "Waltzing Matilda" and "some other pieces" to Angus & Robertson for five Australian pounds.[20] In 1903, tea trader James Inglis hired Marie Cowan, who was married to Inglis's accountant, to alter the song lyrics for use as an advertising jingle for the Billy Tea company, making it nationally famous.[21] Cowan adapted the lyrics and set them to music in 1903.[22][23] A third variation on the song, with a slightly different chorus, was published in 1907.[citation needed] Although no copyright applied to the song in Australia and many other countries, the Australian Olympic organisers had to pay royalties to an American publisher, Carl Fischer Music, following the song being played at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.[24] According to some reports, the song was copyrighted by Carl Fischer Music in 1941 as an original composition.[25] However, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Carl Fischer Music had collected the royalties on behalf of Messrs Allan & Co, an Australian publisher that claimed to have bought the original copyright, though Allan's claim "remains unclear".[26] Arrangements such as those claimed by Richard D. Magoffin remain in copyright in America.[27] On the Beach is a 1959 American post-apocalyptic science fiction drama film from United Artists, produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, that stars Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins.[2] This black-and-white film is based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name depicting the aftermath of a nuclear war.[3] Unlike in the novel, no one is assigned blame for starting the war; the film hints that global annihilation may have arisen from an accident or misjudgment. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release and reception 5 Remake 6 Documentary 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot In 1964, World War III devastated the Northern Hemisphere, killing all humans there due to nuclear fallout. The only habitable areas are in the far reaches of the Southern Hemisphere, but air currents are slowly carrying the fallout south. Australian survivors detect an incomprehensible Morse code signal coming from the West Coast of the United States. The American nuclear submarine USS Sawfish, now under Royal Australian Navy command, is ordered to sail north and locate the source of the signal. The submarine is commanded by Capt Dwight Towers, who leaves behind a new friend, Moira Davidson. A scientific theory postulates the radiation levels near the Arctic Ocean are lower than the mid-Northern Hemisphere, possibly indicating the radiation could disperse before reaching the Southern Hemisphere. Arriving at Point Barrow, Alaska, the submarine discovers radiation levels are inexplicably intensifying. Sawfish arrives in the San Francisco Bay area; the crew find a city devoid of any signs of life. Ralph Swain, a crewman with family in San Francisco, deserts the submarine and swims ashore. Scientist Julian Osborn informs Capt Towers Swain's contact with the radioactive environment will quickly make it impossible for him to return without killing everyone aboard. The next morning, through the periscope, Capt Towers observes Swain fishing in the bay. He apologizes for deserting, explaining he preferred to die in his hometown. Towers understands, bids him farewell, and departs for San Diego. Near San Diego, communications officer Lt. Sunderstrom goes ashore wearing radiation and oxygen gear to search for the source of the signals. He has just one hour, and is alerted by a Sawfish horn blast every 15 minutes... and must return immediately upon hearing the third horn blast. At an electric station running on automatic control, he finds the telegraph, and discovers a tilted soda-pop bottle hanging by its neck from an open window shade's pull cord; random ocean breezes bump the bottle against the live telegraph key, sending out random signals. Sunderstrom uses Morse code to send a message, describing the bleak situation. Before returning to Sawfish, Sunderstrom shuts down the power station's generators. The Sawfish crew return to Australia to enjoy what pleasures remain. While reuniting with Moira at her father's farm, Towers hears all US Navy personnel stationed at their base in Brisbane are dead. Towers is promoted to Admiral of the remaining US Navy personnel in Australia. Osborn wins the Australian Grand Prix in which many racers, with nothing left to lose, die in various crashes. With the fishing season starting sooner than normal, Towers and Moira begin a fishing trip. At a country stream, drunken revelers surround them. From their resort room, they can hear more boozy fishermen singing a version of "Waltzing Matilda". Towers and Moira share a romantic interlude, while outside a gathering storm howls. The fishermen sing a beautiful a capella rendition of the song's foreboding final verse. Returning to Melbourne, Towers learns one of his crew has radiation sickness; the deadly radiation is arrived. Osborn closes himself in a sealed garage with his championship racing car, electing to die from carbon monoxide poisoning as he revs the engine. Others queue to receive suicide pills issued by the Australian government agents. Towers wants to stay with Moira, but many of his remaining crew want to head for home to die in the US; he chooses his duty over his love for Moira, and joins his crew as they attempt to make it back to a radioactive America. Moira watches the Sawfish leave Australia, and submerge for the final voyage home. Within a few days, the last pockets of humanity are dead. The empty windblown streets of Melbourne are punctuated by the rise of dramatic, strident music over a single powerful image of a previously seen Salvation Army street banner: "There is still time .. Brother". Cast Gregory Peck as Commander Dwight Lionel Towers, USS Sawfish Ava Gardner as Moira Davidson, Towers' Australian love interest Fred Astaire as Julian Osborn, Australian scientist Anthony Perkins as Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes, Royal Australian Navy Donna Anderson as Mary Holmes, Peter's wife John Tate as Admiral Bridie, Royal Australian Navy Harp McGuire as Lieutenant Sunderstrom (ashore in San Diego) Lola Brooks as Lieutenant Hosgood, Bridie's secretary Ken Wayne as Lieutenant Benson Guy Doleman as Lieutenant Commander Farrel Richard Meikle as Davis John Meillon as Sawfish crewman Ralph Swain (ashore in San Francisco) Joe McCormick as Ackerman, radiation sickness victim Lou Vernon as Bill Davidson, Moira's father Kevin Brennan as Dr. King, radiation diagnosis doctor Keith Eden as Dr. Fletcher (beach scene) Basil Buller-Murphy as Sir Douglas Froude Brian James as Royal Australian Navy officer John Casson as Salvation Army captain Paddy Moran as Stevens (club wine steward) Grant Taylor as Morgan (Holmes party) George Fairfax (Holmes party guest) Earl Francis (Holmes party guest) Pat Port (Runner on Beach) Cary Peck (uncredited)[Note 1] Production As in the novel, much of On the Beach takes place in Melbourne, close to the southernmost part of the Australian mainland. Principal photography took place from mid-January to March 27, 1959 in Australia.[5] Beach scenes were filmed at the foreshore of Mount Eliza. The film was shot in part in Berwick, then a suburb outside Melbourne and part in Frankston, also a Melbourne suburb. The well-known scene where Peck meets Gardner, who arrives from Melbourne by rail, was filmed on platform #1 of Frankston railway station, now rebuilt, and a subsequent scene where Peck and Gardner are transported off by horse and buggy, was filmed in Young Street, Frankston. Some streets which were being built at the time in Berwick were named after people involved in the film. Two examples are Shute Avenue (Nevil Shute) and Kramer Drive (Stanley Kramer).[6][Note 2] The "Australian Grand Prix" in the novel had the racing sequences filmed at Riverside Raceway in California and at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, home to the present-day Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, conveniently located near Cowes at Phillip Island. These scenes include an array of late-1950s sports cars, including examples of the Jaguar XK150 and Jaguar D-Type, Porsche 356, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing", AC Ace, Chevrolet Corvette and prominent in sequences was the "Chuck Porter Special", a customized Mercedes 300SL. Built by Hollywood body shop owner Chuck Porter and driven by a list of notable 1950s to 1960s west-coast racers, including Ken Miles and Chuck Stevenson, who purchased and successfully raced it in the early 1960s.[7] The U.S. Department of Defense refused to cooperate in the production of the film, not allowing access to its nuclear-powered submarines.[Note 3] The British submarine HMS Andrew was used to portray the fictional United States Navy nuclear-powered submarine USS Sawfish.[9] Additional resources were supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, including the use of the aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne.[10][11] It has often been claimed that Ava Gardner described Melbourne as "the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world."[12] However, the purported quote was actually invented by journalist Neil Jillett, who was writing for The Sydney Morning Herald at the time. His original draft of a tongue-in-cheek piece about the making of the film said that he had not been able to confirm a third-party report that Ava Gardner had made this remark. The newspaper's sub-editor changed it to read as a direct quotation from Gardner. It was published in that form and entered Melbourne folklore very quickly.[13][14][15] Frank Chacksfield's orchestral performance of the love theme from On the Beach was released as a single in 1960, reaching #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Differences between the novel and film Nevil Shute was displeased with the final cut of the film, feeling that too many changes had been made at the expense of the story's integrity. After initial collaboration with Kramer, it was obvious that Shute's concerns were not being addressed; subsequently, he provided minimal assistance to the production.[16] Gregory Peck agreed with Shute but, in the end, producer/director Stanley Kramer's ideas won out. Shute felt that Captain Towers and Moira having a love affair ruined a central element of the novel, that is, Towers' fidelity to his long-dead American wife.[17] In the novel it has been two years since the last nuclear attacks, and small pockets of human survivors are mentioned in several areas of the Southern Hemisphere. Australia is in radio contact with places such as Montevideo, on the east coast of South America, and Cape Town, on the southern tip of Africa. Commander Towers is in communication with the only other remaining active-duty US Navy vessel, another nuclear submarine, USS Swordfish, on duty in the Atlantic, which, at the end, is based in Montevideo. Melbourne, where much of the novel is set, is the southernmost major city in the world. It will be the last such to die, but people in New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego and other, more southerly points than Australia, are said to have a few additional weeks left to them.[18] In the film an unidentified radio newscaster says that, as far as is known, Australia is home to the last human life on the planet. This to possibly build hope that the San Francisco expedition will result in the discovery of other survivors, adding a sense of urgency and importance to Melbourne's survivors. In the novel there is no USS Swordfish, only the submarine USS Scorpion. For the film, Scorpion is renamed Sawfish, and the sub comes to represent the last (known) hope for humanity. The film's production crew was forced to use a non-nuclear, diesel-electric Royal Navy submarine, HMS Andrew, as a stand-in for the nuclear-powered Sawfish.[8] Several major and minor characters were altered, removed, or created specifically for the film adaptation. The novel's Moira Davidson, a slender, petite pale blonde in her mid-twenties, was portrayed by the tall, curvaceous, 36-year-old brunette Ava Gardner.[19] Nuclear scientist John Osborne, a 20-something bachelor in the novel, is portrayed in the film by 60-year-old Fred Astaire and is named Julian Osborn. Moira and John are cousins in the novel, while Moira and Julian are former lovers in the film. Admiral Bridie and his secretary, Lieutenant Hosgood, are film characters not in the novel.[20] In the film random Morse code radio signals coming from San Diego give rise to hope that there are survivors on the U.S. west coast. In the novel the signals are coming from a naval training base farther north, near Seattle. The idea of a survivor sending random signals is forthrightly dismissed in the novel as ridiculous. Towers says that even someone who didn't know Morse code would sit there with a Morse book and send at about five words per minute. The film's characters, however, hold out hope that there could be a person on the other end of the telegraph (this is possibly used as a plot device to build suspense and hope). The main reason in the novel for the expedition is to learn if there are indeed survivors. Rather than a telegraph operator, the characters hold out hope that, without the intercession of technicians and maintenance workers, the possibility of telegraph power being supplied after all that time would be remote at best. It turns out that, as in the film, the power station has been running on its own since the war, but it is beginning to break down from lack of maintenance, particularly the lubrication needed to prevent overheating. Just as in the film, the power station is shut down before the submarine sails for home. During Lt. Sunderstrom's search in the film for the signals' author, he is given just one hour, while in the novel, he is given two hours to find the source. Just like the novel, Sunderstrom's radiation suit doesn't have a wrist watch to help him keep track of his time ashore, so the submarine crew alerts him with horn blasts every quarter of an hour. In the film, a single horn blast was given every fifteen minutes, and Sunderstrom is ordered to return immediately after hearing the third blast. In the novel, the submarine crew gives one horn blast for a quarter of an hour, two for half an hour, three for three quarters, and four for a whole hour. He's ordered to stop what he's doing at five horn blasts (1 1/4 hours) and return at six horn blasts (1 1/2 hours). In the novel, Sunderstrom finds several bodies during his search, while in the film, there are no dead bodies at the power station. While Sunderstrom finds the source of the signals, he discovers in the novel that it's a window shade cord caught on a telegraph key. In the film he finds it's an overturned Coke bottle snagged in a window shade cord above the telegraph key. Ocean breezes, in both cases, are blowing through an open window making the window shade disturb the telegraph key. Sunderstrom sends a proper Morse message to describe how they have traveled all that way for nothing. In both the novel and the film, while Sunderstrom receives his return orders, the captain also warns him not to bring any souvenirs aboard, as they could be contaminated with radioactivity. In the novel, after Sunderstrom shuts off the power station, he explores a bit and defies his orders by bringing aboard three of the last printed issues of the Saturday Evening Post, so he catches up on a serial that was running when the war started. In the film, after Sunderstrom sends his message, he follows Tower's orders to not bring aboard any souvenirs and is already en route to Sawfish when he hears the final horn blast. In the film San Francisco's buildings are completely undamaged, with one memorable shot occurring when Sawfish first passes under the intact Golden Gate Bridge. In the novel the city has been largely destroyed and the bridge has fallen into the bay. In the novel the northernmost point of the submarine's journey is the Gulf of Alaska, while the film uses Point Barrow.[21] Towers and Moira attend the Australian Grand Prix in the film. In the novel, they are vacationing in the mountains on the day of the race, and they hear a radio report of John Osborne's first-place finish. The novel ends with a dying Moira sitting in her car, having taken her suicide pills, while watching Scorpion head out to sea to be scuttled. Unlike the novel, no mention of scuttling the submarine is made in the film. Instead, Commander Towers's crew asks that he attempt to take them back to the U.S., where they can die on their home soil. Although he realizes that they probably will not survive a second passage north, he does as they request. In the film Ava Gardner is merely watching the submarine submerge and disappear beneath the sea and is not shown taking her suicide pills.[22] Release and reception On the Beach premiered simultaneously in 18 theaters on all seven continents on December 17, 1959. The Hollywood premiere was attended by the film's stars, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins, director Stanley Kramer, in addition to other celebrities, including Cary Grant. The New York premiere was attended by Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr.. The London premiere was attended by Soviet Ambassador to the United Kingdom Yakov Malik. Star Ava Gardner attended the Rome premiere. The Tokyo premiere was attended by members of the Japanese Imperial Family. The Stockholm premiere was attended by King Gustav VI Adolf. The Melbourne premiere was attended by Premier of Victoria Henry Bolte. Other premieres were held in West Berlin, Caracas, Chicago, Johannesburg, Lima, Paris, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Zurich[23] The film was even screened in a theater at the Little America base in Antarctica. Although the film did not receive a commercial release in the Soviet Union, a special premiere was unprecedentedly arranged for that night in Moscow. Gregory Peck and his wife traveled to Russia for the screening, which was held at a workers' club, with 1,200 Soviet dignitaries, the foreign press corps, and diplomats including U.S. Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson attending.[24] On the Beach recorded a loss of $700,000.[1] Despite this, the film was praised in its day and in later years. It also acquired a fan base that agreed on many of the issues presented. Bosley Crowther in his contemporary review in The New York Times saw the film as delivering a powerful message. In putting this fanciful but arresting story of Mr. Shute on the screen, Mr. Kramer and his assistants have most forcibly emphasized this point: life is a beautiful treasure and man should do all he can to save it from annihilation, while there is still time. To this end, he has accomplished some vivid and trenchant images that subtly fill the mind of the viewer with a strong appreciation of his theme.[25] The review in Variety was not as positive: "On the Beach is a solid film of considerable emotional, as well as cerebral, content. But the fact remains that the final impact is as heavy as a leaden shroud. The spectator is left with the sick feeling that he's had a preview of Armageddon, in which all contestants lost".[26] Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote: "When the film hews close to its theme, it is effective and valuable; when it deals with its characters as characters, it is often phony. Just as we are gripped by horror, along comes a pure Hollywood touch to remind us that what we are watching is only a movie".[27] In a later appraisal of both novel and film, historian Paul Brians (Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1964 (1987)) considered the novel "inferior" to the film. His contention was that the portrayal of nuclear annihilation was more accurate as it was clear that the world was coming to an end.[28] At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 77% approval rating based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10.[29] Awards Stanley Kramer won the 1960 BAFTA for best director and Ernest Gold won the 1960 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Score. It was also nominated for Academy Awards in two categories: Category Person Nominated: Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Ernest Gold Best Film Editing Frederic Knudtson Remake On the Beach was remade in 2000 as an Australian television film by Southern Star Productions, directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, and Rachel Ward.[30] It was originally aired on Showtime.[31] The remake of the 1959 film was also based on the 1957 novel by Nevil Shute, but updates the setting of the story to the film's then-future of 2005, starting with placing the crew on the fictional Los Angeles-class USS Charleston (SSN-704) submarine[32] and also changing the final actions of Towers. Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck among 25 Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema, ranking him at No. 12. After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, Peck began appearing in stage productions, acting in over fifty plays and three Broadway productions. He first gained critical success in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), a John M. Stahl-directed drama which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He starred in a series of successful films, including romantic-drama The Valley of Decision (1944), Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), and family film The Yearling (1946). He encountered lukewarm commercial reviews at the end of the 1940s, his performances including The Paradine Case (1947) and The Great Sinner (1948). Peck reached global recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing back-to-back in the book-to-film adaptation of Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) and biblical drama David and Bathsheba (1951). He starred alongside Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953), which earned Peck a Golden Globe award. Other notable films in which he appeared include Moby Dick (1956, and its 1998 mini-series), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Cape Fear (1962, and its 1991 remake), The Omen (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). Throughout his career, he often portrayed protagonists with "fiber" within a moral setting.[1] Gentleman's Agreement (1947) centered on topics of antisemitism, while Peck's character in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder during World War II. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an adaptation of the modern classic of the same name which revolved around racial inequality, for which he received universal acclaim. In 1983, he starred opposite Christopher Plummer in The Scarlet and The Black as Hugh O'Flaherty, a Catholic priest who saved thousands of escaped Allied POWs and Jewish people in Rome during the Second World War. Peck was also active in politics, challenging the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and was regarded as a political opponent by President Richard Nixon. President Lyndon B. Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Beginnings and stage roles (1939–1943) 2.2 Rapid critical and commercial success (1944–1946) 2.3 Critical successes and commercial lows (1947–1949) 2.4 Worldwide fame (1950–1953) 2.5 Overseas and New York (1954–1957) 2.6 Reflections on violence (1958–1959) 2.7 Second commercial and critical peak (1960–1964) 2.8 Mature years and later work (1965–2000) 3 Politics 4 Personal life 5 Death and legacy 6 Acting credits and awards 7 Archives 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links Early life Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916, in the neighborhood of La Jolla in San Diego, California,[2][3] to Bernice Mae "Bunny" (née Ayres; 1894–1992), and Gregory Pearl Peck (1886–1962), a Rochester, New York–born chemist and pharmacist. His father was of English (paternal) and Irish (maternal) heritage,[4][5] and his mother was of English and Scots ancestry.