ANTHONY QUINN
Information from IMDb
Date of birth
21 April 1915
Chihuahua, Mexico
Date of death
3 June 2001
Boston, Massachusetts, USA. (pneumonia and respiratory complications during his battle with throat cancer)
Birth name
Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Spouse
Kathy Benvin (1997 - 3 June 2001) (his death) 2 children
Iolanda Addolori (2 January 1966 - 19 August 1997) (divorced) 3 children
Katherine DeMille (3 October 1937 - 21 January 1965) (divorced) 4 children
Trivia
Anthony Quinn is the Oscar-winning actor who has appeared in more movies with other Oscar-winning actors (for acting) than any other Oscar-winning actor. 46; 28 male actors, 18 female actors
Father of Francesco Quinn, Valentina Quinn, Lorenzo Quinn, Alex A. Quinn, Danny Quinn.
Has fathered 13 children.
His companion Kathy Benvin was his secretary and he fathered her two young children: Antonia (b. 1994) and Ryan (b. 1996)
Became a naturalized US citizen in the 1940s.
For The Magus (1968) he had to shave his hair. He had an insurance policy against the risk that it might not grow back!
Lived in Bristol, RI, and befriended Providence's controversial mayor Mayor Vincent Cianci.
Before he launched his acting career Quinn worked odd jobs as a butcher, a boxer, street corner preacher and a slaughterhouse worker. He also won a scholarship to study architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom he developed a close relationship.
Three children with Jolanda Addolori: Francesco Quinn (actor), Lorenzo Quinn (painter, sculptor), and Danny Quinn (actor).
Won his second Oscar for a movie in which he only appeared onscreen for a total of 8 minutes.
Son with DeMille: Christopher (drowned in W.C. Fields' swimming pool at age 3).
Brother-in-law of screenwriter Martin Goldsmith.
Son of an Irish father and Mexican mother, he grew up in the barrio of East L.A. shining shoes and selling newspapers.
Sidelines: painting and sculpting.
most of his 13 children were left out of his will for unknown reasons while the bulk of his estate went to his wife at the time of his death and their two young children.
Was scheduled to appear in the David Lean-directed "Nostromo" in 1991, but Lean died and the production came to a halt.
For extra cash he entered dance contest, from which he sold the statues.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1961 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Becket."
According to Joseph McBride's "Searching for John John" (St. Martin's Press, 2001 - ISBN 0312242328), Ford was urged to cast Anthony Quinn and Richard Boone as the Little Wolf and Dull Knife characters in "Cheyenne Autumn" (1964) as both had native American blood. Ricardo Montabaln and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican heritage, were cast instead.
Around 1972 he announced his desire to play "Henry Cristophe" the 19th Century Emperor of Haiti. Upon this announcement several prominent black actors including Ossie Davis & Ellen Holly stated that they were opposed to a "White man" playing "Black". Davis stated "My black children need black heroes on which to model their behavior. Henry Cristophe is an authentic black hero. Tony, for all my admiration of his as a talent, will do himself and my children a great disservice if he encourages them to believe that only a white man (and Tony is white to my children) is capable of playing a black hero.
Took acting class from Michael Chekhov in Hollywood.
According to Joseph McBride's "Searching for John John" (St. Martin's Press, 2001 - ISBN 0312242328), director John Ford was urged to cast Richard Boone and Quinn as the Little Wolf and Dull Knife characters in Cheyenne Autumn (1964), as both had Native American blood. Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican descent, were cast instead.
Mini Biography
While many Anthony Quinn biographies have the young Anthony Quinn , who was the son of an Irish father and Mexican mother, growing up on the streets of East L.A., the truth was, that he grew up in Echo Park, attending Polytechnic(which at the time was located in downtown L.A. before moving to North Hollywood)and Belmont High Schools. In later years he would recount how ,when growing up in Echo Park, Chicano toughs would come over his house to try to get him to join them in brawling with the Irish gangs, and, that later in the same day, Irish toughs would visit him to enlist his services in fighting the Mexicans. He would always beg off choosing sides by having his mother chase the young delinquents out of her house, after which he would resume one of his favorite of pastimes, drafting and drawing.
