Editing Anthony Perkins (section)

=== 1960s ===

==== Troubles with Paramount ====
[[File:APerkinsPublicity.jpg|thumb|Publicity photos such as these (taken in 1959) served only to heighten Perkins's teen idol status]]

After being signed in 1955, Perkins became Paramount's last matinee idol, and he was promoted relentlessly as that image through a string of leading roles on screen. Once he had finished three films for the studio, they had already invested $15&nbsp;million in him before any of the motion pictures were even released. This began the tension between Perkins and Paramount.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=123}}

Another reason for tension came from Perkins's side; he believed Paramount was ruining his career. Although he was given the option to do Broadway performances, his fame primarily stemmed from his performances on screen, where Paramount was pushing him into leading-man roles. Perkins, however, wanted only to be a serious actor, not a teen idol. Their preoccupation with keeping Perkins's masculinity intact also led to his losing quite a few coveted roles, such as Shell Oil Junior in ''Some Like it Hot''{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=163}} and Tony in ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]''.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=209}}

Paramount president [[Barney Balaban]] strongly disliked Perkins due to his homosexuality. They constantly had arguments, mostly revolving around his sexuality and his ongoing relationship with fellow actor [[Tab Hunter]], which Balaban believed Perkins flaunted too much. He constantly pressured Perkins into breaking up with Hunter and going into conversion therapy for the five years that Perkins was under contract with the studio. A later collaborator of Perkins's remembered to Charles Winecoff in 1996, "Tony said one thing that always endeared him to me{{nbsp}}... that when he was a rising young star at Paramount, he was seeing a great deal of [Tab Hunter], they went around town together, and finally the big studio head called him in and said, 'You cannot do this anymore. We're going to make you a star, and you can't be seen around town with this guy. You've got to get a girl, you've got to stop seeing him.' Tony replied, 'But I love him!'—which left the studio head speechless—and walked out".{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=124}} Hunter remembered a similar scenario: "Warner Brothers never said a word about my sexuality, and that's just the way I wanted it. However, Paramount did have something to say about my relationship with Tony, and they told him they didn't want him to see me anymore{{nbsp}}... Despite the opposition we did continue seeing each other."<ref name="attitude.co.uk">{{cite news|last1=Hunter|first1=Tab|date=July 9, 2018|title=Exclusive: Tab Hunter Recounts His Relationship With "Psycho" Star Anthony Perkins|newspaper=Attitude|department=Exclusive|url=https://attitude.co.uk/article/exclusive-tab-hunter-recounts-his-secret-relationship-with-psycho-star-anthony-perkins/18188/|access-date=December 18, 2021|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218200358/https://attitude.co.uk/article/exclusive-tab-hunter-recounts-his-secret-relationship-with-psycho-star-anthony-perkins/18188/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to all accounts, Perkins, until 1959, withstood Balaban's threats of expulsion and even protected his homosexuality from his studio boss.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=124}} It was not until between filming ''Tall Story'' and ''Psycho'' that the studio executives succeeded in separating Perkins and Hunter, which many believe was a major factor in Perkins buying himself out of his Paramount contract early, just as Hunter had done at Warner Brothers.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=219}}

==== ''Psycho'' and ''Greenwillow'' ====
[[File:AnthonyPerkinsPsycho.jpg|thumb|Perkins in a publicity still for ''Psycho'' (1960)]]

Perkins in youth had a boyish, earnest quality, reminiscent of the young [[James Stewart]], which [[Alfred Hitchcock]] exploited and subverted when the actor starred as [[Norman Bates]] in the film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960). Hitchcock later said that he'd had Perkins cast since seeing him in ''Friendly Persuasion''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91947125|title=Norman Bates: A Most Terrifying Mama's Boy|work=NPR.org|access-date=October 26, 2017|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Anthony Perkins Psycho Publicity Photo.jpg|thumb|left|Perkins in 1960, filming ''Psycho'']]

