Editing Anthony Perkins (section)

===Early life, 1932–1937===
[[File:Anthony Perkins Baby Mother.png|thumb|left|Perkins with his mother Janet at the beach, {{c.|1933}}]]

Anthony Perkins was born April 4, 1932, in [[Manhattan]], the son of actor [[Osgood Perkins]] (1892–1937) and his wife, Janet Esselstyn (née Rane; 1894–1979).{{sfn|Winecoff|1996}} His paternal great-grandfather was the [[wood engraver]] [[Andrew Varick Stout Anthony]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bosarchitecture.com/backbay/beacon/196.html |title=Architecture of 196 Beacon Street, Back Bay, Boston |publisher=BOSarchitecture |access-date=November 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508025640/http://www.bosarchitecture.com/backbay/beacon/196.html |archive-date=May 8, 2014}}</ref>

Throughout his early years, Perkins did not see much of his father, who was busy in a variety of roles, the most prominent of which was his [[supporting role]] in the original motion picture adaptation of ''[[Scarface (1932)|Scarface]]'', released the year Perkins was born. Perkins's only fond memories of his father came from a 1937 vacation to [[Fire Island]], though they spent little time together on the trip.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=19}} The Perkins family hired a French [[nanny]], Jeanne, to look after their son, leading to Perkins' fluency in French, which proved useful years later.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=16}}

Between his father's absences, Perkins was surrounded by women, the most influential of which was his mother. "I became abnormally close to my mother," Perkins recalled to ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' in 1983, "and whenever my father came home I was jealous. It was the [[Oedipal]] thing in a pronounced form, I loved him but I also wanted him to be dead so I could have her all to myself."<ref name=People>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20085251,00.html |title=Return of Psycho |magazine=People |first=Brad |last=Darrach |volume=19 |issue=23 |date=June 13, 1983 |access-date=January 3, 2009}}</ref> On September 21, 1937, Osgood Perkins died of a heart attack, just after the successful [[opening night]] of his newest play, ''Susan and God''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/22/archives/osgood-perkins-stage-star-dies-stricken-after-premiere-of-susan-and.html |title=Osgood Perkins, Stage Star, Dies; Stricken After Premiere of 'Susan and God,' in Which He Was Leading Man |work=The New York Times |date=September 22, 1937 |access-date=April 1, 2008 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> His father's death caused Perkins to feel intense guilt. "I was horrified," he said years later. "I assumed that my wanting him to be dead had actually killed him. I prayed and prayed for my father to come back. I remember long nights of crying in bed. For years I nursed the hope that he wasn't really dead. Because I'd see him on film, it was as if he were still alive. He became a mythic being to me, to be dreaded and appeased."<ref name=People/>