Biography: Anthony Quinn was born in Chihuahua on April 21 1915. His father was Irish and his mother was Mexican. Anthony grew up in the U.S. where he worked as a painter and a prizefighter before becoming an actor. Quinn wanted the role of a Cheyenne warrior in Cecil B. DeMille’s THE PLAINSMAN (1936) starring Gary Cooper. Quinn feigned an inability to speak English correctly. His performance didn’t impress DeMille, but Cooper convinced him to give Quinn the role anyway. This lead to a long term contract with Paramount, and to a marriage with DeMilles daughter Katharine .

During the 40’s Quinn played in several classics, for example THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (1941) starring Errol Flynn, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943) starring Henry Fonda and THE ROAD TO MOROCCO with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. During his first 15 years in Hollywood, Quinn played nearly every ethnic type imagineable. But he didn't achieve the stardom he sought, he never got the girl, so he left Hollywood for Broadway in the early 50’s to replace Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in ”A Streetcar Named Desire”. When the tour was over Quinn co-starred with Brando in VIVA ZAPATA!, a movie about the Mexican revolution. Quinn received an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor which brought the attention of European directors.

Quinn left Hollywood for Rome to work with Italian directors such as Dino De Laurentis, Carlo Ponti and Federico Fellini. His performance in LA STRADA (1954) secured his position as an international star. He won a second Oscar for his portrayal of Paul Gaugin in Vincente Minnelli’s LUST FOR LIFE, starring Kirk Douglas. He only appeared eight minutes in the film. Quinn was a tall energetic actor who radiated power and passion. However, during the 60’s his age began to show and he changed his screen persona thereafter. He co-starred with David Niven and Gregory Peck in the big budget production THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961). Then he appeared as Abu Tayi in David Lean’s four hour epic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) with Omar Sharif, Peter O’Toole and Alec Guinness.

Quinn’s signature role was as Zorba in the hit musical ZORBA THE GREEK (1964) for which he was Oscar-nominated. The following year he divorced Katherine DeMille with whom he had three children. He married a costume designer,  Iolanda. During the 70’s Quinn’s career began to decline and he became known as a well-respected ham. He accepted roles in poor American productions in which he often overacted badly. Quinn was an accomplished sculptor and painter, best known for his post-impressionost oils. He held an art show in Honolulu in 1982, the whole show sold out for a total of $2 million. Quinn worked steadily throughout the 90’s. He would have starred in David Lean’s NOSTROMO, but Lean died and production was halted.

In 1993 he ended his 31-year marriage to Iolanda because he had an affair with his secretary, whom he married. It was a very bitter and public divorce. Iolanda claimed that Anthony had beaten her regularly for many years. After undergoing a major heart surgery in 1990 Quinn fathered two more children. In 1996, at the age of 81, Quinn became father of his 13th child. Quinn is one of the most productive movie-stars of all time. During a movie career that lasted for 60 years, Quinn appeared in 143 movies (almost 2,5 movies/year for 60 years!). He has won 2 Academy Awards and has appeared on-screen with 28 other Oscar winning actors, and 18 Oscar-winning actresses. That’s more than anyone else has done. "I never satisfed that kid (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." It’s not bad at all.
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This biography was written by Erik Stahlberg.

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