During filming, Perkins was also involved in the 1960 Broadway musical ''[[Greenwillow]]'', written by [[Frank Loesser]]. The show is about the magical town of Greenwillow, where the men are meant to wander and women (if they can keep their husbands) are supposed to settle down and have children. Despite his call to isolation, Gideon Briggs (Perkins) wants to marry his sweetheart, Dorie (Ellen McCown). Loesser caught on to Perkins's homosexuality fast and, disliking him for it, decided to upstage him, writing his main solo, "Never Will I Marry", as something reminiscent of an opera ballad.<ref name="Winecoff 1996, pg. 204">Winecoff 1996, pg. 204</ref> However, close friend [[Stephen Sondheim]] praised his performance of "Never Will I Marry": "[Perkins was] wonderful. One of the things that makes 'Never Will I Marry' so brilliant [on the recording] is the crack of his voice when he reaches the tenth." The show's director, [[George Roy Hill]], also called Perkins "remarkably good. It didn't have the timbre of a real Broadway voice, but it didn't have the hard edge. 'Never Will I Marry' was a wonderful example of that."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=205}} Additionally, the song was popularized due to its renditions by [[Judy Garland]], [[Barbra Streisand]], and [[Linda Ronstadt]].<ref name="Winecoff 1996, pg. 204"/> Perkins was also nominated for another [[Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical|Best Actor in a Musical]].

''Psycho'' was made on a slim budget, with Perkins and Leigh accepting low salaries for their roles and recycling the crew from ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leigh|first=Janet|title=Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller|publisher=Harmony Books|date=1995|isbn=0-517-70112-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/psychobehindscen0000leig}}</ref> The film was nonetheless a critical and commercial success, and gained Perkins international fame as he won the Best Actor Award from the International Board of Motion Picture Reviewers. The role, with its multiple sequels, was to follow him for the remainder of his career.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/16/arts/anthony-perkins-s-wife-tells-of-2-years-of-secrecy.html|title=Anthony Perkins's Wife Tells of 2 Years of Secrecy|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|date=September 16, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== European films ====
[[File:GoodbyeAgainPoster.png|thumb|Perkins and Ingrid Bergman in an advertisement for ''Goodbye Again'' (1961)]]

After buying himself out of his Paramount contract, Perkins moved to France and began making European films, the first of which was ''[[Goodbye Again (1961 film)|Goodbye Again]]'' (1961) with [[Ingrid Bergman]], shot in Paris. Paula Tessier (Bergman) tries to resist the charms of Philip Van der Besh (Perkins), who is the son of one of her clients, while stuck in an unfulfilling affair with a cheating businessman ([[Yves Montand]]). It was originally entitled ''Time on Her Hands'', although Perkins suggested the English title ''Goodbye Again'' after one of his father's plays.<ref name="Foshee">{{cite news|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17134/goodbye-again/#articles-reviews?articleId=88170|title=Goodbye Again|work=Turner Classic Movies|first=Andrea|last=Foshee|date=November 19, 2007|access-date=January 9, 2022}}</ref> Again, Perkins found himself subjected to the romantic attention of his female costar, although he customarily declined.<ref name=People/> Despite any off-screen tension this might have caused, Perkins's role in the film was greatly praised and earned him the [[Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor]].<ref name="Foshee"/>

Perkins returned briefly to America to appear in a short-lived Broadway play, ''Harold'' (1962), but he returned to Europe shortly thereafter. He was then cast in ''[[Phaedra (film)|Phaedra]]'' (1962), shot in Greece with [[Melina Mercouri]] and directed by [[Jules Dassin]], undoubtedly inspired by Mercouri's recent success in ''[[Never on Sunday]]''. It was a modern retelling of a Greek tragedy where Alexis (Perkins) falls in love with Phaedra (Mercouri), who is also his stepmother. When asked about Perkins, Mercouri fondly said, "Ah, Tony. He is attractive to women. He is dangerous to women. When you touch him, he goes away a little. He is an [eel]. [[Raf Vallone]] [who played Perkins's father and Mercouri's husband in the film] is a good-looking man, but Perkins{{nbsp}}... Ah, I'd pick Perkins any time." Perkins's role in the film was also met with praise.<ref name="Winecoff">{{cite book|last=Winecoff|first=Charles|title=Split image: the life of Anthony Perkins|publisher=Dutton|year=199}}</ref>

His next film was ''[[Five Miles to Midnight]]'' (1962), which was his second motion picture with [[Sophia Loren]]. It follows Lisa (Loren), who believes her husband Robert (Perkins) died in a plane crash. When he reveals he is still alive, he urges her to collect the life-insurance money from his death. The film was a major shift away from the romantic leads he'd played in ''Goodbye Again'' and ''Phaedra'' and leant more toward his ''Psycho'' persona. Filming began under the title ''All the Gold in the World'', and Perkins reportedly only signed onto the picture after hearing Loren had replaced the previously cast [[Jeanne Moreau]] as his coerced wife.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=235}} The production process was captured on video for the documentary ''The World of Sophia Loren'', where she and Perkins can be seen laughing between takes, practicing scenes, solving puzzles, and singing the popular "After I'm Gone". (Tab Hunter had covered the song in 1958.){{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=236}} The film was a moderate success.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=237}}