IMDb mini-biography by
Rudy Zappa Martinez
Mini Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Dynamic, prolific character actor and occasional leading man who, during the course of his nearly 60 years in motion pictures, has played nearly every exotic ethnic type imaginable at least once. For much of his screen career an effective, quietly persuasive per former, Quinn in recent years has taken to overacting and has sometimes exercised poor judgment in accepting roles. Born to an Irish father and Mexican mother, Quinn enjoyed a brief career as a prizefighter before entering movies in 1936.
He had small roles in Parole, Sworn Enemy and Night Waitress (all 1936) before signing with Paramount, for which he appeared exclusively until 1940, mostly playing gangsters and Indians. Quinn's Paramount films include The Plainsman (1936, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who became Quinn's father-in-law the following year), Waikiki Wedding, The Last Train From Madrid, Daughter of Shanghai (all 1937), The Buccaneer (also for DeMille), Dangerous to Know, Tip-Off Girls, Bulldog Drummond in Africa, King of Alcatraz (all 1938), King of Chinatown, Television Spy DeMille's Union Pacific (all 1939), Parole Fixer, The Ghost Breakers and Road to Singapore (all 1940).
During the war years Quinn worked mostly at Warner Bros. and 20th CenturyFox, although he did return to Paramount for a hilarious deadpan turn as an Arab sheik in the Crosby-Hope vehicle Road to Morocco (1942). Still a character player, he was assigned increasingly important and showy roles in bigger, more expensive pictures, including City for Conquest (1940), Blood and Sand, Manpower(both 1941), They Died With Their Boots On (also 1941, as Chief Crazy Horse), The Black Swan, Larceny, Inc (both 1942), The Ox-Bow Incident, Guadalcanal Diary (both 1943), Buffalo Bill, Roger Touhy, Gangster, Irish Eyes are Smiling (all 1944), Where Do We Go From Here? and Back to Bataan (both 1945, superb in the latter as a Filipino guerilla, costarring with John Wayne).
Quinn and his wife Katherine, DeMille's adopted daughter and a talented actress in her own right, starred together in Black Gold (1947), a low-budget sleeper released by Allied Artists. Playing a proud but kindly Indian who discovers oil on his property and allows a Chinese refugee to race his prize thoroughbred, Quinn delivered a warm, heartfelt performance that ranks among his best. He subsequently appeared in Sinbad the Sailor, Tycoon (both 1947), The Brave Bulls (1951, marvelous in this bullfighting story), Against All Flags and The Brigand before winning his first Academy Award as the brother of a Mexican revolutionary (played by Marlon Brando) in Viva Zapata! (all 1952). (He also replaced Brando in the original Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire.")
Quinn's career picked up following his Oscar win; he got better roles and worked almost nonstop throughout the remainder of the decade. High spots include La Strada (1954, the classic Fellini film and Best Foreign Film Oscar-winner, in which he played a brutish, simple-minded strongman who tours with acrobat Richard Basehart), Ulysses (1955, as Antinous), Lust for Life (1956, playing artist Paul Gauguin, a performance for which he won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1957, playing the hunchbacked Quasimodo to Gina Lollobrigida's Esmeralda). His other 1950s films include Mask of the Avenger (1951), The World in His Arms (1952), Seminole, City Beneath the Sea, Ride, Vaquero!, Blowing Wild (all 1953), The Long Wait (1954), The Magnificent Matador, Seven Cities of Gold (all 1955), The Wild Party (1956), The River's Edge, Wild Is the Wind (both 1957, Oscar-nominated for his work in the latter), Hot Spell (1958), Warlock and Last Train From Gun Hill (both 1959). His father-in-law gave Quinn a shot at directing with the 1958 remake of The Buccaneer a critical and commercial disappointment.