[6] She converted to her husband's religion, Catholicism, and Peck was raised as a Catholic. Through his Irish-born paternal grandmother Catherine Ashe (1864–1926), Peck was related to Thomas Ashe (1885–1917), who participated in the Easter Rising less than three weeks after Peck's birth and died while being force-fed during a hunger strike in 1917. Peck (right) with his father c. 1930 Peck's parents divorced when he was five, and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother, who took him to the movies every week.[7][8] At the age of 10, he was sent to a Catholic military school, St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles. While he was a student there, his grandmother died. At 14, he moved back to San Diego to live with his father. He attended San Diego High School,[9] and after graduating in 1934, enrolled for one year at San Diego State Teacher's College (now known as San Diego State University). While there, he joined the track team, took his first theatre and public-speaking courses, and pledged the Epsilon Eta fraternity.[10] Peck had ambitions to be a doctor, and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley,[11] as an English major and pre-medical student. Standing 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), he rowed on the university crew. Although his tuition fee was only $26 per year, Peck still struggled to pay and took a job as a "hasher" (kitchen helper) for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority in exchange for meals. At Berkeley, Peck's deep, well-modulated voice gained him attention, and after participating in a public speaking course, he decided to try acting. He was encouraged by an acting coach, who saw in him perfect material for university theatre, and he became more and more interested in acting. He was recruited by Edwin Duerr, director of the university's Little Theater, and appeared in five plays during his senior year, including as Starbuck in Moby Dick.[12] Peck would later say about his years at Berkeley that "it was a very special experience for me and three of the greatest years of my life. It woke me up and made me a human being."[13] In 1996, Peck donated $25,000 to the Berkeley rowing crew in honor of his coach, the renowned Ky Ebright.[14] Career Beginnings and stage roles (1939–1943) Peck did not graduate with his friends because he lacked one course. His college friends were concerned for him and wondered how he would get along without his degree. "I have all I need from the university", he told them. Peck dropped the name "Eldred" and headed to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse with the legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He was often broke, and sometimes slept in Central Park.[15] He worked at the 1939 World's Fair as a barker, and Rockefeller Center as a tour guide for NBC television, and at Radio City Music Hall.[12] He dabbled in modelling before, in 1940, working in exchange for food at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he appeared in five plays, including Family Portrait and On Earth As It Is.[16] His stage career began in 1941, when he played the secretary in a Katharine Cornell production of George Bernard Shaw's play The Doctor's Dilemma. The play opened in San Francisco just one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.[17] He made his Broadway debut as the lead in Emlyn Williams' The Morning Star in 1942.[12] His second Broadway performance that year was in The Willow and I with Edward Pawley. Peck's acting abilities were in high demand during World War II because he was exempted from military service, owing to a back injury suffered while receiving dance and movement lessons from Martha Graham as part of his acting training.[18] Twentieth Century Fox later claimed he had injured his back while rowing at university, but in Peck's words, "In Hollywood, they didn't think a dance class was macho enough, I guess. I've been trying to straighten out that story for years."[19] Peck performed in a total of 50 plays, including three short-lived Broadway productions, 4–5 road tours, and summer theater.[20] Rapid critical and commercial success (1944–1946) Film historian David Thomson wrote "From his debut, Peck was always a star and rarely less than a box office success."[21] After gaining stage recognition, Peck was offered his first film role, the male lead in the war-romance Days of Glory (1944), directed by Jacques Tourneur, alongside top-billed Tamara Toumanova, a Russian-born ballerina.[12] Peck portrayed the leader of Russian guerrillas resisting the Germans in 1941 who stumble across a beautiful Russian dancer (Toumanova), who had been sent to entertain Russian troops, and protect her by letting her join their group.[12][21] During production of the film, Tourneur "untrained" Peck from his theater training where he was used to speaking in a formal manner and projecting his voice to the entire hall.[22] Peck considered his performance in the film as quite amateurish and did not wish to watch the film after it was released.[22] The film lost money at the box office, disappeared from theaters quickly,[23][24] and was largely dismissed by critics.[25][22] Peck in his film debut Days of Glory (1944) At the time of the film's release, critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times assessed it as slow-moving and verbose, adding that Peck's acting was stiff.[a] Film historian Barry Monush has written, "Peck's star power was evident from the word go."[12] Following the release of the film, Peck gained the attention of producers, but rather than participating in the studio system, he decided to remain a freelancer with the ability to choose his roles, signing non-exclusive contracts with four studios,[27] including an unusual dual contract with 20th Century Fox and Gone With the Wind producer David O. Selznick.[28] Peck's second movie, The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), features him as an 80-year-old Roman Catholic priest looking back at his undertakings during over half a century spent as a determined, self-sacrificing missionary in China.[29][21] The film shows the character aging from his 20s to 80; Peck featured in almost every scene.[30] The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, which was Peck's first nomination.[31] Although the film finished only 27th at the box office in North America for 1944,[32] Jay Carr of Turner Classic Movies refers to it as Peck's breakthrough performance[33] while writer Patrick McGilligan says that it "catapulted him to stardom".[34] At the time of release, Peck's performance was lauded by Variety and The New York Times, amidst mixed reviews for the film itself.[b] The Radio Times referred to it as "a long, talkative and rather undramatic picture" but admitted that "its success saved Peck's career".[36] Craig Butler of AllMovie states "he gives a commanding performance, full of his usual quiet dignity and intelligence, and spiked with stubbornness and an inner fire that make the character truly come alive."[37] In The Valley of Decision (1944), a romantic drama about intermingling social classes, Peck plays the eldest son of a wealthy steel mill owner in 1870s Pittsburgh who has a romance with one of his family's maids, portrayed by Greer Garson.[38][39] who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Upon release, reviews from The New York Times and Variety were somewhat positive, with Peck's performance described as commanding.[c] It was North America's biggest grossing movie of 1945.[41] Peck's next film was the first of two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, the suspense-romance Spellbound (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman. Peck plays a man who is thought to be the new director of the psychiatric facility where Bergman's character works as a psychoanalyst, while his amnesia and disturbing visions suggest he may be a murderer.[42] Peck and Hitchcock were described as having a cordial but cool relationship.[43] Hitchock initially hoped that Cary Grant would play the male lead.[44] Peck later stated that he thought he was too young when he first worked with Hitchcock, and that the director's on-set indifference to his character's motivation, important to Peck's acting style, shook his confidence.[28] Peck's chemistry clicked with his screen partner Bergman; the actors were romantically linked at the time.[45] Peck and co-star Ingrid Bergman in the film Spellbound (1945) Released at the end of 1945, Spellbound was a hit, ranking as the third-most successful film of 1946.[41] Spellbound was well received by critics at the time, as was Peck's performance.[d][48] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised the film, stating that Peck's performance "restrained and refined, is precisely the proper counter to Bergman's exquisite role;"[46] Frank Miller of Turner Classic Movies has written that the movie continued the rise of Peck into a Hollywood star and even "a major sex symbol".[49] Producer David O. Selznick noted that during preview tests of the movie, the women in the audiences had substantive reactions to the appearance of Peck's name during the opening credits, stating that during his first few scenes the audience had to be shushed to quiet down.[49] Spellbound was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, although it was not in the National Board of Review's top ten films of the year.[31][50] In The Yearling (1946),[21] Peck portrays a kind-hearted father, opposite onscreen wife, Jane Wyman, whose son finds and insists on raising a three-day-old fawn in 1870s Florida.[42] Reviews upon release were very positive[e] with Bosley Crowther evaluating it as a film that "provides a wealth of satisfaction that few films ever attain".[52] The Yearling was a box office success finishing with the ninth highest box office gross for 1947[41] and landed six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor. Peck won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for performance.[53] In recent decades, it has continued to receive critical praise[f] with Barry Monush writing, it is "one of the best-made and most-loved family films of its day,".[12] Peck took his first "against type" role, as a cruel, amoral cowboy in the western soap opera Duel in the Sun (1946) with top-billed Jennifer Jones as the provocative, temptress object of Peck's love, anger and desire.[57][58] Their chemistry is described by film historian David Thomson as "a constant knife fight of sensuality".[59] Also starring Joseph Cotten as Peck's righteous half brother and competitor for the affections of the "steamy, sexpot" character of Jones,[60] the movie was resoundingly criticized, and even banned in some cities, due to its lurid nature.[61][62] The publicity around the eroticism of Duel in the Sun,[63] one of the biggest movie advertising campaigns in history,[64][58] used a new tactic of opening in hundreds of theaters across the U.S. at once,[65] saturating the theaters in cities where it opened,[66] resulting in the film being the second highest-grossing movie of both 1947 and the 1940s.[67] Nicknamed "Lust in the Dust", the film received mostly negative reviews upon release,[g] such as Bosley Crowther writing that "performances are strangely uneven",[70] although Jones received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The opinions of Peck's performance have been polarized.[h] Critical successes and commercial lows (1947–1949) In 1947, Peck co-founded The La Jolla Playhouse, at his birthplace, with Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire.[72] This summer stock company presented productions in the La Jolla High School Auditorium from 1947 until 1964. In 1983, the La Jolla Playhouse re-opened in a new home at the University of California, San Diego, where it operates today. It has attracted Hollywood film stars on hiatus, both as performers and enthusiastic supporters, since its inception. Peck's next release was the modest-budget, serious adult drama, The Macomber Affair (1947), in which he portrays an African hunting trip guide assisting a visiting couple. During the trip, the wife, played by Joan Bennett, becomes enamored with Peck, and the husband gets shot.[73] Peck was very active in the development of the film, including recommending director Zoltan Korda.[74] The film received positive reviews[i] but was mostly overlooked by the public upon its release, which Peck would later say disappointed him.[74] Peck with actors Dorothy McGuire and Sam Jaffe in Gentleman's Agreement (1947) In November 1947, Peck's next film, the landmark Gentleman's Agreement, directed by Elia Kazan, was released and was immediately proclaimed as "Hollywood's first major attack on anti-Semitism".[76][77] Based on a novel, the film has Peck portraying a New York magazine writer who pretends to be Jewish so he can experience personally the hostility of bigots.[78] It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Peck for Best Actor, winning in the Best Film and Best Director categories. It was the second-highest top-grossing film of 1948.[79] Peck would indicate in his later years that the film was one of his proudest works.[80] Upon release, Gentleman's Agreement was widely praised for both its courageousness and its quality,[j][82] Peck's performance has been described as very convincing by many critics, both upon release and in recent years.[k] In recent decades, critics have expressed differing opinions regarding Peck's portrayal, the quality of the film by modern standard, and the film's effectiveness at addressing anti-semitism,[l] with film writer Matt Bailey writing "Gentleman's Agreement may have been an important film at one time, but was never a good film,"[87][m][89][n] Peck's next three releases were each commercial disappointments. The Paradine Case (1947), was his second and last film with Hitchcock. When producer David O. Selznick insisted on casting Peck for the movie, Hitchcock was apprehensive, questioning whether Peck could properly portray an English lawyer.[92] In later years, Peck did not speak fondly of the making of the movie[93] Released in 1947,The Paradine Case was a British-set courtroom drama about a defense lawyer in love with his client.[59] It had an international cast including Charles Laughton, Ethel Barrymore and Alida Valli as the accused.[94] The movie received positive reviews, many complimenting Peck's performance,[o] but was panned by the public, only recouping half of the $4.2 million production costs.[96] In recent decades, the film was criticized by most prominent writers, although critic's praised Peck's acting.[p] Writers Paul Condon and Jim Sangster stated that "Peck is vulnerable yet believable in a role that requires significant delicacy of touch to maintain viewer's loyalty and interest."[99] Peck in the film Yellow Sky (1949) Peck shared top billing with Anne Baxter in the western Yellow Sky (1948), the namesake setting as the ghost town Peck's group of bank robbers seek refuge in, encountering the spunky tomboy, Baxter, her grandfather, alongside their gold.[100] Peck gradually develops an interest in Baxter's character, who in turn seems to rediscover her femininity and develops an interest in him.[101][q] Critics which commented on Peck's performance felt it to be solid.[r][103] as being slightly unbelievable,[s][102] The film was only moderately commercially successful.[104] A year later, Peck was paired with Ava Gardner for their first of three films together in The Great Sinner (1949), a period drama-romance where a Russian writer, Peck, becomes addicted to gambling while helping Gardner and her father pay back their debts.[105] Peck ended up becoming great friends with Gardner, and would later declare her his favorite co-star.[12] Their friendship lasted the rest of Gardner's life, and upon her death in 1990, Peck took in both her housekeeper and her dog.[106] The film received unfavorable reviews usually describing it as dull,[t] and the public was not interested, rendering it a commercial disappointment.[108] In modern times, the film has received mixed reviews[u][54] but TV Guide says "this often gripping film" has strong performances, that "Peck is powerful" in his portrayal.[109] Peck initially rejected the film, his last movie under his MGM contract, eventually agreeing to do it as a favor to the studio's production head.[110] His second 1949 release, Twelve O'Clock High (1949), was released, the first of many films in which Peck embodied the brave, effective, yet human, "fighting man". Based on true events, Peck portrays the new commander of a U.S. World War II bomber squadron tasked with whipping the crew into shape, but then breaks down emotionally under the stress of the job.[78] The National Board of Review ranked it in their top ten films of the year[50] and it received four Academy Awards nominations, Best Actor for Peck.[31] Peck was later recognized in the New York Film Critics Circle for the role.[53] Twelve O'Clock High was a commercial success finishing tenth in the 1950 box office rankings.[111] The film received strong reviews upon release.[v][113][114] Recent critics maintain positive opinions.[w][118] Evaluations of Peck's performance were positive,[x] with The New York Times describing "High and particular praise for Gregory Peck...Peck does an extraordinarily able job in revealing the hardness and the softness of a general exposed to peril."[119] Film historian Peter von Bagh considers Peck's performance "as Brigadier General Frank Savage to be the most enduring of his life".[120] Worldwide fame (1950–1953) Peck began the 1950s with two westerns, the first being The Gunfighter (1950), directed by Henry King, who had worked with him previously on Twelve O'Clock High. Peck plays an aging "Top Gun of the West" who is now weary of killing and wishes to retire with his alluring but pragmatic wife and his seven-year-old son, both of whom he has not seen for many years.[121][122] Peck and King did much photographic research about the Wild West Era, discovering that most cowboys had facial hair, "bowl" haircuts and wore beat-up clothing; Peck subsequently wore a mustache while filming.[123][124] The studio's president called for re-shoots upon seeing the initial footage due to the mustache, but backed out due to costs inflated by the production manager at King and Peck's persuasion.[124][125] The Gunfighter did fair but disappointing business at the box office,[126] earning $5.6 million in receipts, the 47th most for 1951.[127] 20th Century Fox's studio chief Darryl Zanuck blamed Peck's mustache for the lukewarm reaction from Peck's typical fans, stating that wanted to see usual handsome, clean-shaven Peck, not the authentic-cowboy Peck.[124] The Gunfighter, received "solid reviews" upon release, with particular enthusiasm from some critics,[128][y] and Peck's performance "bringing him some of his best notices".[12] The New York Times wrote, "..through Mr. Peck's fine performance, a fair comprehension is conveyed of the loneliness and the isolation of a man with a lurid name ... an arresting and quite exciting film."[130] The movie has grown in critical appreciation over the years and "is now considered one of the all-time classic westerns"[131][z] Critics of recent decades uniformly praise Peck's performance,[aa] with David Parkinson of RadioTimes saying "Peck gives a performance of characteristic dignity and grit."[135][132][ab] Peck and Barbara Payton in Only the Valiant (1951) Peck's next western was Only the Valiant (1951), a low-budget movie, for which Peck disliked the script and would later label as the low point of his career.[136] Peck's non-exclusive contract with David O. Selznick permitted Selznick to sell his services to other studios, and Selznick sold his services to Warner Bros for this movie after he ran into financial difficulties.[136] The plot of the film is listed as "an unpopular, strict leader gathers together a rag-tag group of men and leads them on an extremely dangerous mission, turning them into a well-oiled fighting machine by the end and earning respect along the way."[137] Peck portrays a U.S. army captain and the mission is to protect an undermanned army fort against the attacking Apache.[138] Peck's romantic interest was played by Barbara Payton.[45][139] Variety's review said "In this cavalry yarn ... great pains have been exerted to provide interesting characters. Peck makes the most of a colorful role."[140] It earned a moderate $5.7 million, ranking at 35th for the year.[141] This little-remembered picture, today receives mixed reviews, although Peck's acting is praised.[ac] Peck's second 1951 release was the book-to-film adaptation Captain Horatio Hornblower, featuring Peck as the commander of a warship in the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars who finds romance with Virginia Mayo's character. Peck was attracted to the character, saying, "I thought Hornblower was an interesting character. I never believe in heroes who are unmitigated and unadulterated heroes, who never know the meaning of fear."[145] The role had been originally intended for Errol Flynn, but he was felt to be too old by the time the project came to fruition.[146] Captain Horatio Hornblower was a box office success, finishing ninth for the year in the UK[147] and seventh in the North America.[148] Peck's role in the film was largely praised by reviewers. The Associated Press stated that Peck provided "the proper dash and authenticity as the remarkable nineteenth-century skipper"[149] and Variety later wrote "Peck stands out as a skilled artist, capturing the spirit of the character and atmosphere of the period."[150] Modern reviews have given mixed reactions toward Peck's performance.[ad] Richard Gilliam of AllMovie argues, it is "an excellent performance from Gregory Peck" stating that "Peck brings his customary aura of intelligence and moral authority to the role,"[153] while the Radio Times asserts "Gregory Peck plays Hornblower as a high-principle stuff shirt and thus confounds director Raoul Walsh's efforts to inject some pace."[154][ae] Peck alongside co-star Susan Hayward in David and Bathsheba His third film with Henry King's direction, David and Bathsheba, a Biblical epic, was the top-grossing movie of 1951.[111] The two-hit-movie of Horatio and David elevated Peck to the status of Hollywood mega-star.[156] David and Bathsheba tells the story of David (Peck), who slew Goliath as a teenager; and, later, as beloved King, becomes infatuated with the married Bathsheba, played by Susan Hayward.[157] Peck's performance in David and Bathsheba was evaluated upon release by the New York Times "as an authoritative performance,"[158] and Variety stated "Peck is a commanding personality...he shades his character expertly,",[159] In recent years, critics have argued that his "stiff" performance is made up for in charisma, but overall praised his strength in the role[160][161][162] and Leonard Maltin says the movie has "only fair performances".[54] David and Bathsheba opened with positive reviews, praising it for avoided excessive spectacle[af] while remaining an epic with "dignified restraint".[163] Peck returned to swashbucklers in The World in His Arms (1952), directed by Raoul Walsh, who had also directed Captain Horatio Hornblower. Peck portrays a seal-hunting ship captain in 1850 San Francisco who romances a Russian countess played by Ann Blyth and ends up engaging a rival sealer played by Anthony Quinn in a sailing race to Alaska.