Anthony Perkins is an award-winning American stage and screen actor best known for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The son of Janet Esselstyn and actor James Ripley Osgood Perkins, Anthony Perkins was born on April 4, 1932 in New York City. His family moved to Boston after his father died in 1942. He attended the prestigious Buckingham Browne & Nichols high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1950, he entered Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida but never finished his degree.
In 1953, Anthony Perkins appeared in his debut film, The Actress, in which he received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor. His second movie, Friendly Persuasion, earned him an Academy Award nomination.
Aside from acting, Anthony Perkins is also a talented musician. He released three pop albums in 1957 and 1958. His single “Moon-Light Swim” was a hit in the United States, ranking # 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. In 1958, he starred in the Broadway musical, Film Matchmaker. Perkins was nominated twice for Broadway’s Tony Awards as Best Actor (Dramatic) for Look Homeward, Angel in 1958 and as Best Actor (Musical) for Greenwillow in 1960.
Also in 1960, Perkins starred as Norman Bates in the classic suspense film Psycho. The role ranked # 4 Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. After Psycho, Perkins went to Europe where he portrayed Joseph K. in Orson Welles’ The Trial Poison. He also played Chaplain Tappman in the 1970 war film Catch-22. Perkins also co-wrote the screenplay of the 1973 mystery film, The Last of Shiela, together with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. The success of the film earned both writers a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. Perkins then returned as Norman Bates in the sequels Psycho II, Psycho III (which he directed) and Psycho IV: The Beginning.
Perkins was married to actress and photographer Berry Berenson. He died on September 12, 1992 from AIDS complications.