In 1959 he chalked up a memorable portrayal as a stoic Eskimo in The Savage Innocents. By now his once slender, swarthy face had become craggy, and he'd put on quite a bit of weight. That stood him in good stead for his role as the former prizefighter humiliated by his work as a "professional" wrestler in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). That same year he contributed a vibrant performance as an amoral Bedouin chieftain (who is "a river to my people") in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia In 1964 he secured another Academy Award nomination, this time for his starring role in Zorba the Greek the story of an earthy Greek peasant he helped produce (and a role to which he returned a quarter-century later on Broadway). He again played a robust Greek character in A Dream of Kings (1969), a low-key drama set in Chicago's Greek community.
In 1965 he divorced Katherine DeMille, by whom he'd had three children.
The 1970s saw the beginning of a decline for Quinn, who increasingly took roles in poor American-made pictures and poorer foreign ones. Moreover, his burgeoning tendency to overact was not curbed by most of his directors. He has remained a compelling on-screen figure, however, even in his latter-day films.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Personal quotes
"In Europe an actor is an artist. In Hollywood, if he isn't working, he's a bum."
"It doesn't make a difference as long as I'm a person in the world." - when asked about his ethnicity
"I never get the girl. I wind up with a country instead."
"They said all I was good for was playing Indians."
[speaking in the 1980s] "I don't see many men today. I see a lot of guys running around on television with small waists, but I don't see many men."
"I never satisfied that kid [referring to himself], but I think he and I have made a deal now. It's like climbing a mountain. I didn't take him up Mount Everest, but I took him up Mount Whitney. And I think that's not bad."
Filmography
Actor
1. Avenging Angelo (2002) .... Angelo Allieghieri
2. "Cosby"
- Lucas Illuminus (1999) TV Episode .... Prof. Christo
3. "Camino de Santiago" (1999) (mini) TV Series .... Félix Foulé
... aka The Road to Santiago (Europe: English title)
4. Oriundi (1999) .... Giuseppe Padovani
5. Terra de canons (1999) .... Sr. de Sicart
6. Gotti (1996) (TV) .... Neil Dellacroce
7. Seven Servants (1996) .... Archie
8. Sindaco, Il (1996) .... Antonio Baracano
... aka The Mayor (International: English title)
9. "Noche de los castillos, La" (1995) TV Series .... Rey Falop
10. A Walk in the Clouds (1995) .... Don Pedro Aragón
... aka Caminando por las nubes (Mexico)
... aka Paseo por las nubes, Un (Mexico)
11. Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur (1994) (TV) .... Zeus
12. Hercules in the Underworld (1994) (TV) .... Zeus
13. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Hercules and the Circle of Fire (1994) (TV) .... Zeus
14. Somebody to Love (1994) .... Emillio
15. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Hercules and the Lost Kingdom (1994) (TV) .... Zeus
16. Hercules and the Amazon Women (1994) (TV) .... Zeus
17. This Can't Be Love (1994) (TV) .... Michael Reyman
18. Last Action Hero (1993) .... Tony Vivaldi
19. Mobsters (1991) .... Don Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria
... aka The Evil Empire
20. Jungle Fever (1991) .... Lou Carbone
21. Only the Lonely (1991) .... Nick Acropolis
22. A Star for Two (1991)
23. Ghosts Can't Do It (1990) .... Scott
24. The Old Man and the Sea (1990) (TV) .... Santiago
25. Revenge (1990) .... Tiburon 'Tibby' Mendez
26. Mago, Il (1990) (TV)
27. "The Cosby Show"