[164][165] The film was given positive reviews by both contemporary and modern critics.[ag][167][168] All Movie commented that Peck is "a superb actor, who brings enormous skill to the part, but who simply lacks the overt derring-do and danger that is part of the role."[169] The film was moderately successful, moreso in the UK than in North America.[170][171] He reunited with previous collaborators King, Hayward, and Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), an adaptation of a short story by Ernest Hemingway.[172] The film stars Peck as a self-concerned writer looking back on his life, particularly his romance with his first wife (Gardner), while he slowly dies from an accidental wound while on an African hunting expedition with his current wife (Hayward) nursing him.[173] The film was praised for its cinematography and direction.[ah][ai] Most reviews praise Peck's performance, with TV Guide saying the story is "enacted with power and conviction by Peck," although some criticized his "bland" expressions.[178] The Snows of Kilimanjaro was a box office hit and ranked as the fourth highest-grossing movie of 1952.[41] Peck and Audrey Hepburn in a promotional still for Roman Holiday (1953) Peck's "first real foray into comedy" was Roman Holiday (1953), directed by William Wyler.[12] He portrayed American journalist Joe Bradley opposite Audrey Hepburn as a European princess in her first significant film role.[179][12][180][181][182] Peck's role in Roman Holiday had originally been offered to Cary Grant, who turned it down because the part appeared to be more of a supporting role to the princess.[179] Peck had the same concern, but was persuaded by Wyler that the on-site filming in Rome would be an exceptional experience, and accepted the part, even eventually insisting that Hepburn's name be above the title of the film (just beneath his) in the opening credits.[179] Peck later stated that he had told his agent "I'm smart enough to know this girl's going to win the Oscar in her first picture, and I'm going to look like a damned fool if her name is not up there on top with mine."[125] Roman Holiday was a commercial success, finishing 22nd in the box office in 1953.[111] The film continued to garner money after its release, with "modern sources noting it earned $10 million total at the box office".[183] Critics praised Peck's performance; Bosley Crowther stated that "Peck makes a stalwart and manly escort...whose eyes belie his restrained exterior,"[182] while the Hollywood Reporter commented that "Peck turns in another of his outstanding performances playing the love-smitten reporter with intelligence and good-humored conviction;"[184][185] The film was met with critical acclaim.[aj][185][187][85][ak][190][191] It was nominated for multiple accolades, including 8 Academy Awards, with Hepburn winning for Best Actress; Peck also scored a BAFTA nomination for Foreign Actor.[41] At the 1955 Golden Globe awards, Peck and Hepburn were named the World Film Favorite Award winners for their respective genders.[41] Overseas and New York (1954–1957) With his acclaimed performance in The Gunfighter, Peck was offered the lead role in High Noon (1952) but turned it down because he did not want to become typecast as a Westerns actor.[128] Peck was based in the United Kingdom for about eighteen months between 1953 and 1955; new tax laws had drastically raised the tax rate on high-income earners, but the tax amount due would be reduced if the payer worked outside the country for extended periods.[192] Proceeding Roman Holiday's production in Italy, his three subsequent films were shot and set in London, Germany and Southeast Asia, respectively. Peck starred in The Million Pound Note (1954), based on a Mark Twain short story.[193] Peck enjoyed the films production as "it was a good comedy opportunity" and "was given probably the most elegant wardrobe he had ever worn in film".[193] He plays a penniless American seaman in 1903 London who is given a one million pound bank note by two rich, eccentric brothers who wish to ascertain if he can survive for one month without spending any of it.[194][193] The film performed modestly at the box office and received mixed reviews for its production.[193][194][195][al] Adrian Turner of the Radio Times praised it as a "lovely comedy" which "has a lot of charm and gentle humor, owing to Peck's evident delight in the role and the unobtrusive direction" adding it has a "witty script".[197] He portrayed a US army colonel investigating the kidnapping of a young soldier in Night People (1954).[198] Peck later stated that the role of was one of his favorites as his lines were "tough and crisp and full of wisecracks, and more aggressive than other roles" he'd played.[199] The film received praise for its production and direction, but did poorly at the box office.[200][199] Peck flew to Sri Lanka to film The Purple Plain (1954), playing a Canadian bomber pilot with strong emotional problems during the Second World War.[192][201][202] The Purple Plain was panned in the United States but became a hit in the United Kingdom, ranking tenth at the box office in 1954,[203] and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.[41][192][204] Of his performance, Crowther wrote, "the extent of Peck's agony is impressively transmitted...in vivid and unrelenting scenes."[205] In recent years, the movie "has become one of Peck's most respected works,"[192][54][201] with critic David Thomson rating Peck's performance as excellent.[21] Craig Butler of All Movie describes "Peck is astonishing, giving the sort of layered, intense yet nuanced performance that deserves major awards".[206] Peck with Jennifer Jones in a film still for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) In 1954, Peck was named the third most popular non-British film star in the United Kingdom.[207] Peck did not have a film released in 1955. Peck made a comeback in the US. with The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), in which he portrays a married, ex-soldier father of three who is increasingly haunted by his deeds in Italy during the Second World War.[208][209] The film saw Peck reunited with Duel in the Sun co-star Jennifer Jones; during the filming of a scene where their characters argue, Jones clawed his face with her fingernails, prompting Peck to say to the director "I don't call that acting. I call it personal."[210] The movie was successful, finishing eighth in box office gross for the year[211] despite contemporary and modern reviews being mixed.[210][am][212][215][214][an][217][218] Butler of AllMovie declared that "the role fits (Gregory Peck) as if it had been tailor-made for him. Peck's particular brilliance lies in the quiet strength that is so much a part of him and the way in which he uses subtle changes in that quietness to signal mammoth emotions. He's given ample opportunity to do so here and the results are enthralling...an exceptional performance".[217] Radio Times refers to "the excellent Peck" and states Peck plays "the appealing flawed hero". Peck next starred Captain Ahab in the 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick; he was unsure about his suitability for the part but was persuaded by director John Huston to take the role.[219][220] Peck almost drowned twice during filming in stormy weather off the sea coasts of Ireland and several other performers and crew members suffered injuries.[221] John Huston was named best director of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review for Moby Dick, but did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. The movie had the ninth highest box office of the year in North America,[41] but cost $4.5 million to make, more than double the original budget, and was considered a commercial disappointment.[221] In 2003, editor Barry Monush wrote, "There was, and continues to be, controversy over his casting as Ahab in Moby Dick."[12] Upon opening, Variety said: "Peck often seems understated and much too gentlemanly for a man supposedly consumed by insane fury."[222][220]The Hollywood Reporter argued "Peck plays it...in a brooding, smoldering vein, but none the less intensely and dynamically."[223] In modern times, critics have said Peck is: "often mesmerizing";[12] "stoic" and "more than adequate"; "[224] and "lending a deranged dignity" to the role.[54][21][225][178][226][227] Peck himself later said "I wasn't mad enough, not crazy enough, not obsessive enough – I should have done more. At the time, I didn't have more in me."[228] Peck and Lauren Bacall in the film Designing Woman (1957) For romantic comedy Designing Woman (1957), Peck was permitted to choose his leading lady: Lauren Bacall, who was content to be busy with work as her husband was gravely ill at the time.[229] The film revolves around a fashion designer and a sports writer on vacation, and, although Peck's character already has a partner back home, have a brief affair and hastily get married, only to find out when they are back home that they have vastly different lifestyles.[230] The film was mildly successful and entered at 35th for annual gross, but did not break even.[231][232] Upon release, Variety said "Bacall..is excellent...Peck is fine as the confused sportswriter" and added that all the other actors/actresses give top-notch performances.[233][ao] In recent years, the few reviews from prominent critics or websites are generally positive[ap] with TV Guide exclaiming "they've made...the famous stoneface...Peck, somewhat funny. Bacall gives an especially good performance." Designing Women won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[235] Some movie review books or websites do not include this movie. Reflections on violence (1958–1959) Peck and Joan Collins in The Bravados (1958) Peck and co-star Carroll Baker in The Big Country (1958) Peck's next movie, the western The Bravados (1958), reunited him with director Henry King after a six-year gap.[126] King was widely considered to have produced some of Peck's best work; Peck once said "King was like an older brother, even a father figure. We communicated without talking anything to death. It was direction by osmosis."[125][236][237] In The Bravados, Peck's character spends weeks pursuing four outlaws whom he believes raped and murdered his wife while agonizing over his own morals.[238][239][240] The film was a moderate success, finishing in the top 20 of the box office for 1959.[241][41] In recent years, the film and Peck's performance has received mixed reviews;[aq] with TimeOut asserting that "Peck's "crisis of conscience..is worked out in perfunctory religious terms;"[243] and TV Guide stating Peck's cowboy's "moment of truth is a powerful one and he gives it all the value it deserves, although much of his acting up to then had been lackluster".[244] In 1956, Peck made a foray into the film production business, organizing Melville Productions and later, Brentwood Productions.[245] These companies produced five movies over seven years, all starring Peck,[245] including Pork Chop Hill, for which Peck served as the executive producer.[246] The films were observed by some as becoming more political,[28] although Peck said he tried to avoid any "overt preachiness".[125] In 1958, Peck and good friend William Wyler co-produced the western epic The Big Country (1958) separate from Peck's production company.[247] The project ran into numerous issues; Wyler and Peck were dissatisfied with the script, which underwent almost daily revisions, causing stress for the performers.[248] Peck and the screenwriters ended up rewriting the script after each day's shooting, causing stress for the performers, who would arrive the next day and find their lines and even entire scenes different than for what they had prepared.[249] The stellar cast included Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives; Ives won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his intense performance. There were disagreements between director Wyler and the performers, resulting in Peck storming off-set when Wyler refused to re-shoot a close-up scene.[248] Peck and Wyler's relationship remained strained for three years after production.[248][249] Peck said in 1974 that he had tried producing and acting simultaneously and felt "either it can't be done or it's just that I don't do it well".[237] The film itself was a big hit, finishing fourth at the domestic box office in 1958.[250] and second in the UK.[251][12][252][253] At the time of release, reviews for The Big Country were mixed, regarding the producers' prioritization of characterization versus technical filmmaking; opinions on Peck's performance were also disparate.[ar] In recent decades, critical opinion of The Big Country has generally risen although there is still disagreement; many prominent critics and publications describe the cinematography as excellent, some laud Peck's performance, and some cite the film as too long.[as][259][260] Peck's next feature was Pork Chop Hill (1959), based on true events depicted in a book.[261] Peck portrays a lieutenant during the Korean War who is ordered to use his infantry company to take the strategically insignificant Pork Chop Hill, as its capture would strengthen the U.S.'s position in the almost-complete armistice negotiations.[262] As executive producer, Peck recruited Lewis Milestone of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) to direct. Many critics label it as an anti-war film;[12][263] it has also been stated that "as shooting progressed it became clear Peck and Milestone had very different artistic visions."[264] Peck later said the movie showed "the futility of settling political arguments by killing young men. We tried not to preach; we let it speak for itself."[125] Despite solid reviews, the film did only fair business at the box office.[265] Most critics, both upon Pork Chop Hill's opening[at] and in recent years,[au] agree that it is a gritty, grim and realistic rendering of battle action.[268] Three critics who comment on Peck's performance are laudatory,[av] with Variety saying Peck's performance is "completely believable. He comes through as a born leader, and yet it is quite clear that he has moments of doubt and of uncertainty."[262] Peck's second release of 1959 cast him opposite Deborah Kerr in Beloved Infidel which as based on the memoirs of film columnist Sheilah Graham. The film portrays the romance between Graham (Kerr) and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (Peck) during the last three years of his life, towards the end of which Fitzgerald was often drunk and abusive.[269] Crowther assessed it as "generally flat and uninteresting" with a "postured performance of Gregory Peck...his grim-faced, monotony as a washout is relieved in a couple of critical scenes by some staggering and bawling as a drunkard, but that is hardly enough."[270] Variety said that "the acting, while excellent and persuasive in parts, is shallow and artificial in others. Problem is primarily with Peck who brings to Fitzgerald the kind of clean-cut looks and youthful appearance that conflict with the image of a has-been novelist."[271] Reviews from five prominent scribes in recent decades are similar, saying, Peck was blatantly miscast,[aw] with TV Guide specifying that because of their physical differences Craig Butler saying "Peck was an extremely talented actor, but there is nothing in his personality that matches the qualities associated with Fitzgerald.[21] Peck in a publicity still for On the Beach (1959) Peck starred next in On the Beach (1959) alongside Ava Gardner in their third and final film together.[275] The film is considered to be Hollywood's first major movie about the implications of nuclear warfare. Directed by Stanley Kramer and based on a best-selling book, the film shows the last weeks of several people in Australia as they await the onset of radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs.[276] Peck portrays a U.S. submarine commander who has brought his crew to Australia from the North Pacific Ocean after nuclear bombs had been detonated in the northern hemisphere, eventually romancing Gardner's character.[276] The film was named to the top ten lists of the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.[277] It was successful at the North American box office finishing eighth for the year,[41] but due to its high production cost it lost $700,000.[278] On the Beach was praised by critics.[ax][85][276][ay] In recent decades, critical opinion of On the Beach is mixed with some prominent critics asserting the script is poor,[az] but some critics saying the acting, especially Peck, and cinematography are excellent, and that, overall, the film is powerful.[ba] Butler of AllMovie writes, "...problematic is the clichéd, almost soap-operatic relationship between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and the somewhat melodramatic handling of other sections of the film...The cast helps tremendously. Peck has rarely been more stalwart...Even decades after its release, Beach is a harrowing and devastating experience."[283] Second commercial and critical peak (1960–1964) Peck's first release of 1961 was The Guns of Navarone.[284] A J. Lee Thompson-directed World War II drama, it depicts Peck's six-man commando team, which includes David Niven and Anthony Quinn, undertaking a mission to destroy two seemingly impregnable German-controlled artillery guns on Navarone Island.[61] The team of specialists (Peck is the mountain climbing expert) needs to destroy the guns so British ships can evacuate 2,000 trapped British soldiers across the Aegean Sea.[61][285] During filming Peck said his team seems to defeat "the entire German army" which approached parody, and he concluded that that cast members had to "play their roles with complete conviction" to make the film convincing.[286][287] The film was the top-grossing movie of 1961,[111] and became "one of the most popular adventure movies of its day".[12] It landed seven Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Special Effects; other accolades include the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Movie and the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay.[31][286] Peck and David Niven in The Guns of Navarone (1961) Critics praised The Guns of Navarone, it being named the best picture of the year in Film Daily's annual poll of critics and industry reporters in 1961.[bb] In recent decades, most prominent critics or publications give it positive reviews[bc][292][293] Paul V. Peckly of The New York Herald Tribune wrote, "Peck may seem at times a trifle wooden and his German accent too obviously American .... but his not too introspective, somewhat baffled manner is manly and fitted to the role he plays.[286][285] Peck's next film was Cape Fear (1962), produced by Melville Productions. Peck portrays a lawyer whose witness testimony convicted Robert Mitchum's character, who upon being released from prison after serving eight years for sexual assault, threatens to get back at Peck through his wife and daughter, and meticulously terrorizes the family.[294] Peck was anxious to have Mitchum in the role of Cady, but Mitchum declined at first and only relented after Peck and Thompson delivered a case of bourbon to Mitchum's home.[295] Many cuts were made to the movie to satisfy censorship codes in the US and UK.[295] The film grossed only $5 million at the North American box office, 47th for the year. [296] Crowther and Variety gave Cape Fear solid reviews.[bd] Crowther said, Both expressed satisfaction with Peck's performance, although Variety noted he could have been a little more stressed by the occurrences. Other reviews were mixed due to the movie's disturbing nature, including The New Yorker.[295] In recent decades, reviews have been generally positive.[be][303] Critics commented on Peck's performance in Cape Fear, with TV Guide saying "Peck is careful not to act the fear; he's an interesting foe for Mitchum." After Cape Fear, Peck planned to make his directorial debut with They're a Weird Mob but eventually did not make the film.[304] Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor Peck's next role was in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird.;[305] Peck plays the part of a kind and scrupulously honest lawyer father, Atticus Finch.[305] Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, which was his fifth and last time nominated. The film received seven other Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture, Director and Cinematography, also winning Adapted Screenplay and Art Direction. At the Golden Globes, Peck won for Best Actor in a Drama and the film was nominated for Best Film and Director; the film was nominated for Best Film at the BAFTAs.[bf][306] The film was a commercial success as the sixth highest-grossing film of the year.[296] In 2003, Atticus Finch, as portrayed by Peck, was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute.[307] Peck would later say of To Kill A Mockingbird: "My favorite film, without any question."[85] When producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan approached Peck about taking the role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Peck agreed to read the book. He stated "I got started on it and of course I sat up all night and read straight through it...I called them at about eight o'clock in the morning and said 'When do I start?'"[308][bg] Peck did eventually request changes so that film deviated somewhat from the book, mainly showing more scenes of Peck in the courtroom than were in the original rough cut, thus shifting the focus away from the children, who had been the focus of the book, and more towards Atticus Finch.[bh] [bi][308] Peck's performance received universal acclaim from critics. Variety wrote that the role was especially challenging for Peck but that he "not only succeeds, but makes it appear effortless, etching a portrayal of strength, dignity and intelligence."[bj] The Hollywood Reporter said "Peck gives probably the finest performance of his career, understated, casual, effective."[315] Time posited "Peck, though he is generally excellent, lays it on a bit thick at times – he seems to imagine himself the Abe Lincoln of Alabama."[316][317] Reviews in recent decades have similarly lauded Peck's performance,[bk] with Film Monthly observing, "Gregory Peck's performance as lawyer Atticus Finch is just as beautiful, natural, and nuanced as the movie itself."[322][12] Both Michael Gebert[41] and Andrew Collins of Radiotimes[323] refer to Atticus Finch as the role that defined Peck's career. Mature years and later work (1965–2000) Peck served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund in 1971, and National Chairman of the American Cancer Society in 1966. He was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1964 to 1966.[324] Peck with Olga Karlatos in The Scarlet and the Black (1983) Peck's rare attempts at villainous roles were not acclaimed. Early on, he played the renegade son in the Western Duel in the Sun, and, later in his career, the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in The Boys from Brazil.[325] In the 1980s, Peck moved to television, where he starred in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray, playing Abraham Lincoln. He also starred with Christopher Plummer, John Gielgud, and Barbara Bouchet in the television film The Scarlet and The Black, about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a real-life Catholic priest in the Vatican who smuggled Jews and other refugees away from the Nazis during World War II. Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam all had roles in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear, directed by Martin Scorsese. In the remake, Peck played Max Cady's lawyer. His last prominent film role also came in 1991, in Other People's Money, directed by Norman Jewison and based on the stage play of that name. Peck played a business owner trying to save his company against a hostile takeover bid by a Wall Street liquidator played by Danny DeVito. Peck retired from active film-making after the film. Peck spent the last few years of his life touring the world doing speaking engagements in which he would show clips from his movies and take questions from the audience. He came out of retirement for a 1998 mini-series version of one of his most famous films, Moby Dick, portraying Father Mapple (played by Orson Welles in the 1956 version), with Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab, the role Peck played in the earlier film. It was his final performance, and it won him the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. Peck had been offered the role of Grandpa Joe in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but died before he could accept it. The Irish actor David Kelly was then given the part.[326] Politics In 1947, while many Hollywood figures were being blacklisted for similar activities, Peck signed a letter deploring a House Un-American Activities Committee investigation of alleged communists in the film industry.[citation needed] A life-long Democrat, Peck was suggested in 1970 as a possible Democratic candidate to run against Ronald Reagan for the office of California Governor. Although he later admitted that he had no interest in being a candidate himself for public office, Peck encouraged one of his sons, Carey Peck, to run for political office. He was defeated both times by slim margins in races in 1978 and 1980 against Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan, another former actor.[citation needed] Peck with Deputy Mayor of Boston Henry Scagnoli c. 1968 Peck revealed that former President Lyndon Johnson had told him that, had he sought re-election in 1968, he intended to offer Peck the post of U.S. ambassador to Ireland – a post Peck, owing to his Irish ancestry, said he might well have taken, saying, "[It] would have been a great adventure".[327] The actor's biographer Michael Freedland substantiates the report, and says that Johnson indicated that his presentation of the Medal of Freedom to Peck would perhaps make up for his inability to confer the ambassadorship.[328] President Richard Nixon, though, placed Peck on his "enemies list", owing to Peck's liberal activism.[329] Peck was outspoken against the Vietnam War, while remaining supportive of his son, Stephen, who fought there. In 1972, Peck produced the film version of Daniel Berrigan's play The Trial of the Catonsville Nine about the prosecution of a group of Vietnam protesters for civil disobedience. Despite his reservations about American general Douglas MacArthur as a man, Peck had long wanted to play him on film, and did so in MacArthur in 1976.[330] Peck was a close friend of French president Jacques Chirac.[331] In 1978, Peck traveled to Alabama, the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird, to campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Donald W. Stewart of Anniston, who defeated the Republican candidate, James D. Martin, a former U.S. representative from Gadsden. In 1987, Peck undertook the voice-overs for television commercials opposing President Reagan's Supreme Court nomination of conservative judge Robert Bork.[332] Bork's nomination was defeated. Peck was also a vocal supporter of a worldwide ban of nuclear weapons, and a life-long advocate of gun control.[333][334] Documents declassified in 2017 show that the National Security Agency had created a biographical file on Peck as part of its monitoring of prominent US citizens.[335] Personal life In October 1942, Peck married Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen (1911–2008), with whom he had three sons: Jonathan (1944–1975), Stephen (b. 1946), and Carey Paul (b. 1949). They were divorced on December 31, 1955. Peck's eldest son was found dead in his home on June 26, 1975, in what authorities believed was a suicide.[336] Peck with his wife Veronique in 1959 During his first marriage, Peck had a brief affair with Spellbound co-star Ingrid Bergman.[45] He confessed the affair to Brad Darrach of People in a 1987 interview, saying: "All I can say is that I had a real love for her [Bergman], and I think that's where I ought to stop...I was young. She was young. We were involved for weeks in close and intense work."[337][338][339] On New Year's Eve in 1955, the day after his divorce was final, Peck married Véronique Passani (1932–2012),[340] a Paris news reporter who had interviewed him in 1952 before he went to Italy to film Roman Holiday. He asked her to lunch six months later, and they became inseparable. They had a son, Anthony Peck (b. 1956),[341] and a daughter, Cecilia Peck (b. 1958).[342] The couple remained married until Gregory Peck's death. His son Anthony is a former husband of supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Peck had grandchildren from both marriages.[343] One of his grandsons from his first marriage is actor Ethan Peck. Peck was the owner of thoroughbred steeplechase race horses. In 1963, Owen's Sedge finished seventh in the Grand National.[344] Another of his horses, Different Class, raced in the 1968 Grand National[345] The horse was favored, but finished third. Peck was Roman Catholic, and once considered entering the priesthood. Later in his career, a journalist asked Peck if he was a practicing Catholic. Peck answered: "I am a Roman Catholic. Not a fanatic, but I practice enough to keep the franchise. I don't always agree with the Pope... There are issues that concern me, like abortion, contraception, the ordination of women...and others."[346] His second marriage was performed by a justice of the peace, not by a priest, because the Church prohibits remarriage if the first spouse is still living and the first marriage was not annulled. Peck was a significant fund-raiser for the missionary work of a priest friend of his (Father Albert O'Hara), and served as co-producer of a cassette recording of the New Testament with his son Stephen.[346] Death and legacy Gregory Peck's tomb at Los Angeles Cathedral On June 12, 2003, Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87 at his home in Los Angeles.[347] His wife, Veronique, was by his side.[7] Gregory Peck is entombed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels mausoleum in Los Angeles. His eulogy was read by Brock Peters, whose character, Tom Robinson, was defended by Peck's Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.[348][349] The celebrities who attended Peck's funeral included Lauren Bacall, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Shari Belafonte, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Mike Farrell, Shelley Fabares, Jimmy Smits, Louis Jourdan, Dyan Cannon, Stephanie Zimbalist, Michael York, Angie Dickinson, Larry Gelbart, Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston, Lionel Richie, Louise Fletcher, Tony Danza, and Piper Laurie.[348][350] The Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence was created by the Peck family in 2008 to commemorate their father by honoring a director, producer or actor's life's work. Originally presented at the Dingle International Film Festival in his ancestral home in Dingle, Ireland,[351] since 2014 it has been presented at the San Diego International Film Festival in the city where he was born and raised. Recipients include Gabriel Byrne, Laura Dern, Alan Arkin, Annette Bening, Patrick Stewart and Laurence Fishburne. Acting credits and awards Main articles: Gregory Peck on screen, stage and radio and awards and honors According to the American Film Institute, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Peck's most significant works include Days of Glory (1944), The Keys of the Kingdom (1945), Spellbound (1945), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), The Gunfighter (1950), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), Roman Holiday (1953), The Big Country (1958), Moby Dick (1956), Designing Woman (1957), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Cape Fear (1962), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Arabesque (1966), Mackenna's Gold (1969), The Omen (1976) and Old Gringo (1989).[352][353][354][355] Among his television projects are The Blue and the Gray (1982) The Scarlet and the Black (1983) and Moby Dick (miniseries 1998).[356] On stage, Peck appeared in Gas Light at the La Jolla Playhouse and The Will Rogers Follies at the Palace Theatre.[7][357] Peck's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Peck received five total Academy Award nominations for The Keys of the Kingdom (1945), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), winning the Best Actor for his performance in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). In 1967, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.[352] Peck received five nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, recognizing his work in The Yearling (1946), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Captain Newman, M.D. (1964), MacArthur (1977), The Boys from Brazil (1978) and Moby Dick (miniseries 1998). Peck won the Golden Globe for Best Actor twice as well as one Golden Globe Aw Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress and singer. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her performance in Robert Siodmak's film noir The Killers. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in John Ford's Mogambo (1953), and for best actress for both a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for her performance in John Huston's The Night of the Iguana (1964). During the 1950s, Gardner established herself as a leading lady and one of the era's top stars with films like Show Boat, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (both 1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Bhowani Junction (1956) and On the Beach (1959). She continued her film career for three more decades, appearing in the films 55 Days at Peking (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Mayerling (1968), Tam-Lin (1970), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). She continued to act regularly until 1986, four years before her death in 1990, at the age of 67. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gardner No. 25 on their greatest female screen legends of classic American cinema list.[1] Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 3.1 Marriages 3.2 Relationships 3.3 Religion and political views 3.4 Death 4 Book 5 Accolades 6 Film portrayals 7 Filmography 7.1 Film 7.2 Television 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links Early life Ava Lavinia Gardner was born on December 24, 1922, in Grabtown, North Carolina,[2] the youngest of seven children. She had two older brothers, Raymond and Melvin, and four older sisters, Beatrice, Elsie Mae, Inez and Myra. Her parents, Mary Elizabeth "Molly" (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner, were poor tobacco sharecroppers.[3] She was of English and Scots-Irish ancestry.[4][5][6] She was raised in the Baptist faith of her mother. While the children were still young, the Gardners lost their property, and Molly received an offer to work as a cook and housekeeper at a dormitory for teachers at the nearby Brogden School that included board for the family and where Jonas continued sharecropping tobacco and supplemented the dwindling work with odd jobs at sawmills.[3] In 1931, the teachers’ school closed, forcing the family to finally give up on their property dreams and they moved to a larger city, Newport News, Virginia, where Molly found work managing a boarding house for the city's many shipworkers.[3] While in Newport News, Jonas became ill and died from bronchitis in 1938, when Ava was 15 years old. After her father's death, the family moved to Rock Ridge near Wilson, North Carolina, where Molly ran another boarding house for teachers. Ava attended high school in Rock Ridge and she graduated from there in 1939. She then attended secretarial classes at Atlantic Christian College in Wilson for about a year.[7] Career Gardner was visiting her sister Beatrice in New York City in the summer of 1940, when Beatrice's husband Larry Tarr, a professional photographer, offered to take her portrait as a gift for her mother Molly.[8][9] He was so pleased with the results that he displayed the finished product in the front window of his Tarr Photography Studio on Fifth Avenue.[7] A Loews Theatres legal clerk, Barnard Duhan, spotted Gardner's portrait in Tarr's studio. At the time, Duhan often posed as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent scout to meet girls, using the fact that MGM was a subsidiary of Loews. Duhan entered Tarr's studio and tried to get Gardner's number, but was rebuffed by the receptionist. Duhan made the comment, "Somebody should send her info to MGM", and the Tarrs did so immediately. Shortly after, Gardner, who at the time was a student at Atlantic Christian College, traveled to New York to be interviewed at MGM's New York office by Al Altman, head of MGM's New York talent department. With cameras rolling, he directed the 18-year-old to walk towards the camera, turn and walk away, then rearrange some flowers in a vase. He did not attempt to record her voice because her strong Southern accent made understanding her difficult for him. Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, however, sent a telegram to Altman: "She can't sing, she can't act, she can't talk, she's terrific!"[7] She was offered a standard contract by the studio and left school for Hollywood in 1941, with her sister Beatrice accompanying her. MGM's first order of business was to provide her with a speech coach, as her Carolina drawl was nearly incomprehensible to them,[10] and Harriet Lee as her singing teacher.[11] Her first appearance in a feature film was as a walk-on in the Norma Shearer vehicle We Were Dancing (1942). Fifteen bit parts later she received her first screen billing in 3 Men in White (1944), a Dr. Kildare film in which she brings her mother to the hospital for treatment. After five years of bit parts, mostly at MGM and many of them uncredited, Gardner came to prominence in the Mark Hellinger production The Killers (1946), playing the femme fatale Kitty Collins. Gardner on the cover of Modern Screen magazine, January 1952 Films from the next decade or so include The Hucksters (1947), Show Boat (1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), Lone Star (1952), Mogambo (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Bhowani Junction (1956), The Sun Also Rises (1957) and On the Beach (1959). Off-camera, she could be witty and pithy, as in her assessment of director John Ford, who directed Mogambo ("The meanest man on earth. Thoroughly evil. Adored him!").[12] In The Barefoot Contessa, she played the role of doomed beauty Maria Vargas, a fiercely independent woman who goes from Spanish dancer to international movie star with the help of a Hollywood director played by Humphrey Bogart, with tragic consequences. Gardner's decision to accept the role was influenced by her own lifelong habit of going barefoot.[13] Gardner played the role of Guinevere in Knights of the Round Table (1953), opposite actor Robert Taylor as Sir Lancelot. Indicative of her sophistication, she portrayed a duchess, a baroness and other women of noble lineage in her films of the 1950s. Gardner played the role of Soledad in The Angel Wore Red (1960) with Dirk Bogarde as the male lead. She was billed between Charlton Heston and David Niven for 55 Days at Peking (1963), which was set in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The following year, she played her last major leading role in the critically acclaimed The Night of the Iguana (1964), based upon a Tennessee Williams play, and starring Richard Burton as an atheist clergyman and Deborah Kerr as a gentle artist traveling with her aged poet grandfather. John Huston directed the movie in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, insisting on making the film in black and white – a decision he later regretted because of the vivid colors of the flora. Gardner received billing below Burton, but above Kerr. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance. Gardner in a trailer for Bhowani Junction (1956) She next appeared again with Burt Lancaster, her co-star from The Killers, this time along with Kirk Douglas and Fredric March, in Seven Days in May (1964), a thriller about an attempted military takeover of the US government. Gardner played a former love interest of Lancaster's who could have been instrumental in Douglas's preventing a coup against the President of the United States. John Huston chose Gardner for the part of Sarah, the wife of Abraham (played by George C. Scott), in the Dino De Laurentiis film The Bible: In the Beginning..., which was released in 1966.[14] In a 1964 interview, she talked about why she accepted the role: He [Huston] had more faith in me than I did myself. Now I'm glad I listened, for it is a challenging role and a very demanding one. I start out as a young wife, and age through various periods, forcing me to adjust psychologically to each age. It is a complete departure for me, and most intriguing. In this role, I must create a character, not just play one.[14] Two years later, in 1966, Gardner briefly sought the role of Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols' The Graduate (1967). She reportedly called Nichols and said, "I want to see you! I want to talk about this Graduate thing!" Nichols never seriously considered her for the part, preferring to cast a younger woman (Anne Bancroft was 35, while Gardner was 44), but he did visit her hotel, where he later recounted, "she sat at a little French desk with a telephone, she went through every movie star cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First of all, I strip for nobody.'"[15] Gardner moved to London in 1968, undergoing an elective hysterectomy to allay her worries of contracting the uterine cancer that had claimed the life of her mother. That year, she appeared in Mayerling, in which she played the supporting role of Austrian Empress Elisabeth of Austria, opposite James Mason as Emperor Franz Joseph I. She appeared in disaster films throughout the 1970s, notably Earthquake (1974) with Heston, The Cassandra Crossing (1976) with Lancaster, and the Canadian movie City on Fire (1979). She appeared briefly as Lillie Langtry at the end of The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), and in The Blue Bird (1976). Her last movie was Regina Roma (1982). In the 1980s, she acted primarily on television, including the miniseries remake of The Long, Hot Summer and in a story arc on Knots Landing (both 1985). Personal life Marriages Soon after Gardner arrived in Los Angeles, she met fellow MGM contract player Mickey Rooney; they married on January 10, 1942. The ceremony was held in the remote town of Ballard, California, because MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer was worried that fans would desert Rooney's Andy Hardy movie series if it became known that their star was married. Gardner divorced Rooney in 1943, citing mental cruelty;[16] privately blaming his gambling and womanizing, she didn't ruin his on-screen image as the clean-cut, judge's son Andy Hardy that the public adored.[17][18] Gardner's second marriage was equally brief, to jazz musician and bandleader Artie Shaw, from 1945 to 1946. Shaw had previously been married to Lana Turner. Gardner's third and last marriage was to singer and actor Frank Sinatra, from 1951 to 1957. She later said in her autobiography that he was the love of her life. Sinatra left his wife Nancy for Gardner, and their subsequent marriage made headlines.[19] A man and woman sit next to each other at a table. The man eats while the woman smokes a cigarette. Third husband Frank Sinatra and Gardner in 1951 Sinatra was blasted by gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, the Hollywood establishment, the Roman Catholic Church, and by his fans for leaving his wife for a femme fatale. Gardner used her considerable influence, particularly with Harry Cohn, to get Sinatra cast in his Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity (1953). That role and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers.[20] The Gardner-Sinatra marriage was tumultuous. Gardner confided to Artie Shaw, her second husband, that, "With him [Frank], it's impossible... It's like being with a woman. He's so gentle. It's as though he thinks I'll break, as though I'm a piece of Dresden china, and he's gonna hurt me."[21] During their marriage, Gardner became pregnant twice, but aborted both pregnancies. "MGM had all sorts of penalty clauses about their stars having babies", according to her autobiography, which was published 8 months after her death.[22] Gardner and Sinatra remained good friends for the rest of her life.[23] Of the support Sinatra gave Gardner, Ian McKellen commented that "If you have been married to Frank Sinatra, you don't need an agent".[24] Relationships Dining with Stewart Granger in 1950 Gardner became a friend of businessman and aviator Howard Hughes in the early to mid-1940s, and the relationship lasted into the 1950s. Gardner stated in her autobiography, Ava: My Story, that she was never in love with Hughes, but he was in and out of her life for about 20 years. Hughes' trust in Gardner was what kept their relationship alive. She described him as "painfully shy, completely enigmatic, and more eccentric ... than anyone [she] had ever met".[23] After Gardner divorced Sinatra in 1957, she went to Spain, where she began a friendship with writer Ernest Hemingway (she had starred in an adaptation of his The Sun Also Rises that year, and five years earlier, Hemingway had successfully urged producer Darryl F. Zanuck to cast Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, a film which adapted several of his short stories). While staying with Hemingway at his villa in San Francisco de Paula in Havana, Cuba, Gardner once swam alone without a swimsuit in his pool. After watching her, Hemingway ordered his staff: "The water is not to be emptied".[25] Her friendship with Hemingway led to her becoming a fan of bullfighting and bullfighters, such as Luis Miguel Dominguín, who became her lover. "It was a sort of madness, honey", she later said of the time.[23] Gardner was also involved in a relationship with her live-in boyfriend and companion, American actor Benjamin Tatar, who worked in Spain as a foreign-language dubbing director.[26] Tatar later wrote an autobiography in which he discussed his relationship with Gardner, though the book was never published.[26] Religion and political views Gardner at Kastrup Airport CPH in Copenhagen (1955) Although Gardner was exposed to Christianity throughout her early years, she was an atheist later in life.[27][28] Religion never played a positive role in her life, according to biographers and Gardner, in her autobiography Ava: My Story. Her friend Zoe Sallis, who met her on the set of The Bible: In the Beginning... when Gardner was living with John Huston in Puerto Vallarta, said Gardner always seemed unconcerned about religion.[28] When Sallis asked her about religion once, Gardner replied, "It doesn't exist".[28] Another factor that contributed to this was the death of Gardner's father in her youth, "Nobody wanted to know Daddy when he was dying. He was so alone. He was scared. I could see the fear in his eyes when he was smiling. I went to see the preacher, the guy who'd baptized me. I begged him to come and visit Daddy, just to talk to him, you know? Give him a blessing or something. But he never did. He never came. God, I hated him. Cold-arse bastards like that ought to ... I don't know ... they should be in some other racket, I know that. I had no time for religion after that. I never prayed. I never said another prayer".