Born – Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn, 21 April 1915,              Chihuahua, Mexico. Married twice. Married 1 – Actress Katherine DeMille, (1937-1965)                       Features in ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ Children – Thirteen. Died - 3 June 2001, from respiratory failure following pneumonia             in Boston, Massachusetts. Born into an impoverished environment in Mexico, Anthony Quinn's family moved to East L.A. in search of work and a better quality of life. Quinn spent his boyhood years helping support his family by doing odd jobs, it was during those long hours of back-breaking work that he dreamed of becoming Napoleon, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Martin Luther, and Jack Dempsey all rolled into one. Living only five miles from Hollywood, he used to draw portraits of stars, and would then send them to the star in the hope of making a few dollars. Success came at age 11 when he won a California statewide sculpture competition for his entry of Abraham Lincoln.

A few years later, Anthony was granted a scholarship to study architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright. They developed a close personal relationship, linked by the common desire to leave their mark on society. In fact, it was Wright who paid for the young Quinn to have surgery to correct a speech impediment. It was also Wright who suggested that Quinn take acting lessons in order to help re-train his tongue. Wright recalled years later, having seen the young Quinn perform on stage that he knew Anthony would never return to architecture again.

He entered films in 1936 after a brief stage experience. Anthony launched his film career playing character roles, mostly heavies and gangsters in B-Movies. He built his reputation on supporting parts, and soon became the man to call when Hollywood needed an ethnic type. He was Irish-Mexican by birth, but before the lens he could play a convincing Indian, Eskimo or Bedouin, a credible Frenchman, Italian or Greek. Anthony was the ultimate man's man with a gruff unpolished style all his own.

His career picked up dramatically in the 50s and he began playing leading parts in films that emphasised his earthiness and brute masculinity. Several of these were filmed in Europe. His career reached a new peak, as he aged, Anthony's smooth manicured countenance became weathered into a craggy map, his hair greyed and his trim physique filled out. This new grizzled screen image wasn't the end of his career, but the beginning of a new type of role. The passionate, unpredictable Anthony Quinn found his signature character in the 1964 film ‘Zobra the Greek’. After creating the character on the screen, Anthony took the tale to the Broadway musical stage two decades later. Zobra is lusty and life-affirming - like the man who

Gave him voice.

He disappeared from the screen throughout much of the 80s, but returned with character roles in several films and TV productions. In a screen career that has stretched seven decades, Anthony Quinn has proved his strength of character. He is one of Hollywood's most animated personalities. Off-screen he's a noted painter, sculptor and art collector. He has said that his films will fade, but that art is eternal. His films won't fade; they are a legacy of an actor's struggle and success, of his many lives and loves in Hollywood.

Trivia: Became a naturalized US citizen in the 1940s.

• Two Academy Award best supporting actor and best actor nominations.

• Fathered his 13^th child at age 81.
• Directed one film and produced four films.

Personal Quotes:" They said all I was good for was playing Indians."

During a career spanning 63 years Anthony appeared in 153 films.

Featured in the following collective films:

1936   The Plainsman (Cheyenne Indian) with Gary Cooper

1937   Swing High Swing Low (The Don) with Carole Lombard

1937   Waikiki Wedding (Kimo) with Bing Crosby

1939   Union Pacific (Jack Cordray) with Barbara Stanwyck

1940   Road to Singapore (Caesar) with Bing Crosby

1941   Blood and Sand (Manolo) with Tyrone Power

1941   They Died with Their Boots On (Chief Crazy Horse) with Errol Flynn

1942   The Black Swan (Wogan) with Tyrone Power

1942   Road to Morocco (Mullay Kassim) with Bing Crosby

1942   Back to Bataan (Captain Andres Bonifacio) with John Wayne

1947   Tycoon with John Wayne

1947   Sinbad the Sailor with Douglas Fairbanks Jnr

1952   Viva Zapata! with Marlon Brando. AA best supporting actor

1952   The World in His Arms with Gregory Peck

1952   Against All Flags with Errol Flynn

1953   Ride, Vaquero! with Robert Taylor

1950   Blowing Wild with Barbara Stanwyck

1956   Lust for Life with Kirk Douglas. AA best supporting actor

1961   The Guns of Navarone with Gregory Peck

1959   Barabbas with Arthur Kennedy

1964   Zorba the Greek with Alan Bates. AAN best actor

1967   The Twenty-Fifth Hour with Michael Redgrave

1968   The Shoes of the Fisherman with Laurence Olivier

1968   Guns for San Sebastian with Charles Bronson

1975   Jesus of Nazareth with Robert Powell
1977   Target of an Assassin with Marius Weyers