- Surf's Up (1989) TV Episode .... Mr. Fuentes
28. Pasión de hombre (1989) .... Maurici
... aka A Man of Passion
29. Stradivari (1989) .... Antonio Stradivari
30. Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988) (TV) .... Socrates Onassis
... aka Onassis
... aka The Richest Man in the World
31. "Isola del tesoro, L'" (1987) (mini) TV Series .... Long John Silver
... aka Schatz im All, Der (West Germany)
... aka Space Island (UK: video title)
... aka Treasure Island in Outer Space (Europe: English title)
32. Valentina (1982) .... Mosen Joaquin
... aka 1919
... aka Valentine
33. Regina Roma (1982)
... aka Regina (USA: video title)
34. High Risk (1981) .... Mariano
... aka Gringos, Los (Mexico)
35. Lion of the Desert (1981) .... Omar Mukhtar
... aka Omar Mukhtar: Lion of the Desert
36. The Salamander (1981) .... Bruno Manzini
... aka Salamandra, La (Italy)
37. Crosscurrent (1981)
38. The Passage (1979) .... The Basque
39. The Children of Sanchez (1978) .... Jesus Sanchez
40. Caravans (1978) .... Zulffiqar
41. The Greek Tycoon (1978) .... Theo Tomasis
42. "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977) (mini) TV Series .... Caiaphas
... aka Gesù di Nazareth (Italy)
43. Eredità Ferramonti, L' (1976) .... Gregorio Ferramonti
... aka The Inheritance (USA)
44. Bluff storia di truffe e di imbroglioni (1976) .... Philip Bang
... aka Grande bluff, Il
... aka The Con Artists (USA)
... aka The Con Man
... aka The Switch (USA: video title)
45. Target of an Assassin (1976) .... Ernest Hobday
... aka African Rage
... aka Fatal Assassin
... aka Portrait of an Assassin
... aka The Long Shot
... aka Tigers Don't Cry
46. The Message (1976) .... Hamza
... aka Mohammed, Messenger of God
47. The Marseille Contract (1974) .... Steve Ventura
... aka Marseille contrat (France)
... aka The Destructors (USA)
48. The Don Is Dead (1973) .... Don Angelo
... aka Beautiful But Deadly (USA: TV title)
... aka The Deadly Kiss
49. Across 110th Street (1972) .... Capt. Mattelli
50. Amigos, Los (1972) .... Erastus 'Deaf' Smith
... aka Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (USA)
51. Asesinato de Julio César, El (1972)
52. The Voice of La Raza (1972) .... Narrator
53. "The Man and the City" (1971) TV Series .... Thomas Jefferson Alcala (1971-72)
54. The City (1971) (TV) .... Mayor Thomas Jefferson Alcala
55. Flap (1970) .... Flapping Eagle
... aka The Last Warrior (UK)
56. R.P.M. (1970) .... Prof. F.W.J. 'Paco' Perez
57. Walk in the Spring Rain (1970) .... Will Cade
58. A Dream of Kings (1969) .... Matsoukas
59. The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) .... Italo Bombolini
60. The Magus (1968) .... Maurice Conchis
61. The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) .... Kiril Lakota
62. Bataille de San Sebastian, La (1968) .... Leon Alastray
... aka Cañones de San Sebastián, Los (Mexico)
... aka Cannoni di San Sebastian, I (Italy)
... aka Guns for San Sebastian (USA)
63. The Happening (1967) .... Roc Delmonico
64. Vingt-cinquième heure, La (1967) .... Johann Moritz
... aka 25e heure, La
... aka The 25th Hour
... aka Venticinquesima ora, La (Italy)
65. Avventuriero, L' (1967) .... Peyrol
... aka The Rover
66. Lost Command (1966) .... Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy
67. Fabuleuse aventure de Marco Polo, La (1965) .... Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor of China
... aka Marco the Magnificent (UK) (USA)
... aka Marko Polo (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
... aka Meravigliose avventure di Marco Polo, Le (Italy)
... aka Scacchiere di Dio, Lo (Italy)
68. A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) .... Captain Chávez