[28] Concerning politics, Gardner was a lifelong Democrat.[13][29] Death Blue plaque erected by English Heritage Gardner statue in Tossa de Mar, Spain A bout of pneumonia, after a lifetime of smoking, coupled with her underlying condition of lupus erythematosus brought on a stroke in 1986 that left Gardner partially paralyzed.[30][31] Although she could afford her medical expenses, Sinatra wanted to pay for her visit to a specialist in the United States, and she allowed him to make the arrangements for a medically staffed private plane. She died in January 1990, at the age of 67 of pneumonia and fibrosing alveolitis at her London home 34 Ennismore Gardens, where she had lived since 1968.[32] Gardner was buried in the Sunset Memorial Park, Smithfield, North Carolina, next to her siblings and their parents, Jonas and Molly Gardner. In the town of Smithfield there is the Ava Gardner Museum incorporated in 1996.[33] Book Gardner's apartment in London In the last years of her life, Gardner asked Peter Evans to ghostwrite her autobiography, stating: "I either write the book or sell the jewels." Despite meeting with Evans frequently, and approving of most of his copy, Gardner eventually learned that Evans, along with the BBC, had once been sued by her ex-husband Frank Sinatra. Gardner and Evans's friendship subsequently cooled, and Evans left the project. Evans' notes and sections of his draft of Gardner's autobiography, which he based on their taped conversations, were published in the book Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations after Evans' death in 2012.[34] Accolades Gardner was nominated for an Academy Award for Mogambo (1953); the award was won by Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday. Her performance as Maxine Faulk in The Night of the Iguana (1964) was well-reviewed, and she was nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe. Additionally, Ava Gardner won the Silver Shell for Best Actress at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1964 for her performance in The Night of the Iguana.[35] Film portrayals Gardner has been portrayed by Marcia Gay Harden in the 1992 TV miniseries Sinatra, Deborah Kara Unger in HBO's 1998 television movie The Rat Pack, Kate Beckinsale in the 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, Anna Drijver in the 2012 Italian TV film Walter Chiari – Fino all'ultima risata[36] and Emily Elicia Low in Frank & Ava (2018). Gardner as Maria Vargas in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) The images of Gardner and Clark Gable are featured on the cover of Robin Gibb's 1983 album How Old Are You? The 2018 Spanish television series Arde Madrid is a comedy-drama with thriller elements based on elements of Ava Gardner's life in Francoist Spain. Gardner is portrayed by Debi Mazar.[37] Filmography Film Whistle Stop (1946) Year Title Role Notes 1941 Fancy Answers Girl at Recital Short film Uncredited 1941 Strange Testament Waitress Short film Uncredited 1941 Shadow of the Thin Man Passerby Uncredited 1941 H. M. Pulham, Esq. Young Socialite Uncredited 1941 Babes on Broadway Audience member Uncredited 1942 Joe Smith, American Miss Maynard, Secretary Uncredited 1942 This Time for Keeps Girl in car lighting cigarette Uncredited 1942 We Do It Because Lucretia Borgia Short film Uncredited 1942 Kid Glove Killer Car Hop Uncredited 1942 Sunday Punch Ringsider Uncredited 1942 Calling Dr. Gillespie Student at finishing school Uncredited 1942 Mighty Lak a Goat Girl at the Bijou box office Short film Uncredited 1942 Reunion in France Marie, a salesgirl Uncredited 1943 Du Barry Was a Lady Perfume Girl Uncredited 1943 Hitler's Madman Franciska Pritric, a Student Uncredited 1943 Ghosts on the Loose Betty 1943 Young Ideas Co-ed Uncredited 1943 Swing Fever Receptionist Uncredited 1943 Lost Angel Hat Check Girl Uncredited 1944 Two Girls and a Sailor Dream Girl Uncredited 1944 Three Men in White Jean Brown 1944 Maisie Goes to Reno Gloria Fullerton 1944 Blonde Fever Bit Role Uncredited 1945 She Went to the Races Hilda Spotts 1946 Whistle Stop Mary 1946 The Killers Kitty Collins 1947 The Hucksters Jean Ogilvie 1947 Singapore Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden 1948 One Touch of Venus Venus / Venus Jones 1949 The Bribe Elizabeth Hintten 1949 The Great Sinner Pauline Ostrovsky 1949 East Side, West Side Isabel Lorrison 1951 My Forbidden Past Barbara Beaurevel 1951 Show Boat Julie LaVerne 1951 Pandora and the Flying Dutchman Pandora Reynolds 1952 Lone Star Martha Ronda 1952 The Snows of Kilimanjaro Cynthia Green 1953 The Band Wagon Herself Uncredited 1953 Ride, Vaquero! Cordelia Cameron 1953 Mogambo Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress 1953 Knights of the Round Table Guinevere 1954 The Barefoot Contessa Maria Vargas 1956 Bhowani Junction Victoria Jones Nominated—BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress 1957 The Little Hut Lady Susan Ashlow 1957 The Sun Also Rises Lady Brett Ashley 1958 The Naked Maja Maria Cayetana, Duchess of Alba 1959 On the Beach Moira Davidson Nominated—BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress 1960 The Angel Wore Red Soledad 1963 55 Days at Peking Baroness Natalie Ivanoff 1964 Seven Days in May Eleanor Holbrook 1964 The Night of the Iguana Maxine Faulk Nominated—BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama 1966 The Bible: In the Beginning... Sarah 1968 Mayerling Empress Elizabeth 1970 Tam-Lin Michaela Cazaret 1972 The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean Lily Langtry 1974 Earthquake Remy Royce-Graff 1975 Permission to Kill Katina Petersen 1976 The Blue Bird Luxury 1976 The Cassandra Crossing Nicole Dressler 1977 The Sentinel Miss Logan 1979 City on Fire Maggie Grayson 1980 The Kidnapping of the President Beth Richards 1981 Priest of Love Mabel Dodge Luhan Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is regarded an influential figure in popular culture for his work in horror films, where he often played distinctive villainous roles, though was renown during the days of his stardom for playing romantic leads. He represented an era of vulnerable actors who straddled the line of masculinity and femininity, and he distinguished himself for playing unconfident characters. Born in New York City, Perkins got his start in adolescent summer stock programs, although he debuted in films before he set foot on a professional stage. His first film, The Actress, costarring Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons and directed by George Cukor, was a disappointment save for an Oscar nod for its costumes, and Perkins returned to the boards instead. He made his Broadway debut in the Elia Kazan-directed Tea and Sympathy where he played Tom Lee, a "sissy" cured by the right woman. He was praised for the role, though after it closed, he turned to Hollywood once more, starring in Friendly Persuasion (1956) with Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire, which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rushes of the film led to Perkins landing a seven-year, semi-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures. He was their last matinee idol. Although Friendly Persuasion earned him much praise, Perkins solidified himself as a powerful actor in Fear Strikes Out the following year, which caused many to name him "the next James Dean" and "the greatest American actor under thirty." However, Paramount was more concerned with heterosexualizing Perkins's image, which led to a string of romantic roles alongside Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Shirley MacLaine. He was able to score the occasional serious role in the Broadway play Look Homeward, Angel (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award) and the 1959 film On the Beach with Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, and Ava Gardner. Although he was once again trapped in the role of a romantic lead in Jane Fonda's film debut, Tall Story, he was shortly thereafter cast as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), which established him as a horror icon and garnered him nominations for a Bambi Award and a Saturn Award. This also led to him being typecast, and in order to escape the same villainous roles (as well as the brutal homophobia he was being subjected to), Perkins bought himself out of his Paramount contract and fled to France, where he debuted in European film with Goodbye Again (1961). Even when paired with Oscar-winning actress Ingrid Bergman, he still distinguished himself as a talented performer, and the film won him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. After a string of European films featuring the likes of Sophia Loren, Orson Welles, Melina Mercouri, and Brigitte Bardot, Perkins returned to America in 1968 with his first American film after an eight-year hiatus, Pretty Poison. He costarred with Tuesday Weld, and the film became a cult classic. In the film's wake, he starred in numerous commercially and critically successful films, such as Catch-22 (1970), Play It as It Lays (1972), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Mahogany (1975), the latter of which broke box-office attendance records. During this time, Perkins went through conversion therapy and married Berry Berenson in 1973. He also conceded to typecasting, starring in Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986), and Psycho IV: The Beginning. Additionally, he was involved in numerous television excursions, and his last film, In the Deep Woods, was a television movie, broadcast a month after his death in September 1992, from AIDS-related causes. Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Before his father's death, 1932–1937 1.2 After his father's death, 1937–1947 1.3 Summer stock, 1947–1950 1.4 College, 1950–1953 2 Career 2.1 1950s 2.1.1 Film and Broadway debut 2.1.2 Serious roles 2.1.3 Teen idol status 2.2 1960s 2.2.1 Troubles with Paramount 2.2.2 Psycho and Greenwillow 2.2.3 European films 2.2.4 Return to the United States 2.3 1970s 2.3.1 Shift to supporting roles 2.3.2 Sondheim-Perkins collaborations and unconventional roles 2.4 1980s 2.5 1990s 2.6 Missed roles 3 Artistry 3.1 Influences 3.2 Acting style 4 Public image 4.1 Persona 4.2 Sex symbol and teen idol 5 Personal life 5.1 Marriage 5.2 Sexuality 5.2.1 Conversion therapy 5.3 Relationships 5.3.1 Relationship with Tab Hunter, 1955–1959 5.3.2 Relationship with Grover Dale, 1964–1971 5.4 Friendships 5.5 Character and interests 5.6 Political views 5.7 Religion 6 Death 7 Legacy 8 Filmography 8.1 Film 8.2 Television 9 Stage 10 Discography 11 References 11.1 Bibliography 12 Further reading 13 External links Early life Before his father's death, 1932–1937 Infant Perkins with his mother Janet at the beach, circa. 1933 Perkins was born April 4, 1932, in Manhattan, son of stage and film actor Osgood Perkins (1892–1937) and his wife, Janet Esselstyn (née Rane; 1894–1979).[1] His paternal great-grandfather was wood engraver Andrew Varick Stout Anthony.[2] Perkins was also a descendant of Mayflower passengers John Howland, Myles Standish and William Brewster as well as Roger Conant. Through an entirely paternal line he is descended from John Perkins, who arrived in Boston from England in 1630 as part of the Puritan migration to New England. Throughout his early years, Perkins didn't see much of his father, who was busy in a variety of film and stage roles. The most prominent of these was his supporting role in the original motion picture adaptation of Scarface, which was released the year Perkins was born. Perkins's only fond memories of his father came primarily from a 1937 summer excursion to Fire Island, although they did little together on the trip.[3] During this time, the Perkinses, lovers of all things French, hired a French nanny, Jeanne, to look after their son. This led to Perkins learning French just as well as he did English, which would come in handy years later when he moved to France.[4] Between his father's absences, Perkins was often surrounded by a feminine presence, the most insistent of which being his mother. “I became abnormally close to my mother,” Perkins recalled to People in 1983, “and whenever my father came home I was jealous. It was the Oedipal thing in a pronounced form, I loved him but I also wanted him to be dead so I could have her all to myself.”[5] He also felt betrayed by his father, believing he easily scorned Perkins and his mother for the more illustrious company of Clara Bow, Tallulah Bankhead, and Elia Kazan. On September 21, 1937, Osgood Perkins would die of a heart attack just after a successful opening night of his newest play, Susan and God.[6] He's said to have told his wife coming home, "I like that role. I hope the play never closes."[7] This caused Perkins intense feelings of guilt. “I was horrified," he said years later. "I assumed that my wanting him to be dead had actually killed him. I prayed and prayed for my father to come back. I remember long nights of crying in bed. For years I nursed the hope that he wasn’t really dead. Because I’d see him on film, it was as if he were still alive. He became a mythic being to me, to be dreaded and appeased.”[5] After his father's death, 1937–1947 Perkins in a school photograph, 1940s With the last masculine presence in his life gone, Perkins was surrounded wholly by women once again. He was raised alongside a repulsion of religion and constant feminine presence, which manifested in the sexually-ambiguous way he carried himself later on in life. Besides his mother, a consistent female companion in Perkins's life was young, burgeoning playwright Michaela O'Harra, whom his mother had taken an acute liking to. "My mother said–I don't know if she used the word lesbian... but that was just [what it felt like] to me: 'Oh, they're having a lesbian relationship.' You know, something like that," recalled Perkins's childhood friend, John Kerr, about the relationship between O'Harra and Perkin's mother. Although her sexuality has been disputed, it's widely agreed that Perkins's mother was at the very least not heterosexual.[8][9] However, it was also during this time that Perkins's mother began to sexually abuse him. "She was constantly touching me and caressing me. Not realizing what effect she was having, she would touch me all over, even stroking the inside of my thighs right up to my crotch." This behavior continued on into his adulthood.[5] In 1942, when Perkins was ten, the family uprooted and moved to Boston. Due to her connections in the theatre industry, Janet was able to gain a position at the nearby American Theatre Wing's Boston Stage Door Canteen. It had been successful in numerous other cities, including the country's capital, and experienced similar growth in Boston. Janet, who managed much of the canteen's activities, shared in this abrupt yet steady wealth, which gave them money to live off of.[10] On days when she was busy, which was often, Perkins was sent to stay with his grandmother, whom he'd affectionately taken to calling Mimi.[11] However much he loved his grandmother, the feeling of a parent's absence was too much for Perkins, who began to rebel at the overcrowded public school he was attending, leading him to be labelled a "gifted drifter." To quell his rebellious habits, Janet shipped him off to Brooks School,[12] forty minutes outside of Boston. The placement was disastrous: Perkins's childhood habit of stuttering returned again and he shied away from all athletics. Janet, however, forced him into baseball. It was the first time in his life where Perkins was overwhelmed by a solely masculine presence and therefore singled out for being "different."[13] The pressure bore down on him, leading him to leave school in long absences during his second year after he came down with back-to-back cases of scarlet fever. After missing so many classes, Perkins sunk to the bottom of his class in grades.[14] This led Perkins and Janet to make a deal: if he got good grades, she'd allow him to return to Boston the next year for schooling. Perkins stayed true to his promise, ranking in the top third of his class and inspiring his headmaster to comment, "Tony Perkins is considerably more mature than the rest of his contemporaries, and is impatient with many of their schoolboy interests."[14] Summer stock, 1947–1950 It was during this time that Perkins's absence of a father began to bear down on him again. "As Tony grew older and saw other boys with their fathers," Janet remembered, "he badly missed his own father. And the only identification he could have with his father was through theater... I began to realize that he was acquiring an unusual interest in [performing]... A friend was running a summer stock company, and I approached him to ask whether Tony might play some small parts."[15] This launched Perkins's adolescent summer stock career. The first summer stock company Perkins played for was at the Brattleboro Summer Theater in Vermont, where he played some minor parts in plays Junior Miss, Kiss and Tell, and George Washington Slept Here if he manned the box office. This earned him both twenty-five dollars a week and an Equity card.[16] Keeping her word, Janet sent Perkins to another school the following year, this time Browne & Nichols School. At the time, it was an all-boys school located in Cambridge, with a high percentage of football players and overly-masculine types.[17] With smaller classes, Perkins stood out more, leading him to earn a reputation as the class magician and piano player.[18] He was also renown for his lisping Roddy McDowall impression, which he often performed in the halls between classes, much to his fellow students' delight.[19] It was around this time that the public was first introduced to the groundbreaking yet controversial Kinsey Reports exploring the layers of human sexuality. In summer 1948, Perkins again returned to summer stock, this time under a different company. Janet had found a job as a manager for the Robin Hood Theatre in Arden, Delaware, where Perkins once again manned the box office and earned stage experience.[20] His most memorable performance was in Sarah Simple where he played a near-sighted twin, though it was at the Robin Hood Theatre that Perkins first met Charles Williamson, who'd later have an important impact in Perkins's life.[21] In 1949, Perkins dove into school activities. He joined the varsity tennis team and the glee club at the same time he was made co-literary editor of the school paper, The Spectator. Occasionally, he contributed articles.[22] It was around this time that Perkins began to question his sexuality. Once again, Perkins felt singled out as the "other."[23] College, 1950–1953 Perkins (top row, center) in a summer stock company, circa. 1950 Around the time Perkins's sexuality began to burgeon, many of his fellow students were thinking about college. Many Browne & Nicholas alums were looking forward to a future at Harvard University, and Perkins, whose grades were too low to qualify, was the only student persuaded to attend Rollins College when a representative toured the school.[23] However, this didn't keep him from returning to Delaware that summer, where he once again worked at the Robin Hood, which was now one of the most prosperous and important summer stock programs in the country. It was there where he grew reacquainted with old friend Charles Williamson, going out to lunch with him and swimming together during breaks.[24] It was at this time that Perkins developed a crush on Williamson, who recalled, "He never expressed his homosexuality during the summer of 1950. He did not act on it at all. At the time, I was very much in the closet and repressed. We both shared that."[25] It was also around this time that Perkins played Fred Whitmarsh in the play Years Ago, who he'd perform again just a few years later in the screen adaptation.[26] If Perkins was expecting a similar camaraderie at Rollins that autumn, he was disappointed. Heralded as a Christian, all-American school, Rollins College was nestled in the heart of Florida, and Perkins had arrived just at the time Congress had named homosexuals and Communists an enemy of equal danger.[27] There were a few exceptions: Fred Rogers, who would graduate the college the following year, gave Perkins use of his piano, something Perkins greatly appreciated.[28] Perkins appeared in numerous stage productions at the school and moved around fraternities constantly, something which got on the nerve of Jane. However, it was at Rollins that Perkins reportedly first started experimenting with his sexuality and other men.[29] Shortly after Perkins's arrival, a large group of homosexual students, many of whom were Perkins's friends, were expelled from Rollins and even arrested after a fellow student beat one of them.[30] However, due to Perkins's connections with the theater professor, he was spared. This only led to high levels of tension between him and the rest of the students, who now knew of Perkins's sexuality.[31] This later led Perkins to transfer to the elite Columbia University.[32] Career 1950s Film and Broadway debut While still attending Rollins College, Perkins went out to California over summer vacation, hoping to make it into the movies. Having heard that MGM was making a screen adaptation of Years Ago, he lingered on the lot, hoping a casting director would spot and test him.[33] As Perkins later recalled: "I hung around the casting gate all summer, running errands and picking up sandwiches for the guards. One day they were testing Margaret O'Brien and they needed the back of someone's head. They didn't know who to use. Then someone piped up and said, 'How about that kid that's always hanging around here? We could use the back of his head!' "They called me in and I stood right in front of the camera, almost obliterating poor Margaret O'Brien's face and causing a director to say, 'Please move a little to the left.' When he said this, I turned around and said, 'Who, me?' and I was in the test."[34] It was later that summer that he learned he'd been cast as Fred Whitmarsh in the film, now renamed The Actress (1953), alongside Jean Simmons and Spencer Tracy. He was also directed by George Cukor, who was a friend and collaborator of his late father. In the film, he played a fumbling Harvard student who chases the interest of Ruth Gordon Jones (Simmons), who wants to perform onstage despite her family's disapproval.[35] The film was a commercial disappointment, although it scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Perkins was first noticed when he replaced John Kerr on Broadway in the lead of Tea and Sympathy in 1954, where he was directed by the legendary Elia Kazan, who had been a friend of his father's. In the play, he took on the role of Tom Lee, a college student who's labelled as a "sissy" yet fixed with the love of the right woman, in an almost autobiographical role.[36] Perkins said years later, "It was the best part ever written for a young guy. I felt so involved with that particular play. In many ways, I was Tom Lee." Although homophobically written and resolved, the play was the only explicit work to hit Broadway depicting homosexuality and garnered a large gay following, therefore establishing Perkins in the gay-dominated theater world.[37] It was through this audience that the production became a success, and many people thought Perkins was substantially better than his predecessor, John Kerr, who went on to play the role in the film adaptation. Joan Fickett, who played Perkins's love interest in the play, commented, "He was that boy. I'd seen John Kerr do it before, but Tony had a quality that was fantastic for the part–all the rawness and the hurt and the confusion, he just had. I found his performance tremendously poignant."