Editing Anthony Perkins (section)

==Public image==
===Persona===
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=230
 | align  = right
 | image1 = Anthony Perkins Person to Person 1.png
 | alt1   = Anthony Perkins in his West Hollywood apartment during his ''Person to Person'' interview, aired October 18, 1957
 | image2 = Anthony Perkins Person to Person 2.png
 | alt2   = Anthony Perkins in his West Hollywood apartment during his ''Person to Person'' interview, aired October 18, 1957
 | footer = Perkins displaying his trademark body language in a 1957 episode of ''[[Person to Person]]''
}}
Throughout his career, Perkins often played shy, sensitive young men. Whether this was the morally-split Josh Birdwell or the awkward and mentally ill Norman Bates, they all distinguished him as one of the rare male actors unafraid to be vulnerable with the audience. "He was supposed to be gawky, you know," costar [[Jean Simmons]] recalled, "with the sleeves too short and all that stuff."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=64}} Former partner [[Tab Hunter]] spoke similarly about Perkins: "Beneath the boyishness, however, there was a lot of tension–not news to anyone who's seen Tony on-screen. The familiar body language wasn't an act. He slouched around with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, and he jiggled his foot unconsciously–a nervous twitch."{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=137}}

Despite his well-documented habits, the authenticity of them has been challenged by some of Perkins's friends and colleagues. [[Alan Sues]], who worked with Perkins on ''Tea and Sympathy'', noted, "You know, if you play that kind of sensitive, I-don't-know-if-I-can-get-through-this sort of thing, people come to you. His approach was that he was suffering, that stuff was going on inside of him, and I don't think it was. His strong suit was knowing how to project an image."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=82}} Although Hunter expressed similar doubts ("I began to wonder how much of his sheepish appeal was genuine," he wrote in 2005, "and how much was manufactured, used to mask very calculated, methodical intentions"{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=140}}), he did believe overall that Perkins was dealing with a lot of backlash from Paramount over his sexuality, which therefore led him to become as brooding as he was.{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=156}}

However real or fake the mannerisms were, they caught on in the press, which had a field day when Perkins, who didn't know how to drive, was photographed hitchhiking to the set of ''Friendly Persuasion''.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=103}} He was often described as "boyish" by fan magazines,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/photoplayjanjun100macf_12/page/n30/mode/1up|title=Little Boy|website=Photoplay|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> and his odd habits, from the way he dressed<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/modernscreen51unse/page/n19/mode/1up|title=Tony Answers L.O.P.|website=Modern Screen|date=February 1957 |access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> to the meals he ate,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/modernscreen51unse/page/n575/mode/1up|title=Hungry Tony Perkins|website=Modern Screen|date=February 1957 |access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> were written about in detail. ''Photoplay'' called Perkins a "barefoot boy with cheek" in a 1957 issue,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/photoplayjanjun100macf_12/page/n494/mode/1up?|title=Barefoot Boy with Cheek?|website=Phoyoplay|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> while later portraying him as an embarrassed singer when they photographed him during recording sessions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/photoplayjuldec100macf_12/page/n541/mode/1up|title=Going Around in Circles|website=Photoplay|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> Perkins seemingly played into this quirky yet insecure persona, venting to ''McCall's'':
<blockquote>"I'm not really suited to be a movie star. I have no confidence in myself. I'm not interested in money. I'm not good-looking. I have a hunch in my spine. I can't see worth a damn. I have a very small head. I haven't many opinions. I dislike nightclubs–the kind of things that give you easy publicity. I have no string of French girls. I'm not tough. I can't put on a show in public. I'm much too sensitive for Hollywood. I'm an easy target."{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=198}}{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=148}}</blockquote>

He also did so on game shows. As a mystery guest on the popular television program ''[[What's My Line?]]'', in the Australian accent he had used during his most recent film, ''On the Beach'', Perkins responded to a question asking if he was a movie star by saying, "That's a term I don't like." After his identity was revealed to the panel of previously blind-folded guessers, Perkins was asked again why he didn't prefer the term. "The term movie star," he said, "implies a certain glamor which I believe I lack."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By3Y1Dfu9wA|title=What's My Line? - Anthony Perkins; Martin Gabel [panel]; Zsa Zsa Gabor [panel] (Jun 14, 1959)|website=What's My Line?|date=March 3, 2014 |access-date=January 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0746666/?ref_=ttep_ep23|title=What's My Line? S10E38|publisher=IMDb|access-date=January 19, 2022}}</ref>

