Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn was born Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (some sources indicate Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca) on April 21, 1915, in Chihuahua, Mexico, to Manuela (Oaxaca) and Francisco Quinn, who later became an assistant cameraman at a Los Angeles (CA) film studio. After beginning life in modest conditions in Mexico, his family relocated to Los Angeles, where he grew up in the Boyle Heights and Echo Park neighborhoods. As a youth, he played in the band of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and served as a deputy preacher. He attended Polytechnic High School and later Belmont High, but eventually dropped out. Quinn boxed during his youth, a skill that later aided him as a stage actor, particularly in his acclaimed performance as Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in Chicago. He later studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in Arizona. Quinn was close to Wright, who supported him when he decided to pursue acting. He made his credited film debut in *Parole!* (1936). After a brief stage apprenticeship, Quinn arrived in Hollywood in 1936 and took on small roles at Paramount, including an Indian warrior in *The Plainsman* (1936), directed by his future father-in-law, Cecil B. DeMille. As a contract player at Paramount, Quinn was often cast in ethnic roles, such as an Arab chieftain in *Road to Morocco* (1942). As a Mexican national, he was exempt from the draft during WWII, allowing him to take on better supporting roles as many actors were in military service. He married DeMille's daughter, Katherine DeMille, which granted him access to Hollywood's elite. Quinn became disenchanted with his career and chose not to renew his Paramount contract, despite the advice of others, including his father-in-law, with whom he had a strained relationship due to cultural and political differences. The two eventually developed a civil relationship. Quinn returned to the stage to refine his craft. His portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in *A Streetcar Named Desire* in Chicago and on Broadway—where he replaced Marlon Brando—helped establish his reputation and revitalized his film career. Brando and Elia Kazan, who directed *Streetcar* on Broadway and in the 1951 film adaptation, played a key role in Quinn's future success. Kazan, aware of the rivalry between Quinn and Brando in the role of Kowalski, cast Quinn as Brando's brother in *Viva Zapata!* (1952), a biographical film about Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. Quinn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1952, becoming the first Mexican to win an Oscar. He received his second Supporting Actor Oscar in 1957 for his portrayal of Paul Gauguin in *Lust for Life* (1956), directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Kirk Douglas. Over the next decade, Quinn lived in Italy and became a significant figure in international cinema, as many studios filmed in Italy to benefit from lower production costs. He delivered one of his most memorable performances as the brutal circus strongman in Federico Fellini's *La Strada* (1954), alongside his wife Giulietta Masina. He met his second wife, Jolanda Addolori, a wardrobe assistant, while filming *Barabbas* (1961) in Rome. Quinn continued to alternate between European and Hollywood projects, solidifying his reputation as a top character actor and lead. He received his third Oscar nomination (and first for Best Actor) for George Cukor's *Wild Is the Wind* (1957). He played a Greek resistance fighter in *The Guns of Navarone* (1961), a role that earned critical praise, and portrayed a fallen boxer in Rod Serling's *Requiem for a Heavyweight* (1962). He returned to ethnic roles, such as an Arab warlord in *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), and starred in the "sword-and-sandal" epic *Barabbas* (1961). In 1964, he reached the peak of his career with his portrayal of Zorba the Greek, which earned him his fourth and final Oscar nomination as Best Actor. The 1960s were a successful period for Quinn, with major roles in *The Shoes of the Fisherman* (1968) and *The Secret of Santa Vittoria* (1969). However, his performance as the lead in *The Magus* (1968), an adaptation of John Fowles' novel, failed to save the film, which was considered one of the decade's major flops. In the 1970s, Quinn continued to play ethnic roles, including a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in *The Greek Tycoon* (1978), Hamza in the controversial *The Message* (1976), the Italian patriarch in *The Inheritance* (1976), another Arab in *Caravans* (1978), and a Mexican patriarch in *The Children of Sanchez* (1978). He also starred as the Hispanic mayor of a southwestern city in the short-lived TV series *The Man and the City* (1971), but his career slowed during the decade. In 1983, he reprised his most famous role as Zorba the Greek in a Broadway revival of the musical *Zorba*, performing in