[38] The play's success and Perkins's tremendous performance renewed Hollywood interest in him.[39] According to posthumous biographer Charles Winecoff, it was during the production of Tea and Sympathy that Perkins was drafted despite (or perhaps because of) the recent end of the Korean War. Without consulting anybody, he decided to tell the Selective Service he was a "practicing homosexual," which was an eligible way to be deemed unfit for service, rather than enter the military. Reportedly, this had disastrous results, leaving Perkins traumatized.[40] Serious roles Perkins (left) and Gary Cooper (right) filming Friendly Persuasion (1956) Just as his run in Tea and Sympathy was coming to an end, director William Wyler sent out his assistant, Stuart Millar, to search out talent on Broadway for his upcoming film, Friendly Persuasion. It centered around a bristled family of Quakers during the Civil War, and he was scouting an actor to play the oldest of the Birdwell children, Josh. When Millar saw Perkins in Sympathy, he gave him a page of script and let him to an audition. As Millar recalled: "About half a hour later, [Perkins] had the part. [William Wyler] was thrilled with the reading, he saw everything instantly. It was really one of the best, if not the best, readings I've ever seen."[41] Perkins was soon after shipped out to Hollywood, where he began shooting alongside Dorothy McGuire and Gary Cooper, his screen mother and father. Perkins, a native New Yorker, didn't know how to drive yet and regularly hitchhiked out from his hotel room at the Chateau Marmont to the set each day, something which became infamous and often talked about in fan magazines.[42] His boyfriend, Tab Hunter, later taught him how to drive.[43] However, at the time, Perkins's inexperience radiated almost childish naïveté, something which endeared him to Gary Cooper. "Coop was warm and gracious and kindly," Peter Mark Richman, who worked on the film, said. "He liked [Perkins and I] a lot, and Tony loved to hear him talk."[44] The feeling was mutual between Perkins, Cooper, and even the director. Perkins was regularly praised by Wyler for his performance and Cooper began publicly endorsing Perkins’s abilities. This led to Perkins and Cooper sharing the cover of the July 1956 issue of Life.[45] In the issue, Cooper spoke about Perkins in a fatherly manner: "I think he'd do well to spend a summer on a ranch," he commented about his younger costar. "It would toughen him up and he'd learn a lot from another kind of people."[44] Cooper's daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, asserted that, although her father certainly admired Perkins, it could've also been for other reasons: "He had friends in Hollywood, in the acting community, who were gay, and they couldn’t come out. He saw what an emotional toll it took on them. I know my father adored Tony Perkins. My father felt he was a hell of an actor."[46] Whatever the reason, this didn't alter Perkins's incredible performance. After rushes of the film were shared around, the advance praise of his performance became so strong that Paramount Pictures took an interest in him. They soon after signed him under a seven-year semi-exclusive contract, which gave him room to return to Broadway whenever he wanted. He was their last matinee idol and was called the "fifteen million dollar gamble."[47] Perkins's first film for the studio was a 1957 biopic about Boston Red Sox baseball player Jimmy Piersall entitled Fear Strikes Out. It followed his father's pressure to become a legendary baseball player and how it led to his highly publicized mental breakdown, as well as detailing his efforts to get better in a mental institution. The set of the film was hostile and riddled with homophobia, something which put Perkins on edge so much that the cast and crew feared he was actually having a mental breakdown while filming the scene.[48] Although he wasn't nominated for any Oscars, his performance was widely praised by critics. The Hollywood Reporter proclaimed of the film: "Every recent young star has been compared to James Dean. From now on the standard is Tony Perkins."[49] After this critical success, Perkins starred in the first of two Westerns, The Lonely Man (1957), with Jack Palance. Perkins played Riley Wade whose father, Jacob (Palance), abruptly returns to his life after having abandoned his mother years before. Jacob fights with Riley’s hatred for him throughout the film, desperate to reconnect with his estranged son after years of separation.[50] Kim Stanley, a previous costar of Perkins’s was originally cast as his love interest but was replaced last-minute by Elaine Aiken in her film debut.[51] Reportedly, the film set was riddled with tensions, most of which spawned from Palance’s ultra-masculinity and Perkins’s lack thereof. This was only heightened when filming was put behind schedule by an abrupt weather crisis which prevented outdoor production for a number of days. Still, a feeling of vitality remained. “We all thought this was an important picture we were making.”[52] Perkins’s next film was also a Western, this time named The Tin Star (1957) with Henry Fonda. Originally, despite his burgeoning popularity, Perkins wasn't wanted for the project: “The producers, Bill Perlberg and George Seaton, told someone who told someone who told someone who told me that they wouldn’t have me in their picture for a million dollars,” Perkins admitted during filming. However, he proved them wrong after giving them an abrupt audition as soon as he heard the news.[53] In the film, Perkins played yet another pacifist, this time a sheriff named Ben Owens. After encountering an experienced bounty hunter, Morgan Hickman (Fonda), Ben has to prove himself worthy of his title in an ironic reflection of Perkins’s troubles with Paramount. Perkins and Fonda took the hours-long drive out to set together in the same car, during which they became closely acquainted and shared stories of their private lives. Some cast members speculate that Perkins confided in Fonda about his sexuality during these drives.[54] The film grossed over 1 million dollars in the box office and was one of the biggest films of 1957. It is now considered a classic of the Western genre.[55] At this time, Friendly Persuasion opened globally to huge critical and commercial success. The film was largely praised by critics, who took a liking to Perkins. The film earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[56] Teen idol status Perkins in a 1957 publicity still for Modern Screen Perkins released three pop music albums and several singles in 1957 and 1958 on Epic and RCA Victor under the name Tony Perkins.[57] His single "Moon-Light Swim" was a moderate hit in the United States, peaking at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. 1958's "The Prettiest Girl in School," though a flop in the United States, was also popular in Australia.[57] Many people believed he was inspired to pursue musical endeavors after the abrupt success then-partner Tab Hunter, who’d scored a number one hit on his debut record, “Young Love.” To Hunter, Perkins was often heard joking "that his tremulous voice could make any happy love song sound sad."[58] However, Perkins wasn't committed much to the music career, although he steadily produced full-length albums and a few EP’s until as late as the mid-1960s. Despite being a life member of the Actors Studio[59] and therefore open to many different acting business ventures, it was most likely because of this that Perkins didn't choose a musical when he exerted the freedom of his studio contract in 1957 and returned to Broadway in Look Homeward, Angel. The play was an autobiographical coming-of-age story about its writer, Thomas Wolfe, and he took on the role of Eugene Gant, with his mother being played by Jo Van Fleet. The play enjoyed a successful run, and in 1958, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play,[60] although the rehearsals were tumultuous. Van Fleet developed a reputation for her stand-offish behavior and temper tantrums, leading to contention on the set.[61] This wasn't made better by the fact that Tab Hunter, among others, came to see the show during tryouts.[62][63] This manifested itself in a restrained performance from Perkins, something Hunter picked up on: "Backstage, Tony asked what I thought of his performance, and I told him straight: 'You're afraid to give vent to what you're truly feeling,' I said. 'You're only showing the side of yourself you want other people to see.' ...When I saw Look Homeward, Angel the second time, in late January, Tony had stripped away all preconceived ideas and was mesmerizing."[64] Perkins with Jo Van Fleet in the Broadway play Look Homeward, Angel, 1957 Not all was bad on-set, though. Perkins, who had a dressing room far from the stage, often had to race between scenes in order to retrieve something so as not to miss his cue, something his costars utilized in practical jokes. Many times, they'd turn the backstage area into an obstacle course, seeing if Perkins (to possibly disastrous affects) could get back to the curtain in time. Reportedly, he never missed his entrances.[65] On the day of his final performance, they went through with the prank as planned, watching Perkins leap over objects and dodge barriers. Once he made it through, he was greeted with a sign that said "We love you, Tony!"[66] Perkins was teamed up again with Van Fleet in This Angry Age (1958), also known as The Sea Wall, for Columbia, replacing James Dean (Van Fleet had played Dean's mother in East of Eden, something many people believed influenced casting). The story followed a mother who, unlike her restless children, attempts to cling onto her dissipating rice farm in southeast Asia. He also starred Desire Under the Elms (1958) for Paramount with Sophia Loren and was her first American screen kiss. As Loren remembered in her 2014 memoir, "Perkins [was] as neurotic and handsome as we all remember him in [a later film] Psycho. A gentle, polite, somewhat sullen young man, he didn't know how to hide his restlessness. Between us there was a certain complicity. He helped me with my English, and I tried to make him laugh."[67] Although Loren was proud to have scored the role, the unanimous decision upon its release was that Perkins came off weakly.[68] Between the filming of Desire and his next movie, Perkins received an offer to appear in what would become the 1959 comedy Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe. He was given the role of Shell Oil Junior and Frank Sinatra was considered for the role of his companion who both dress up in drag in order to board an all-women train car. Paramount, despite the appeal of a big star like Monroe, balked at the idea of having their already sexually-ambiguous heartthrob wear drag for an entire film and forbade Perkins from accepting the role. It ultimately went to Tony Curtis instead.[69] However, studio executives begged Perkins to return from Broadway to star in The Matchmaker (1958) alongside Shirley MacLaine and Shirley Booth, during which him and a male companion dress up in women's clothing in order to escape a restaurant undetected. As if to ensure he wouldn't turn the project down, Perkins was given a salary of $75,000 for ten weeks' work while MacLaine only got $25,000 for the same number of days. Although Perkins protested MacLaine's smaller salary, no changes were made in terms of her payment.[70] The Matchmaker was a non-musical film adaptation of Thornton Wilder's stage play, where Dolly Gallagher Levi (Booth) attempts to set up rich businessman Horace Vandergelder (Paul Ford) with a younger woman, Irene Malloy (MacLaine). Vandergelder's employees, Cornelius Hackl (Perkins) and Barnaby Tucker (Robert Morse), tired of their poor wages and constant work, escape to New York City and meet Irene, who's led to believe Cornelius is rich. Cornelius slowly falls in love with Irene while deceiving her. Morse had been a part of the original Broadway cast of the show, and he bonded with Perkins over the shared background. (Perkins would later disclose that Morse was bisexual, implying that they became confidants of sorts.)[71] Perkins, however, intensely disliked MacLaine even after defending her from studio bosses and was put on-edge by her intense drive and numerous pranks. "I've never been allowed that precious moment of seeing what Tony Perkins really is," MacLaine later reported. "I don't know what's an act and what isn't an act."[72] Perkins and Audrey Hepburn in a publicity still for Green Mansions (1959) Paramount decided to take Perkins's status as a teen idol one step further and cast him as Audrey Hepburn's love interest in Green Mansions (1959), one of Hepburn's few flops. It was based on an explorer who stumbles upon both a girl who lives in the woods and the Native Americans nearby who want to kill her. The film was originally intended to be a vehicle for Elizabeth Taylor when the project was initially announced in 1953, though those plans were soon after abandoned. In 1958, Mel Ferrer picked the film up for MGM, and Hepburn (his wife) was cast as the mystical Rima to secure funding. Perkins, who was still stinging after being forced to lose the role in Some Like it Hot, was cast soon after. It would be the only film in which Ferrer would direct his wife.[73] Perhaps still remembering the Some Like it Hot incident, Paramount used the film to promote Perkins's dwindling masculinity, showing him shirtless and exerting his "ability" to kill men visually stronger than him. He did receive a reprieve to sing "Green Mansions," the title song of the film which briefly entered the charts before almost immediately falling off.[74] Speaking about the movie later in life, Perkins said, "[Hepburn] was wonderful to work with, like a real person, almost a sister... [The film] was good but unusual."[71] Perkins's next film, On the Beach (1959), however, did little to promote his teen idol status, and was his last serious film before his legendary Psycho performance later that year. Playing a doomed father, thousands of Australians are stranded in their country, being the last to survive the atomic war which killed all other continents. He supported legendary actors such as Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and even Fred Astaire in his first dramatic role. All filming took place in Melbourne on-location over the course of three months, and a soundstage was even made out of a warehouse for the crew's use.[75] Unlike other films, Perkins got on well with his fellow cast members and even helped Astaire prepare for his serious scenes.[76] Years later, in an infamous interview with People, Perkins would list Gardner as the first of many female stars who tried to put the make on him, although due to his sexuality, he very cautiously declined.[5] If Perkins was proud of his serious roles, it wouldn't be for long. His next film, Tall Story (1960), was best remembered for being Jane Fonda's film debut, and he had to play a college basketball champion. As a man who'd never been talented in sports, he had to be trained to play basketball for his performance, but, unlike his teachings on the set of Fear Strikes Out, the lessons were able to stick. Perkins recounted to reporters, "I've been working out at the Warner Brothers gym, discovering what basketball is all about. I spend about an hour and a half a day dribbling, passing, shooting baskets, and going after rebounds... It's a good game. Like chess in a way."[77] Also unlike Fear Strikes Out, the set of Tall Story was hospitable to him from what he could see. Having already worked with Fonda's father, they had a connection to assume upon, though not many could foresee the chemistry they'd have both on- and off-screen. As Fonda later recounted to Patricia Bosworth, "Tony [Perkins] told me, 'Forget about the lights, just forget about the lights.' And I did. And he taught me fascinating things, like the audience's eyes always move to the right side of the screen so you should always try to get on the right side of the set." Fonda also credits solely Perkins for helping her learn how to play before the camera when acting.[78] A repeat of On the Beach, Fonda also developed a crush on Perkins. Perkins would later recall a moment when she sat in his dressing room, completely naked, powdering her body.[5] Fonda, unlike others, was actually understanding of his homosexuality and became good friends with whomever he was seeing at the same. Behind the scenes, however, there was more turmoil: Fonda would recall, "Both Joshua Logan [the film's director] and I were in love with Tony Perkins, and so that caused a problem."[79] 1960s Troubles with Paramount Publicity photos like these (taken in 1959) served only to heighten Perkins's teen idol status After being signed in 1955, Perkins became Paramount's last matinee idol, and he was promoted relentlessly as that image through a string of leading man-roles on screen. Once he'd finished three films for the studio, they'd already invested fifteen million dollars in him before any of the motion pictures were even released. This would begin the infamous tension between Perkins and Paramount.[80] Another reason for tension came from Perkins's side: he believed Paramount was ruining his career. Although he was given the option to do Broadway performances, his fame primarily stemmed from his performances on-screen, where Paramount was pushing him into leading-man roles. Perkins, however, wanted only to be a serious actor, not a teen idol. Their preoccupation with keeping Perkins's masculinity intact also led to him losing quite a few coveted roles, such as Shell Oil Junior in Some Like it Hot[69] and Tony in West Side Story.[81] This tension wasn't spawned from solely professional matters, though. Barney Balaban, the president of Paramount, disliked and even despised Perkins due to his homosexuality and femininity. They constantly had arguments, mostly revolving around his sexuality and on-going relationship with fellow actor Tab Hunter, which Balaban believed Perkins flaunted too much. He consistently pressured Perkins into breaking up with Hunter and going into conversion therapy for the five years Perkins was under contract with the studio. A later collaborator of Perkins's remembered to Charles Winecoff in 1996, “Tony said one thing that always endeared him to me… that when he was a rising young star at Paramount, he was seeing a great deal of [Tab Hunter], they went around town together, and finally the big studio head called him in and said, ‘You cannot do this anymore. We’re going to make you a star, and you can’t be seen around town with this guy. You’ve got to get a girl, you’ve got to stop seeing him.’ Tony replied, ‘But I love him!”–which left the studio head speechless–and walked out...”[82] Hunter remembered a similar scenario: "Warner Brothers never said a word about my sexuality, and that’s just the way I wanted it. However, Paramount did have something to say about my relationship with Tony, and they told him they didn’t want him to see me anymore... Despite the opposition we did continue seeing each other."[83] According to all accounts, Perkins, until 1959, withstood Balaban's threats of expulsion and even protected his homosexual preference from his studio boss.[82] It wasn't until between filming Tall Story and Psycho that the studio executives succeeded in separating Perkins and Hunter, which many believe was a major factor into Perkins buying himself out of his Paramount contract early, just like Hunter had done at Warner Brothers.[84] Psycho and Greenwillow Perkins in a publicity still for Psycho (1960) Perkins in youth had a boyish, earnest quality, reminiscent of the young James Stewart, which Alfred Hitchcock exploited and subverted when the actor starred as Norman Bates in the film Psycho (1960). Hitchcock would later say that he'd had Perkins cast ever since seeing him in Friendly Persuasion.[85] The motion picture was about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a young woman who steals forty-thousand dollars from her work and flees to the Bates Motel, run by Norman Bates (Perkins), where she meets her end in her room's shower. The film culminates with the revelation that Bates's mother has been dead for ten years and that Bates has been dressing up and even assuming her personality. This leads him to murder all young girls he's attracted to, including Marion, under the "Mother" personality. During filming, Perkins was involved in the 1960 Broadway musical Greenwillow, written by Frank Loesser. The plot followed the magical town of Greenwillow, where the men are meant to wander and women (if they can keep their husbands) are supposed to settle down and have children. Despite his call to isolation, Gideon Briggs (Perkins) wants to marry his sweetheart, Dorie (Ellen McCown). Loesser caught onto Perkins's homosexuality fast and, disliking him for it, decided to upstage him, writing his main solo, "Never Will I Marry," as something reminiscent of an opera ballad.[86] However, close friend Stephen Sondheim praised his performance of "Never Will I Marry": "[Perkins was] wonderful. One of the things that makes 'Never Will I Marry' so brilliant [on the recording] is the crack of his voice when he reaches the tenth." The show's director, George Roy Hill, also called Perkins "remarkably good. It didn't have the timbre of a real Broadway voice, but it didn't have the hard edge. 'Never Will I Marry' was a wonderful example of that."[87] Additionally, the song was later popularized due to its renditions by Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, and Linda Ronstadt.[86] Perkins was also nominated for another Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Psycho was also a trial, although not (entirely) due to homophobia. Even though Perkins would end the film in very sloppy drag (wearing a dress and wig in order to look like his mother), Paramount was more disgusted by the idea that the film would feature the first shot of a toilet when we see Marion flush evidence of her embezzlement at the motel. The film was also made cheaply: both Perkins and Leigh accepted low salaries to appear in the picture, and the crew was reused from Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Even the famous shower scene, where Marion is stabbed to death, didn't feature the two main actors, since Perkins was in New York for Broadway rehearsals and Leigh's body-double was used for many of the shots.[88] Despite this, Psycho was a critical and commercial success, and gained Perkins international fame for his performance as the homicidal owner of the Bates Motel. Perkins's performance gained him the Best Actor Award from the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers. The role and its multiple sequels affected the remainder of his career.[89] European films Perkins and Ingrid Bergman in an advertisement for Goodbye Again (1961) After buying himself out of his Paramount contract, Perkins moved to France and began making European films. The first of which was Goodbye Again (1961) with Ingrid Bergman, which was shot in Paris. Centered around a May-December romance, Paula Tessier (Bergman) tries to resist the charms of Philip Van der Besh (Perkins), who's the son of one of her clients, while stuck in an unfulfilling affair with a cheating businessman (Yves Montand). It was originally entitled Time on Her Hands, although Perkins suggested the English title Goodbye Again after one of his father's plays.[90] Once again, Perkins found himself under the romantic attention of his female costar, although he customarily declined.