Even if some people found Perkins's constant complaining about his self-esteem to be annoying, it did earn him fans in the more prominent gossip columnists. Both [[Louella Parsons]] and [[Hedda Hopper]] were fans of him, feeling an almost maternal instinct for him. "[Hopper] was the biggest Tony Perkins fan in town," Tab Hunter recalled. "She practically declared him her adopted son in print and was eager to publish anything that would bury those rumors about Tony's 'secret friend' [a euphemism for Hunter and their secret relationship often employed by the press]."{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=157}} This also endeared him to Academy Award-winning costume designer Dorothy Jeakins, whom he worked with on ''Friendly Persuasion'' and ''Green Mansions''. "He had a gift for inciting maternal instinct, particularly in mature women."{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=136}}

===Sex symbol and teen idol===
Perkins was relentlessly promoted by Paramount Pictures as a sex symbol and teen idol throughout his career, something Perkins saw as a sacrifice to his serious acting prospects. They forced him through a succession of romantic lead roles, whether they were beside relative unknowns such as Norma Moore and Elaine Aiken or powerhouses such as Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn. Although he was briefly depicted in drag in ''The Matchmaker'' with Shirley MacLaine, Perkins's image in these films was largely heterosexualized. Despite his 140-pound stature, Perkins delivered a shirtless performance in both ''Desire Under the Elms'' and ''Green Mansions.'' This compulsive and brash heterosexualization ended up being detrimental to Perkins's career, costing him the leads in both the 1959 film ''[[Some Like It Hot]]''{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=163}} and the 1961 film ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]''.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=209}}

Even if the masculinity of Perkins's image was forced, his beauty was not. As friend Gwen Davis remembered, "He was intellectually dazzling, physically beautiful. At twenty-four, he was already Dorian Gray."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=109}} Costar Joan Fickett spoke similarly of Perkins: "Tony had a quality that was fantastic{{nbsp}}... He was also a beautiful-looking young man."<ref>Winecoff 1996,pg. 96</ref> Even his post-Hollywood friends such as Melina Mercouri agreed: "He was the most intelligent and the most beautiful actor that I played with. He was extremely generous [and gorgeous], a gentleman."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=231}}

Perkins's popularity as a teen idol was increased by the plentiful stories circulating about his active dating life. Although they ultimately ended up stumped as to how an attractive star such as Perkins could remain a bachelor, Perkins was constantly "losing his heart" to somebody, whether it was Natascia Mangano<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/photoplayjuldec100macf_12/page/n183/mode/1up|title=Has Tony Lost His Heart?|website=Photoplay|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> or Elaine Aiken.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/modernscreen52unse/page/n656/mode/1up|title=The Day I Discovered My Heart|website=Modern Screen|date=February 1958 |access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> Perkins was often claimed to be "infatuated" with many of his leading women, whether they were married or not. Soon, Perkins's dating life became as prominent as his career, something Perkins was deeply irritated and annoyed by.

Another source of teenage frenzy around the young actor was his singing career. Although his highest-ranked single in the United States, "Moonlight Swim," peaked in the 20s on the ''Billboard'' charts, his albums were still popular with teenage fans. Many of his songs centered around forbidden romances, something an adoring fan could relate to since they might have seen a potential romance with Perkins, a "movie star," as forbidden. Many of the songs often described the love interest as young, with two ("The Prettiest Girl in School" and "When School Starts Again Next Year") explicitly stating that his "girlfriend" was young enough to still be in school. These singles came out shortly before the release of 1960's ''Tall Story'', where Perkins played a college student, amplifying the teenage frenzy tenfold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3611783/norman-bates-musical-career-anthony-perkins/|title=More Than Norman Bates: The Musical Career of Anthony Perkins|last=Pajarillo|first=Xanthe|website=Bloody Disgusting|date=April 4, 2020 |access-date=January 19, 2022}}</ref>