[[File:Anthony-Perkins-Orson-Welles-The-Trial-Set.jpg|thumb|Anthony Perkins (right) with Orson Welles on the set of ''The Trial'' (1962)]]
Perkins continued with his mentally disturbed performances in [[Orson Welles]]' version of ''[[The Trial (1962 film)|The Trial]]'' (1962), based on the [[The Trial|Kafka novel]] about Joseph K, a man who's arrested and attempts to figure out what his crime is and how to defend himself. Perkins did not mind the typecasting as long as he was able to work with Welles, who personally wanted him to play the lead. To discuss the possibility of Perkins taking on the role, the two met on the stairs of Welles's hotel. Perkins said "[Welles] paid me the great compliment of saying he would like to know whether I would make the picture because if I wasn't going to make it, he wasn't going to make it either."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=240}} It is likely Welles was trying to make his runaway hit like ''Psycho'', but even if that was the purpose, Perkins did not seem to mind. "He's the best there is," Perkins said of Welles. "He's wonderfully sure of himself and his ability without being dictatorial and autocratic about it{{nbsp}}... [H]e isn't inflexible."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=240}} The film quickly went over-budget, although this did little to alter Perkins's vision of his director. In fact, during the process of filming, his admiration for Welles only seemed to increase. During filming, he considered writing a book about Welles and his career, even going as far as to carry a tape recorder in his coat pocket for weeks, but he abandoned it in fear of offending his boss. Welles later said to Perkins, "Oh, why didn't you [do it]? Why didn't you? I would have loved it!"{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|pp=241–242}}

Besides Perkins's abandoned plan to write a book about Welles, there was genuine affection between the two. Later in life, Welles remembered Perkins fondly: "A strange thing happened with [''The Trial'']: it got wonderful press, all over the world, even in America. Even in ''Time'' and ''Newsweek'' and everything, wonderful press. And Perkins got very bad press, all over the world, and the entire blame for that is mine, because he is a superlative actor and he played the character that I saw as K, and paid the price because nobody else sees it my way{{nbsp}}... I recognize that I did Tony–who is one of the best actors we have–a great disservice, because he deserved to have made a tremendous success and if he didn't with the critics the blame is one hundred percent with me."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbUe-bM6bXg&feature=youtu.be|title=Filming 'The Trial' (1981)|date=October 10, 2012 |via=YouTube |access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> Despite any regrets Welles might have had with his portrayal of Perkins and his character, the film was a massive success and later became a [[cult classic]]. Welles stated immediately after completing the film: "''The Trial'' is the best film I have ever made".<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesnet.com/trial%20bbc%20interview.htm |title=Orson Welles on THE TRIAL |first=Huw |last=Wheldon |publisher=BBC |year=1962 |via=Wellesnet |access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref> It was the first of four collaborations between Perkins and Welles.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=239}}

[[File:APerkinsBBardotPublicity.jpg|thumb|left|Perkins embracing Brigitte Bardot in a publicity still for ''Une ravissante idiote'']]

His final disturbed role in another romantic motion picture was in ''[[Le glaive et la balance]]'' (1963), shot in France. It had a very insignificant impact.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=243}} His next film, however, was ''[[Une ravissante idiote]]'' (1964) with [[Brigitte Bardot]], which was a comedy. It followed a Russian spy (Perkins) who employs a gorgeous but dim-witted woman (Bardot) as his accomplice in procuring secret documents. Perkins made history as the first American actor to play B.B.'s love interest,{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=250}} although Perkins later openly admitted Bardot was his least favorite costar, calling her "Bardot-do-do."<ref name="Hadleigh 1996"/> Bardot was another woman on Perkins's roster of suitors, but Perkins always denied Bardot's invitations to her penthouse. Perkins was incredibly uncomfortable around Bardot,{{Sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=251}} which was drastically different from his behavior around his previous (older) costars.