[5] Despite any off-screen tension this might've caused, Perkins's role in the film was greatly praised and earned him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.[90] Perkins returned briefly to American to appear in a short-lived Broadway play, Harold (1962), though returned to Europe shortly thereafter. He was then cast in Phaedra (1962), shot in Greece with Melina Mercouri and directed by Jules Dassin, which was undoubtedly inspired by Mercouri's recent success in Never on Sunday. It was a modern retelling of a Greek tragedy where Alexis (Perkins) falls in love with Phaedra (Mercouri), who's also his stepmother. When asked about Perkins, Mercouri fondly said, "Ah, Tony. He is attractive to women. He is dangerous to women. When you touch him, he goes away a little. He is an [eel]. Raf Vallone [who played Perkins's father and Mercouri's husband in the film] is a good-looking man, but Perkins... Ah, I’d pick Perkins any time." Perkins's role in the film was also met with praise.[91] His next film was Five Miles to Midnight (1962), which was his second motion picture with Sophia Loren. It follows Lisa (Loren), who believes her husband, Robert (Perkins), died in a plane crash. When he reveals he's still alive, he urges her to instead collect the life-insurance money from his death. The film was a major shift away from the romantic leads he'd played in Goodbye Again and Phaedra and leant more toward his Psycho persona. Filming began under the title All the Gold in the World and Perkins reportedly only signed onto the picture after hearing Loren had replaced the previously cast Jeanne Moreau as his coerced wife.[92] The production process was captured on video for the documentary The World of Sophia Loren, where she and Perkins can be seen laughing between takes, practicing scenes, solving puzzles, and singing the popular "After I'm Gone" (ironically, Tab Hunter had covered the song in 1958).[93] The film was a moderate success.[94] Anthony Perkins (right) with Orson Welles on the set of The Trial (1962) Perkins continued on with his mentally disturbed performances in Orson Welles's version of The Trial (1962), based on the Kafka novel about Joseph K, a man who’s arrested and attempts to figure out what his crime is and how to defend himself. Perkins didn't mind the type-casting as long as he was able to work with Welles, who personally wanted him to play the lead. To discuss the possibility of Perkins taking on the role, the two met on the stairs of Welles's hotel. Perkins remembered, "[Welles] paid me the great compliment of saying he would like to know whether I would make the picture because if I wasn't going to make it, he wasn't going to make it either."[95] It's likely Welles was trying to make his runaway hit like Psycho, but even if that was the purpose, Perkins didn't seem to mind. "He's the best there is," Perkins said of Welles. "He's wonderfully sure of himself and his ability without being dictatorial and autocratic about it... [H]e isn't inflexible."[95] The film quickly went over-budget, although this did little to alter Perkins's vision of his director. In fact, during the process of filming, his admiration for Welles only seemed to stiffen: during filming, he even considered writing a book about Welles and his career, even going as far as to carry a tape recorder in his coat pocket for weeks, though he abandoned it in fear of offending his boss. Welles later said to Perkins, "Oh, why didn't you [do it]? Why didn't you? I would have loved it!"[96] Besides Perkins's abandoned plan to write a book about Welles, there was genuine affection between the two. Later in life, Welles remembered Perkins fondly: "A strange thing happened with [The Trial]: it got wonderful press, all over the world, even in America. Even in Time and Newsweek and everything, wonderful press. And Perkins got very bad press, all over the world, and the entire blame for that is mine, because he is a superlative actor and he played the character that I saw as K, and paid the price because nobody else sees it my way... I recognize that I did Tony–who is one of the best actors we have–a great disservice, because he deserved to have made a tremendous success and if he didn’t with the critics the blame is one hundred percent with me."[97] Despite any regrets Welles might've had with his portrayal of Perkins and his character, the film was a massive success and later on became a cult classic. Welles stated immediately after completing the film: "The Trial is the best film I have ever made".[98] It was the first of four collaborations between Perkins and Welles.[99] Perkins embracing Brigitte Bardot, his least favorite costar, in a publicity still for Une ravissante idiote His final disturbed role before another romantic motion picture was in Le glaive et la balance (1963), shot in France. It had a very insignificant impact.[100] His next film, however, would be in Une ravissante idiote (1964) with Brigitte Bardot, which was a comedy. It followed a Russian spy (Perkins) who employs a gorgeous but dim witted woman (Bardot) as his accomplice in procuring secret documents. Perkins made history as the first American actor to play B.B.’s love interest,[101] although Perkins would later openly admit Bardot was his least favorite costar, calling her “Bardot-do-do.”[71] Bardot was another woman on Perkins’s roster of suitors, although Perkins always denied Bardot’s invitations to her penthouse. Perkins was incredibly uncomfortable around Bardot, [102] which was drastically different from his behavior around his previous (older) costars. After Une ravissante idiote failed at the box office, Perkins made a movie in Mexico, The Fool Killer (1965).[103] An art film, the motion picture followed a 12-year-old boy (Edward Albert) who wanders the Civil War-ravaged South with a philosophical axe murderer (Perkins), and was Perkins's second film to about the American civil war. The film was well-received but wasn't overly popular at the box office,[104] and Perkins returned to France for a cameo in Is Paris Burning? (1966), a war film about the liberation of Paris in 1944 at the hands of the French Resistance. This was his second Welles collaboration and reunited him with director René Clément, who'd had the same occupation over Perkins in 1957's This Angry Age. In addition, Perkins's friend, Gore Vidal, wrote the script.[105] The epic was star-studded and bore a hefty budget, which was partially the reason for its failure in the box office. Return to the United States Perkins with Charmian Carr in Evening Primrose, 1966 Despite the fact that he was still living in France at the time, in 1966, Sondheim began writing a horror musical Evening Primrose, which was set to be aired on ABC Stage 67, for Perkins.[106] Perkins returned to America to star in the musical alongside Charmian Carr, who was fresh off her success in The Sound of Music. The plot followed Charles Snell, a struggling poet who decides to live in a department store by night and pretend to be a mannequin by day. He encounters a secret society who already had the idea, and falls in love with Ella Hawkins (Carr), who is the maid of the society’s leader and is forbidden from speaking to Snell. If they attempt to leave the department store, the Dark Men will kill them and turn them to mannequins.[107] Filming was quick and on a low budget, though they were able to shoot in color. The department store was originally set in a Macy’s, though the company decided they didn't want to be associated with such a dark theme and the filming was moved to a Stern Brothers department store (which closed in 1969). Just like Idiote , Carr developed a crush on Perkins and flirted with him constantly. He, once again, denied.[107] The program was originally broadcast in full color, although the original color master has long since been lost. There are theories that an over-hyped Sondheim fan stole the master, though this has been unconfirmed. Twenty minutes of silent color test footage exist and were released alongside a DVD in 2010. Sondheim referred to it as one of his favorite musicals he ever wrote, and announced Perkins as the lead of Company shortly thereafter. Perkins, however, withdrew from the role, though he would remain something like a muse for Sondheim for quite a few years.[107][108] After his return to American television, Perkins then went to Broadway to appear in a play by Neil Simon, The Star-Spangled Girl (1966–67). For a brief moment, he was able to once again shed his type-cast role as a mentally disturbed man, instead playing a radical roommate vying for the attention of a young woman. Among his costars was Connie Stevens, and although they were both offered compliments for the performances they salvaged from the source material, the play wasn't on the whole well received.[109] Neil Simon later commented that The Star-Spangled Girl "was written 'from an emotional identity rather than personal identity...I knew this one didn't have the body of the others. I knew it never had a chance to be a powerful comedy....I didn't make it'".[110] Shortly thereafter, Perkins returned to his beloved Europe and he starred in another French film, The Champagne Murders (1967), for Claude Chabrol.[111] The film was well-received, with the New York Times saying, "Mr. Chabrol ... has made a film that has the shape and structure of a murder mystery, but which is, essentially, a funny, sardonic social drama."[112] Despite this, it was insignificant in the box office.[113] Finally, Perkins made his first Hollywood movie since Psycho, Pretty Poison (1968) with Tuesday Weld, where he was typecast in the role of a psychotic young man for a fifth time. The plot revolved around Dennis Pitt (Perkins), a man who's on break from a psychotic hospital on parole who meets Sue Ann Stepenek (Weld). He tells her he's a secret agent and they go on "missions" together, culminating in their attack on a factory. This was the first of two films with Weld, whom he'd dated in the early 60s, although they were reportedly chilly but respectable to each other on set.[114] It wasn't a box office success and Weld labeled it as her worst film,[115] but has become a notable cult favorite.[116] 1970s Shift to supporting roles In the 1970s, Perkins moved into supporting roles in Hollywood-feature films. The first of such motion pictures was 1970's Catch-22, playing Chaplain Tappman. Although never explicit in the film, Tappman at the very least inspires another male character to feel romantic attraction for him: It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him. This would mark the first of three films where Perkins played a homosexual character. Filming 22 proved to be a grueling endeavor, which left the cast stranded in Mexico for long periods of time. Perkins, however, attributed this experience with helping him open up and connect with people, especially those he didn't know well.[8] He wasn't fully surrounded by strangers, though: the film reunited him with both Orson Welles and Martin Balsam, who played the doomed detective Aborgast in Psycho ten years earlier.[117] Perkins's next film was WUSA (1970), starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, where he made a brief appearance. Many attributed his fleeting role to the fact that Perkins had befriended Newman and Woodward in the 50s and socialized with them in Europe in the 60s, although Perkins was praised for his performance of anxiety. This marked the first of two collaborations with Perkins and Newman. Off-Broadway, he appeared in and directed Steambath (1970).[118] After that, Perkins shifted his focus away from movies briefly to star on the made-for-television film How Awful About Allan (1970), where he once again played a psychotic character. Although the film was insignificant at the time, it gained a cult following over the years.[119] He returned to motion pictures soon after, assisting Charles Bronson in the French crime drama, Someone Behind the Door (1971), playing yet another mentally disturbed man. This was also an insignificant endeavor.[120] Anthony Perkins (left) with Paul Newman (right) in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) It seemed that Perkins couldn't escape his murderous image on screen, especially after he starred in Chabrol's murder mystery Ten Days' Wonder (1971), his third film with Orson Welles. It was also the third film where he fell in love with his step-mother (after 1958's Desire Under the Elms and 1962's Phaedra) in an odd twist of fate. Perkins was reunited with another one of his older costars when he supported Tuesday Weld in Play It as It Lays (1972), based on the Joan Didion novel. It follows Maria (Weld), a washed up model who pursues a meaning in life beyond her dull marriage. She's friends with B.Z. (Perkins), a closeted producer who's being paid by his mother to also remain in a loveless marriage. For both stars, their roles were almost autobiographical, resulting in stunning performances. The Chicago-Sun Times praised, "What makes the movie work so well on this difficult ground is, happily, easy to say: It has been well-written and directed, and Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins are perfectly cast as Maria and her friend B.Z. The material is so thin (and has to be) that the actors have to bring the human texture along with them. They do, and they make us care about characters who have given up caring for themselves."[121] Weld received a Golden Globe for her role, and both actors were expected to be nominated for Academy Awards. Neither were. However, Perkins would publicly lobby the film as being his best performance.[122] Perkins changed genres for his next film, a successful western The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972). In the movie, he plays a wandering minister who assists the title character (Newman), following him as he causes mayhem in the town. This was his second film with Paul Newman and his only film with ex-partner Tab Hunter, whom Hunter later recalled he bumped into at the Tucson location: "We hadn't seen each other in nearly ten years... What I didn't know at the time of our brief union was that Tony's long-running battle with his personal demons had reached a breaking point. He was ending a long relationship with dancer Grover Dale and had started therapy with Mildred Newman... Newman convinced Tony that his personal problems stemmed in large measure from him being gay, and she prescribed a course of action–including electroshock therapy–to turn him straight."[123] According to Perkins himself, he had his first heterosexual experience on the set of the film with costar Victoria Principal.[5] Sondheim-Perkins collaborations and unconventional roles Perkins (left) with Stephen Sondheim (right), 1970s In 1973, Perkins reunited with close friend Stephen Sondheim to co-writeThe Last of Sheila, a 1973 American neo noir mystery film directed by Herbert Ross. It was based on the games Perkins and Sondheim made up together and revolved around a movie producer who tries to discover who murdered his unfaithful wife by taking his rich friends on a maze through exotic locations, each with a piece of gossip applying to one of the other people aboard a yacht. The characters were influenced by people Perkins and Sondheim knew in real life:[124] Tom Parkman, a closeted homosexual who's married to another participant in the games, was based on Perkins himself; Phillip Dexter, a fledging film director once popular in his heyday but now resigned to directing television commercials, was based on Perkins's close friend and frequent collaborator, Orson Welles; Christine, an obnoxious woman who was once an informer to the House of Un-American Actives, was based on film agent Sue Mengers; and Alice and Anthony Wood were based on Raquel Welch (who played Alice) and her then-husband Patrick Curtis.[125] The film was a commercial success, being heralded as the most "highly plotted murder mystery film of all time" by critics. Perkins and Sondheim went on to share the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for the film, which led them to try to collaborate again two more times. The next project was announced in 1975 entitled The Chorus Girl Murder Case. "It's a sort of stew based on all those Bob Hope wartime comedies, plus a little Lady of Burlesque and a little Orson Welles magic show, all cooked into a Last of Sheila-type plot", said Perkins.[126] He later said other inspirations were They Got Me Covered, The Ipcress File and Cloak and Dagger.[127] They had sold the synopsis in October 1974.[128] At one point, Michael Bennett was to direct, with Tommy Tune to star.[129] In November 1979, Sondheim said they had finished it.[130] However, the film was never made.[129] In the 1980s, Perkins and Sondheim collaborated on another project, the seven part Crime and Variations for Motown Productions. In October 1984 they had submitted a treatment to Motown.[131] It was a 75-page treatment set in the New York socialite world about a crime puzzle – another writer was to write the script. It, too, was never made.[132] Perkins was one of the many stars featured in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), adapted from a popular Agatha Christie novel. He played the suspicious McQueen, and was reunited with previous costars Ingrid Bergman (1961's Goodbye Again) and Martin Balsam (1960's Psycho), as well as being teamed up with legendary actors like Lauren Bacall. The film was a moderate success in the box office.[133] Also in 1974, Perkins co-starred with Beau Bridges and Blythe Danner in Lovin' Molly, a drama film where Perkins was once again directed by close friend Sidney Lumet.[134] It had a budget of over 1.2 million dollars and was relatively well received.[135] He enjoyed success on Broadway in Peter Shaffer's 1974 play Equus (where he was a replacement in the leading role originally played by Anthony Hopkins). In the show, he played a psychiatrist who attempts to rid his patient of their unnatural obsession with horses, shedding his stereotypical performance as a mentally disturbed man. His role was received to rave reviews, perhaps some of the best of his Broadway career.[136] He continued with his stage work and directed the Off-Broadway production The Wager (1974), which had an insignificant impact.[137] Perkins returned to film supporting Diana Ross in the romantic drama Mahogany (1975), where he played a photographer bent on making a young model (Ross) into a star. Perkins and Ross were good friends on set, to the point where Perkins’s wife joked about them running off together, though this didn't expel any strain from plaguing production. Perkins's photographer character, Sean, was rewritten shortly before filming began to capitalize on his Psycho persona. This was made worse by the fact that the once explicitly-gay character was now simply queer-coded, as well as being written in a homophobic way.[138] It was because of this and other factors that Perkins thought the film was mediocre, though his expectations were proven wrong when it performed incredibly well at the box office, setting attendance records shortly after its release.[139] Perkins posing for the intro of his Saturday Night Live episode, 1976 Continuing in the vein of comedy appearances, Perkins hosted television's Saturday Night Live in its first season in 1976. During his hour-long special, he poked fun at his serious image, crying out for his “good luck panties.” He briefly addressed the audience during his opening monologue, thanking them for seeing “the real Tony Perkins,” before launching into a skit about Norman Bates’s School for Motel Management, reprising his infamous role from Psycho. He also played a singing psychiatrist (perhaps influenced by Equus, something also mentioned in his opening monologue) and a victim in numerous pretend horror films. Towards the end of the program, Perkins posed and chatted with The Muppets.[140] Two years after his SNL appearance, Perkins co-starred with Geraldine Chaplin in Remember My Name (1978). Perkins plays the husband of his real-life wife, Berry Berenson, who's besieged by his ex-spouse (Chaplin) who's just been released from prison and is bent on getting him back.[141] Director-writer Alan Rudolph described it as "an update of the classic woman's melodramas of the Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford era."[142] The motion picture was surprisingly popular and well-received, with the San Francisco Chronicle giving the film 4 out of 5 stars. They also praised both Perkins and Chaplin's performances as "extraordinary."[143] The film was nominated for and won numerous accolades and has developed a cult following over the years. After Remember My Name's surprising success, Perkins had more roles on television, playing Mary Tyler Moore's husband in First, You Cry (1978),[144] a biographical drama film based on the 1976 autobiography of NBC News correspondent Betty Rollin recounting her battle with breast cancer.[145] The film was nominated for numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Made for Television and numerous Primetime Emmy’s.[146] In 1979, it was parodied on an episode of SNL with a sketch entitled “First He Cries.” It follows a husband (Bill Murray) who’s distraught over his wife’s (Gilda Radner) mastectomy. The sketch was poorly received, resulting in over 200 calls and 300 letters of complaint.[147] However, it cemented the TV film’s popularity in the eyes of the public. After the success of First, You Cry, Perkins continued on his television streak when he played Javert in Les Misérables (1978)[148] based on the famous 1,000-page novel about the French Revolution. The adaptation has received a cult following through the years. He projected a more kid-friendly light when he was featured in Walt Disney's science fiction film The Black Hole in 1979, where he reunited with crew members from Fear Strikes Out, whom he hadn’t seen in twenty-two years. Just like Les Mis, this film also developed a cult status with sci-fi fans.[149] Shortly thereafter, Perkins returned to the boards in another Broadway success with Bernard Slade's 1979 play Romantic Comedy, who was the famed author of Same Time, Next Year. He played playwright Jason Carmichael who meets Phoebe Craddock (Mia Farrow) and falls in love with her, and they decide to work together on a production. The show was a wild success and ran for 396 performances.[150] The New York Post wrote: "A darling of a play...zesty entertainment of cool wit and warm sentiment." 1980s Perkins was a villain in the action film North Sea Hijack (1980), starring Roger Moore, and one of many names in Winter Kills (1980). The latter was a comedy based on the attempts to assassinate President Kegan in an (unintentionally) humorous parody of President John F. Kennedy. Other costars included Elizabeth Taylor and Dorothy Malone, as well as his wife Berry Berenson. The film was a box office bomb, losing four million dollars in performances. It was received somewhat warmly by critics.[151] After the star-studded satire, he also starred in the 1980 Canadian film Deadly Companion (also known as Double Negative) with famous comic actor John Candy, with whom Perkins got on well on-set. It was largely disregarded by the public and even more-so by critics.[152] The attention it did receive was bleak, save for some kind remarks for Perkins. Spies and Sleuths called the movie "a muddle film that cannot untie its tangled skein of a plot, although a Perkins performance is always worth watching."[153] Another nice review for Perkins came from Starburst: "This convoluted thriller is not without its merits (not least some clever dialogue and well observed performances by, among others, Anthony Perkins.)"