69. Alexis Zorbas (1964) .... Alexis Zorba
... aka Zorba the Greek (USA)
70. The Visit (1964) .... Serge Miller
... aka Besuch, Der (West Germany)
... aka Rancune, La (France)
... aka Vendetta della signora, La (Italy)
71. Behold a Pale Horse (1964) .... Vinolas
72. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) .... Auda abu Tayi
73. Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) .... Louis 'Mountain' Rivera
... aka Blood Money (UK)
74. Barabbas (1962) .... Barabbas
... aka Barabba (Italy)
75. The Guns of Navarone (1961) .... Col. Andrea Stavros
76. Portrait in Black (1960) .... Dr. David Rivera
77. Heller in Pink Tights (1960) .... Tom Healy
78. Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) .... Craig Belden
... aka One Angry Day (USA: alternative title)
79. Warlock (1959) .... Tom Morgan
... aka Shoot Out at Warlock (USA: reissue title)
80. The Savage Innocents (1959) .... Inuk
... aka Dents du diable, Les (France)
... aka Ombre bianche (Italy)
81. The Black Orchid (1958) .... Frank Valente
82. Hot Spell (1958) .... John Henry Duval
83. Wild Is the Wind (1957) .... Gino
84. The Ride Back (1957) .... Bob Kallen
85. The River's Edge (1957) .... Ben Cameron
86. The Wild Party (1956) .... Tom Kupfen
87. Notre Dame de Paris (1956) .... Quasimodo
... aka Gobbo di Notre Dame, Il (Italy)
... aka The Hunchback of Notre Dame (USA)
88. Man from Del Rio (1956) .... Dave Robles
... aka The Man from Del Rio (USA)
89. Lust for Life (1956) .... Paul Gauguin
90. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
... aka Herald Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
... aka Schlitz Playhouse (USA: new title)
... aka The Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
- Bandit's Hide-Out (1955) TV Episode
- The Long Trail (1954) TV Episode
- Dark Fleece (1951) TV Episode
91. Seven Cities of Gold (1955) .... Capt. Gaspar de Portola
92. The Naked Street (1955) .... Phil Regal
... aka The Brass Ring (USA)
93. The Magnificent Matador (1955) .... Luís Santos
... aka The Brave and the Beautiful (UK)
94. Ulisse (1955) .... Antinoos
... aka Ulysses
95. Attila (1954) .... Attila
... aka Attila (USA)
... aka Attila fléau de Dieu (France)
... aka Attila the Hun (UK)
... aka Attila, il flagello di Dio (Italy: alternative title)
96. Strada, La (1954) .... Zampanò
... aka The Road (USA: literal English title)
97. The Long Wait (1954) .... Johnny McBride
98. Donne proibite (1954) .... Francesco Caserto
... aka Angels of Darkness (USA)
99. Blowing Wild (1953) .... Ward 'Paco' Conway
100. East of Sumatra (1953) .... Kiang
101. Ride, Vaquero! (1953) .... José Esqueda
102. Seminole (1953) .... Osceola/John Powell
103. City Beneath the Sea (1953) .... Tony Bartlett
104. Cavalleria rusticana (1953) .... Alfio
... aka Fatal Desire (USA)
105. Più comico spettacolo del mondo, Il (1953) (uncredited)
... aka Funniest Show on Earth (International: English title)
106. Against All Flags (1952) .... Capt. Roc Brasiliano
107. The World in His Arms (1952) .... Portugee
108. The Brigand (1952) .... Prince Ramón
109. Viva Zapata! (1952) .... Eufemio
110. Mask of the Avenger (1951) .... Viovanni Larocca
111. "Danger"
- Blue (1951) TV Episode
112. The Brave Bulls (1951) .... Raul Fuentes
113. "The Ford Theatre Hour"
... aka The Magnavox Theatre (USA: third season title)
- Ticket to Oblivion (1951) TV Episode
114. "Lights Out"
- The House of Dust (1951) TV Episode
115. "Somerset Maugham TV Theatre"
... aka Teller of Tales (original title (first three episodes title))
- Partners (1951) TV Episode
116. "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse"
- Ned McCobb's Daughter (1951) TV Episode
117. "The Philco Television Playhouse"
