About Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, for which he received a Bambi Award nomination for Best Actor and won the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers Award for Best Actor. Born in Manhattan, Perkins began his acting career in theatre as a teenager. His first film role was in The Actress (1953). The next year, he debuted on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy, a performance for which he received critical acclaim. In 1956, Perkins played his first major film role in Friendly Persuasion, which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year, the Photoplay Award for Most Promising Male Star, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Following the film's success, he signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures, where he was regarded as the studio's last matinee idol. In 1957, he starred in Fear Strikes Out. During this period, Paramount promoted Perkins in romantic roles. He also took on more dramatic roles, including the Broadway production of Look Homeward, Angel, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award, and the film On the Beach (1959). Psycho, a horror thriller in which he was cast against type, then profoundly changed his image. Following the success of Psycho, Perkins moved to France and worked for several years in Europe. The first film he made there, Goodbye Again (1961), earned him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, a David di Donatello Award for Best Actor, a Bravo Otto nomination for Best Actor, and a second Bambi Award nomination. His other European films include Orson Welles' The Trial (1962). He returned to American cinema with Pretty Poison (1968). Other films include Catch-22 (1970), which earned him a National Society of Film Critics Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor (shared with his role in WUSA, also released in 1970), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Mahogany (1975) and Crimes of Passion (1984). In the later part of his career, Perkins often portrayed troubled, neurotic or mentally unstable characters. He reprised the role of Norman Bates in Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986), and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). His performance in Psycho III, which he also directed, earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor. His final acting role was in the NBC television film In the Deep Woods, which aired a month after his death on September 12, 1992, from AIDS-related causes. For this performance, he received a Bambi Award nomination for Best Actor and won the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers Award for Best Actor. Perkins's portrayal of Norman Bates in Psycho (1960) became his most recognizable role. He became a mythic being to me, to be dreaded and appeased." A consistent female companion in Perkins' life was aspiring playwright Michaela O'Harra, who developed a close relationship with his mother. Born in Manhattan, he began his acting career as a teenager in summer stock theatre, and appeared in films prior to his Broadway debut.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.