[154] Perkins in 1983 Perkins reprised the role of Norman Bates in Psycho's three sequels. The first, Psycho II (1983), was a box-office success 23 years after the original film, and followed Norman Bates’s life after being released from a mental institution. Later that same year, former-partner Tab Hunter met Perkins at his Mulholland Drive home, accompanied by the latter’s wife and children, asking him to the star in Lust in the Dust. Lust was a Western and spoof of Duel in the Sun, and Hunter’s love interest would be played by drag performer Divine, whom he’d already caused a stir with in John Waters’s Polyester. Hunter's partner and future husband, Allan Glaser, who was a producer on the film, requested that Perkins should play the villain Hardcase Williams, something Hunter believed was influenced by the sudden success of Psycho II. Glaser knew nothing of Hunter's past with Perkins. "I tried to convince him to [do the film]," Hunter remembered, "...but he denied I choose not to think about the reasons for his turning down what would have been a wonderful role. When Tony and I said good-bye that afternoon, I was sincerely happy for him... It would be the last time we ever saw each other."[155] After turning down Lust, Perkins went to Australia to appear in TV mini-series For the Term of His Natural Life in 1983. The show was produced in three-parts, with an overall runtime of 6 hours, following an educated, adventurous British aristocrat Richard Devine. The show was well-received by critics, becoming the eleventh highest rated Australian mini series on Sydney television between 1978 and 2000, with a rating of 37, and the third highest on Melbourne television with a rating of 45.[156] After that was The Glory Boys (1984) for British television, a thriller miniseries with Rod Steiger. There was an intense dislike between Perkins and Steiger after the latter received a larger trailer, and Steiger labeled Perkins as “so jittery and jinxed by the chemicals he was taking.” [157] However, there has been no evidence suggesting Perkins was on drugs while making the picture. Following his feud with Rod Steiger on the set of Glory, Perkins found a more hospitable movie set when he made Crimes of Passion (1984) for Ken Russell.[158] The film centered around a minister who attempts to rid a sultry woman of her sexual ways, but the movie was proved so explicit that it retained an X-rating for its first cut. The motion picture was majorly edited and received an R-rating instead. Although Perkins believed the editing ruined the film, it’s become a cult favorite.[159] He then starred in and directed Psycho III (1986) where Norman Bates falls in love with a nun who comes to the Bates Motel, which was less successful (both critically and commercially) than its preceding sequel. This led to bouts of diminished self confidence,[160] though it did not mark the end of his directorial career. After the disappointment of Psycho III, Perkins returned to television and had a supporting role in Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987), based on Napoleon Bonaparte’s romance with Joséphine de Beauharnais, where Perkins played diplomat Talleyrand. The show was poorly received,[161][162] but was nominated for two Emmy’s.[163] Perkins drastically changed genres for his next project, the slasher film Destroyer (1988), where he once again had a supporting role. Perkins was praised for his role, but the overall film was deemed a disappointment.[164][165] Perkins disappeared briefly from the screen, directing but not appearing in the comedy Lucky Stiff (1988), which was a humorous take on cannibalism and incest. While a box office failure, the film developed a cult following due to its quotable dialogue and exposure in Fangoria, who did a feature on the film.[166] 1990s Following his directorial pursuit, Perkins starred in additional horror films, including Edge of Sanity (1989), Daughter of Darkness (1990), and I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990). He found a reprieve while filming the pilot for the light-hearted show The Ghost Writer about a horror novelist named Anthony Strack (Perkins) who's haunted by his deceased wife after he remarries. The pilot ended with Perkins finishing the manuscript of his next novel, which was based on a supernatural encounter he had with the ghost of his wife. The pilot never sold.[167] He gave into typecasting and played Norman Bates again in the made-for-cable film Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). His first son, Oz Perkins, made his film debut in the prequel as a young Norman Bates.[168] It was on the set of this film that Perkins learned he was HIV-positive, though he hid the disease from the public.[169] Perkins appeared in six television productions between 1990 and 1992 while privately battling with AIDS, including Daughter of Darkness (1990) and hosting a 12-episode horror anthology series titled Chillers (1990). He made his final appearance in In the Deep Woods (1992) with Rosanna Arquette, which was released posthumously. All of these appearances tied back into horror, further solidifying the typecast role he’d fallen into.[170] Missed roles Perkins was offered the lead role in Dancing in the Checkered Shade, a John Van Druten play. "I had little money and was practically set for Dancing in the Checkered Shade," Perkins recalled in 1956. "My agents were split in their decisions. New York said I should stay and do the play. Hollywood said I should come out and do [Friendly Persuasion]. It was like flipping a coin. So I took the picture." Dancing never made it to Broadway, while Friendly Persuasion earned Perkins an Academy Award nomination and Hollywood stardom.[41] Perkins (right) in drag for The Matchmaker (1958), despite the fact that Paramount had just forbade him from doing Some Like it Hot for its flamboyance Perkins tried out for the lead in East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, both of which went to James Dean. There were rumors that Perkins's East of Eden loss led Elia Kazan, the film's director, to give Perkins the role of Tom Lee in Tea and Sympathy, the Broadway play he was directing, though Kazan himself dismissed those notions as "bullshit."[171] (Perkins, however, would be chosen over Dean for Friendly Persuasion and replaced him after his death in This Angry Age.) Perkins was optioned as the lead in Harold Robbins's A Stone for Danny Fisher, but he wasn't interested in the film and turned it down. It would later be known as King Creole, a musical vehicle for popular teen idol and pop singer Elvis Presley, who Perkins was sometimes mistaken for.[172] Perkins was offered the role of Shell Oil Jr. in the 1959 comedy Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe, which Monroe was reportedly excited about. Perkins, however, was forced to decline the opportunity by Paramount Studios executives, who didn't want Perkins, who was already sexually-ambiguous, in drag for a film.[69] Perkins, just as he was signed onto the commercially, critically, and culturally significant Psycho, was encouraged to take the title role in a 20th-Century Fox biographical film, Dooley, who just happened to be gay. Tea and Sympathy’s Robert Anderson wrote the script, and Greenwillow’s George Roy Hill and Tall Story’s Joshua Logan had expressed an interest in directing the film. Jack Lemmon and Montgomery Clift were also strong contenders for the main role. Perkins, however, wasn’t able to audition after Paramount balked at the production cost.[173] Perkins was seriously considered for the role of Tony in the 1961 adaptation of West Side Story, although Paramount forced Perkins to rescind his audition as well. This instead would plant the seeds of Perkins's lifelong friendship with West Side Story's writer, Stephen Sondheim.[81] Perkins was the first choice of Tennessee Williams and the play's director, Tony Richardson, in the 1963 Broadway revival of Williams's play The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore with Tallulah Bankhead. As Tab Hunter remembered, "Tony [Perkins] suggested me to Richardson after a scheduling conflict kept him from playing the part. This gesture meant the world to me... but in a very classy move, neither Richardson or Perkins ever let on that I wasn't the first choice. It would be many years before I learned the truth, too many to be able to thank my old friend."[174] The show, partly due to the then-recent assassination of United States president John F. Kennedy which kept people inside, closed after three performances. Perkins was cast as Robert, the lead role, in the Stephen Sondheim-penned Company, which Perkins declined due to scheduling conflicts. Later in life, Perkins attributed his refusal to anxiety as well: "I had signed up to do the lead in Company and suddenly this specter rose up in front of me–of performing again for a year and a half–and I dreaded it." Some people also believed his turndown was due to the fact that Robert was a seemingly flamboyant character.[108] Perkins, after cowriting the script of the movie with Stephen Sondheim, was encouraged to take the role of Clinton, the lead antagonist, in The Last of Sheila (1973). Sondheim was among one of the major supporters of this casting, seeing Perkins as perfect for the role. Perkins, however, thought it played too much into his already-established deranged persona and passed it up to James Coburn instead.[175] Perkins played a horror writer, Anthony Strack, in the television pilot for the show The Ghost Writer, which Perkins was enthusiastic about in terms of its prospects, believing it would be the perfect way for him to transition into more comical roles on both stage and screen. The pilot never sold.[167] Perkins had agreed to provide the voice for the role of the dentist, Dr. Wolfe, in The Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield" but died before the part could be recorded. In the end, the character was voiced by Simpsons regular Hank Azaria.[176] Artistry Influences Perkins, having grown up in New York and as the son of a theater performer, was heavily influenced by stage actors in the early stages of his interest in acting. Slowly, however, his influences shifted, especially with the new wave of Method actors on the big screen. In 1958, Perkins admitted to Holiday magazine that the single performance that he believed had impacted his acting the most wasn't off the boards: "The single performance which influenced my own acting the most was [Marlon] Brando's in On the Waterfront... That's the direction I want to go as an actor. To convey the maximum with the simplest, barest means."[177] He also mentioned about James Dean later on: "Well, I was certainly impressed with the originality of his talent. Of course, it was popular at the time of his emergence."[178] Perkins himself was a lifelong member of the Actors Studio, an institution both Brando and Dean attended as well, which could've contributed to his interest in the Method. Perkins's posthumous biographer, Charles Winecoff, though, dismisses any ideas that Perkins was a Method actor himself: "Young Perkins fell somewhere in between the mannered style of his father's era and the new, seemingly organic style exemplified by Brando and Dean."[177] To cite one person as Perkins's influencer would be incorrect. Especially in his early years, Perkins took advice from a host of his costars, a majority of whom were experienced and revered actors in their own right. The most influential of his fellow stars were Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda. Acting style Despite his many celebrated performances, Perkins never discussed the method with which he acted. Many said he was somewhere on the line of his father's style of acting (building a character from the outside in) and the Method technique (building a character from the inside out).[177] Recalling how he prepared for his mental breakdown scene in Fear Strikes Out, Norma Moore said he was especially "serious, very intent, very nervous before shooting...–pacing, not talking to anybody, shaking his hands." The film's director, Robert Mulligan, said that Perkins was "riding on instinct, very giving and very trusting and very brave."[48] A year later, when Perkins played Eugene Gant for Broadway in Look Homeward, Angel, not much had changed. "His approach was a purely pragmatic one," friend George Roy Hill remembered. "He'd find a way to play it, and he had no theories to get in his way. I don't know what devices he used internally, but he was always very concerned with acting as acting."[177] There's evidence to suggest that Perkins used previous (sometimes traumatic) experiences to drive his performance. During his debut run on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy, Perkins was allegedly drafted into the army, which he dodged by admitting he was a homosexual. This backfired, leading to harsh mistreatment at the hands of the Selective Service that reportedly scarred him so much he wouldn't speak about it. His boyfriend was there when he returned home, listening to him crying and whimpering. He later said that Perkins incorporated the same whimpering into his performance as Tom Lee in Sympathy.[179] Perkins, though, never hinted at this in a rare mention of his technique when speaking about the scene in Friendly Persuasion when Josh Birdwell decides to enlist: "That scene started [filming at] about 9:30 in the morning and by 1 o'clock the unions at that time declared that we had to go to lunch, right in the middle of the scene–just before my close-up. And [William Wyler, the director] came to me and said, 'I'm really sorry about this. You're doing a fabulous job and I want you to hold onto this if you possibly can. Why don't you go back to your room and sort of concentrate and reread the script? I'm very very sorry; we'll start again in an hour.' Well, I went to the commissary and had two cheeseburgers and a malted and came back and sat down and started over again. I didn't have the self-consciousness as an actor to find that that would be a difficult thing to do, so since I didn't think it was gonna be difficult, it wasn't... Well, youth can do anything."[180] Either way, it worked. Many of Perkins's films distinguished him as a powerful actor of the day, garnering numerous awards and nominations. As Turner Classic Movies summarized: "A masterful character actor, Perkins' ability to convey mental instability in a fashion that was simultaneously disturbing, affecting, and darkly humorous made him a unique and valuable talent."[170] Public image Persona Anthony Perkins in his West Hollywood apartment during his Person to Person interview, aired October 18, 1957 Anthony Perkins in his West Hollywood apartment during his Person to Person interview, aired October 18, 1957 Perkins displaying his trademark body language in a 1957 episode of Person to Person Throughout his career, Perkins often played roles of shy, sensitive young men. Whether this was the morally-split Josh Birdwell or the unconfidently homicidal Norman Bates, they all distinguished him as one of the rare male actors unafraid to be vulnerable with the audience. "He was supposed to be gawky, you know," costar Jean Simmons recalled, "with the sleeves too short and all that stuff."[181] Former partner Tab Hunter spoke similarly about Perkins: "Beneath the boyishness, however, there was a lot of tension–not news to anyone who's seen Tony on-screen. The familiar body language wasn't an act. He slouched around with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, and he jiggled his foot unconsciously–a nervous twitch."[182] Despite his well-documented habits, the authenticity of them has been challenged by some of Perkins's friends and colleagues. Alan Sues, who worked with Perkins on Tea and Sympathy, noted, "You know, if you play that kind of sensitive, I-don't-know-if-I-can-get-through-this sort of thing, people come to you. His approach was that he was suffering, that stuff was going on inside of him, and I don't think it was. His strong suit was knowing how to project an image."[183] Although Hunter expressed similar doubts ("I began to wonder how much of his sheepish appeal was genuine," he wrote in 2005, "and how much was manufactured, used to mask very calculated, methodical intentions"[184]), he did believe overall that Perkins was dealing with a lot of backlash from Paramount over his sexuality, which therefore led him to become as brooding as he was.[185] However real or fake the mannerisms were, they caught on in the press, who had a field day when Perkins (who didn't know how to drive) was photographed hitchhiking to the set of Friendly Persuasion.[42] He was often described as "boyish" by fan magazines,[186] and his odd habits, from the way he dressed[187] to the meals he ate,[188] were written about in detail. Photoplay called Perkins a "barefoot boy with cheek" in a 1957 issue,[189] while later portraying him as an embarrassed singer when they photographed him during recording sessions.[190] Perkins seemingly played into this quirky yet insecure persona, venting to McCall's: "I'm not really suited to be a movie star. I have no confidence in myself. I'm not interested in money. I'm not good-looking. I have a hunch in my spine. I can't see worth a damn. I have a very small head. I haven't many opinions. I dislike nightclubs–the kind of things that give you easy publicity. I have no string of French girls. I'm not tough. I can't put on a show in public. I'm much too sensitive for Hollywood. I'm an easy target."[58][191] He also did so on gameshows. As a mystery guest on the popular television program What's My Line?, in an effected Australian accent, Perkins responded to a question asking if he was a movie star by saying, "That's a term I don't like." After his identity was revealed to the panel of previously blind-folded guessers, Perkins was asked again why he didn't prefer the term. "The term movie star," he said, "implies a certain glamor which I believe I lack."[192][193] Even if some people found Perkins's constant complaining about his self-esteem to be annoying, it did earn him fans in the more prominent gossip columnists. Both Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper were fans of him, feeling an almost maternal instinct for him. "[Hopper] was the biggest Tony Perkins fan in town," Tab Hunter recalled. "She practically declared him her adopted son in print and was eager to publish anything that would bury those rumors about Tony's 'secret friend' [a euphemism for Hunter and their secret relationship often employed by the press]."[194] This also endeared him to Academy Award-winning costume designer Dorothy Jeakins, whom he worked with on Friendly Persuasion and Green Mansions. "He had a gift for inciting maternal instinct, particularly in mature women."[43] Sex symbol and teen idol Perkins was relentlessly promoted by Paramount Pictures as a sex symbol and teen idol throughout his career, something Perkins saw as a sacrifice to his serious acting prospects. They forced him through a succession of romantic lead roles, whether they were beside relative-unknowns like Norma Moore and Elaine Aiken or powerhouses like Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn. Although he was depicted in drag in The Matchmaker with Shirley MacLaine, Perkins's image in these films was largely heterosexualized, no matter how odd the more feminine Perkins appeared. Despite his 140-pound stature, Perkins delivered a shirtless performance in both Desire Under the Elms and Green Mansions where his ribs are visible through his skin, if only to accentuate his "masculinity."[195] This compulsive and brash heterosexualization ended up being detrimental to Perkins's career, costing him the leads in both Some Like it Hot[69] and West Side Story.[81] Even if the masculinity of Perkins's image was forced, his beauty wasn't. As friend Gwen Davis remembered, "He was intellectually dazzling, physically beautiful. At twenty-four, he was already Dorian Gray."[196] Costar Joan Fickett spoke similarly of Perkins: "Tony had a quality that was fantastic... He was also a beautiful-looking young man."[197] Even his post-Hollywood friends like Melina Mercouri agreed: "He was the most intelligent and the most beautiful actor that I played with. He was extremely generous [and gorgeous], a gentleman."[198] Perkins's popularity as a teen idol only sprung tenfold by the plentiful stories circulating about Perkins's active dating life. Although they ultimately ended up stumped as to how an attractive star such as Perkins could remain a bachelor, Perkins was constantly "losing his heart" to somebody, whether it was Natascia Mangano[199] or Elaine Aiken.[200] Perkins was often claimed to be "infatuated" with many of his leading women, whether they were married or not. Soon, Perkins's dating life became as prominent as his career, something Perkins was deeply irritated and annoyed by. Another source of teenage frenzy around the young actor was his singing career. Although his highest-ranked single in the United States, "Moonlight Swim," peaked in the 20s on the Billboard charts, his albums were still popular with teenage fans. Many of his songs centered (ironically) around forbidden romances, something an adoring fan could relate to since they might've seen a potential romance with Perkins, a "movie star," as forbidden. Many of the songs often described the love interest as young, with two ("The Prettiest Girl in School" and "When School Starts Again Next Year") explicitly stating that his "girlfriend" was young enough to still be earning an education. These singles came out shortly before the release of 1960's Tall Story, where Perkins played a college student, launching the teenage frenzy tenfold.[201] Personal life Marriage There are many conflicting answers as to how Perkins met his future wife, photographer Berinthia "Berry" Berenson, the younger sister of actress and model Marisa Berenson. There were stories that it was at a party in Manhattan in 1972,[5] which some insist it was on the set of Play It as It Lays.[202][203] The one sure answer was that it was in 1972. Perkins posing with future-wife Berry Berenson for the cover of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine Although not romantically, Perkins and Berenson saw each other often even though she was engaged to Richard Bernstein at the time.[204] Slowly, the attachment became romantic and then sexual, leading Berenson to become pregnant out of wedlock. Once telling her fiancé this, Bernstein reportedly reacted by telling her that Perkins was gay and didn't reciprocate her feelings. Berenson was said to have replied, "No, he's going to Mildred Newman and he wants to be straight! He wants to be straight!" Berenson left Bernstein the same day.[204] Perkins and Berenson married when he was 41 and she was 25, on August 9, 1973, with Berenson three-months pregnant. Their first son, director Oz Perkins, was born in 1974, and musician Elvis Perkins followed two years later in 1976.[205] Many friends were surprised by this marriage and believed it wouldn't last long. Venetia Stevenson admitted to Charles Winecoff, "[I]t was a big shock when I heard [Tony] got married. [I went,] not Tony. He was very gay, totally gay."[52] Even Berenson admitted some reserves: "A lot of people looked at the two of us and said, 'Who are they kidding? This is never going to work.' I was so naïve I couldn't figure out what they were talking about. He told me [that he was gay], and it just didn't register. I had been very sheltered."[206] Despite this, Perkins and Berenson remained married until his death. In 2001, on the day before the ninth anniversary of his death, Perkins's widow died at age 53 in the September 11 attacks aboard American Airlines Flight 11. She was returning to her California home following a vacation on Cape Cod.[207]
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