... aka Arena Theatre (USA: new title)
... aka Repertory Theatre (USA: new title)
... aka The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse (USA: new title)
- Pride's Castle (1949) TV Episode
118. Tycoon (1947) .... Ricky Vegas
119. Black Gold (1947) .... Charley Eagle
120. The Imperfect Lady (1947) .... Jose Martínez
... aka Mrs. Loring's Secret (UK)
... aka They Met at Midnight (USA)
121. Sinbad the Sailor (1947) .... Emir
122. California (1946) .... Don Luís Rivera y Hernandez
123. Back to Bataan (1945) .... Capt. Andrés Bonifácio
... aka The Invisible Army
124. Where Do We Go from Here? (1945) .... Chief Badger
125. China Sky (1945) .... Chen-Ta
126. Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) .... Al Jackson
127. Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944) .... George Carroll
... aka Roger Touhy
... aka The Last Gangster (UK)
128. Ladies of Washington (1944) .... Michael Romanescue
... aka Ladies in Washington
129. Buffalo Bill (1944) .... Yellow Hand (Cheyenne war chief)
130. Guadalcanal Diary (1943) .... Pvt. Jesus 'Soose' Alvarez
131. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) .... Juan Martínez/Francisco Morez
... aka Strange Incident (UK)
132. The Black Swan (1942) .... Wogan
133. Road to Morocco (1942) .... Mullay Kasim
134. Larceny, Inc. (1942) .... Leo Dexter
135. The Perfect Snob (1941) .... Alex Moreno
136. They Died with Their Boots On (1941) .... Crazy Horse
137. Bullets for O'Hara (1941) .... Tony Van Dyne, Alias of Tony Millard
138. Blood and Sand (1941) .... Manola de Palma
139. Thieves Fall Out (1941) .... Chic Collins
140. Knockout (1941) .... Mr. Harry Trego
... aka Right to the Heart
141. The Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940) .... Joe Yuma
142. City for Conquest (1940) .... Murray Burns
143. The Ghost Breakers (1940) .... Ramón
144. Parole Fixer (1940) .... Francis 'Big Boy' Bradmore
145. Road to Singapore (1940) .... Caesar
146. Emergency Squad (1940) .... Nick Buller
147. Television Spy (1939) .... Forbes
148. Island of Lost Men (1939) .... Chang Tai
149. Union Pacific (1939) .... Jack Cordray (Campeau henchman)
150. King of Chinatown (1939) .... Mike Gordon
151. King of Alcatraz (1938) .... Lou Gedney
... aka King of the Alcatraz (UK)
152. Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938) .... Fordine (henchman)
153. Hunted Men (1938) .... Legs
... aka Crime Gives Orders
154. Tip-Off Girls (1938) .... Marty
155. Dangerous to Know (1938) .... Nicholas 'Nicki' Kusnoff
156. The Buccaneer (1938) .... Beluche
157. Daughter of Shanghai (1937) .... Harry Morgan
... aka Daughter of the Orient (UK)
158. Partners in Crime (1937) .... Nicholas Mazaney
159. The Last Train from Madrid (1937) .... Capt. Ricardo Álvarez
160. Under Strange Flags (1937) (uncredited) .... Rebel Soldier
161. Waikiki Wedding (1937) .... Kimo
162. Swing High, Swing Low (1937) .... The Don
163. Night Waitress (1936) (uncredited) .... Gangster
164. The Plainsman (1936) .... Cheyenne Indian
165. Sworn Enemy (1936) (uncredited) .... Gangster
166. Parole (1936) .... Zingo Browning
167. The Milky Way (1936) (uncredited) .... Extra
Producer
1. Oriundi (1999) (producer)
2. Across 110th Street (1972) (executive producer)
3. Alexis Zorbas (1964) (associate producer)
... aka Zorba the Greek (USA)
4. The Visit (1964) (producer)
... aka Besuch, Der (West Germany)
... aka Rancune, La (France)
... aka Vendetta della signora, La (Italy)
Miscellaneous Crew
1. Ingrid (1984) (thanks)
Director
1. The Buccaneer (1958)
Just watched Back to Bataan and thought he could have been a great buddy next to Duke in many movies. Unfortunately they made only two together.