After ''Une ravissante idiote'' , Perkins shot ''[[The Fool Killer]]'' (1965) in Mexico.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=249}} An art film, the movie followed a 12-year-old boy ([[Edward Albert]]) who wanders the Civil War-ravaged South with a philosophical axe murderer (Perkins), and was Perkins's second film about the American Civil War. The film was well received but not overly popular at the box office,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knoxtntoday.com/the-summer-anthony-perkins-came-to-concord/|title=The Summer Anthony Perkins Came to Concord|last=Smith|first=Mona B.|website=Knox TN Today|date=June 2, 2020 |access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> and Perkins returned to France for a cameo in ''[[Is Paris Burning? (film)|Is Paris Burning?]]'' (1966), a war film about the liberation of Paris in 1944 at the hands of the French Resistance. This was his second Welles collaboration and reunited him with director [[René Clément]], who had had the same occupation over Perkins in 1957's ''This Angry Age''. In addition, Perkins's friend, [[Gore Vidal]], wrote the script.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060814/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm|title=Is Paris Burning? (1966): Full Cast and Crew|publisher=IMDb|access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref>

==== Return to the United States ====
[[File:Evening Primrose Anthony Perkins Charmian Carr 1966 redone.jpg|thumb|Perkins with [[Charmian Carr]] in ''[[Evening Primrose (musical)|Evening Primrose]]'', 1966]]

Although he was still living in France at the time, in 1966, Sondheim began writing a horror musical ''[[Evening Primrose (musical)|Evening Primrose]]'', which was set to be aired on ''[[ABC Stage 67]]'', for Perkins.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=259}} Perkins returned to America to star in the musical alongside [[Charmian Carr]], who was fresh off her success in ''[[The Sound of Music]]''. The plot followed Charles Snell, a struggling poet who decides to live in a department store by night and pretend to be a mannequin by day. He encounters a secret society, the Dark Men, that already had the idea, and falls in love with Ella Hawkins (Carr), who is the maid of the society's leader and is forbidden from speaking to Snell. If they attempt to leave the department store, the Dark Men will kill them and turn them into mannequins.<ref name="Evening Primrose">{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/cultoddities/home/television/evening-primrose |title=Evening Primrose|website=Cult Oddities|access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref> Sondheim referred to it as one of his favorite musicals he ever wrote, and announced Perkins as the lead of ''[[Company (musical)|Company]] '' shortly thereafter. Perkins, however, withdrew from the role, but he remained something like a muse for Sondheim for quite a few years.<ref name="Evening Primrose"/>{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=288}}

After his return to American television, Perkins appeared on Broadway in the [[Neil Simon]] play ''[[The Star-Spangled Girl]]'' (1966–67). For a brief moment, he was able to once again shed his typecast role as a mentally disturbed man, instead playing a radical roommate vying for the attention of a young woman. Among his costars was [[Connie Stevens]], and although they were both offered compliments for the performances they salvaged from the source material, the play was not on the whole well received.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91294/star-spangled-girl#notes |title= ''The Star-Spangled Girl'' Notes| website= Turner Classic Movies| access-date= October 18, 2017}}</ref> Neil Simon later commented that ''The Star-Spangled Girl'' "was written 'from an emotional identity rather than personal identity{{nbsp}}... I knew this one didn't have the body of the others. I knew it never had a chance to be a powerful comedy{{nbsp}}... I didn't make it'".<ref>{{cite news| last= Funke| first= Lewis| title= News of the Rialto Simon Says, 'I've Learned'| work= The New York Times| date= January 1, 1967| page= 57}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, Perkins returned to his beloved Europe and he starred in another French film, ''[[The Champagne Murders]]'' (1967), for [[Claude Chabrol]].{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=232}} The film was well-received, with the ''New York Times'' writing "Mr. Chabrol{{nbsp}}... has made a film that has the shape and structure of a murder mystery, but which is, essentially, a funny, sardonic social drama."<ref>{{cite news|author=Canby, Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|date=April 24, 1968|title=Screen: Lucille Ball and Fonda Star in a Comedy|page=53|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Despite this, it was insignificant at the box office.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=233}}

In 1968 Perkins made his first Hollywood movie since ''Psycho'', ''[[Pretty Poison (film)|Pretty Poison]]'' with [[Tuesday Weld]], in which he was typecast - for a fifth time - in the role of a psychotic young man. The plot revolves around Dennis Pitt (Perkins), on parole from a psychiatric hospital who meets Sue Ann Stepenek (Weld). He tells her he is a secret agent, after which they go on "missions" together, culminating in an attack on a factory. This was the first of two films with Weld, whom he had dated in the early 60s; they were reportedly chilly but respectful to each other on set.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=297}} Although the film wasn't a box office success, with Weld labeling it as her worst,<ref name="tues">{{cite news|title=Tuesday's got her dukes up: Watch out, Tuesday's got her dukes up|author=Reed, Rex|work=Chicago Tribune|date=October 31, 1971|page=r7}}</ref> it has since become a notable cult favorite.<ref name="perkins">{{cite news|title=A PERSONAL REVOLUTION: Anthony Perkins Trying to Mature Boyish Image |author=Thomas, Kevin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 20, 1967|page=c1}}</ref>