Editing Anthony Perkins (section)

=== 1950s ===

==== Film and Broadway debut ====
While still attending Rollins College, Perkins went to California over summer vacation, hoping to make it into the movies. Having heard that [[MGM]] was making a screen adaptation of ''Years Ago'', he lingered on the lot, hoping a casting director would spot him and offer him a screen test.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=60}} As Perkins later recalled:
<blockquote>"I hung around the casting gate all summer, running errands and picking up sandwiches for the guards. One day they were testing [[Margaret O'Brien]] and they needed the back of someone's head. They didn't know who to use. Then someone piped up and said, 'How about that kid that's always hanging around here? We could use the back of ''his'' head!"</blockquote>

"They called me in and I stood right in front of the camera, almost obliterating poor Margaret O'Brien's face and causing a director to say 'Please move a little to the left.' When he said this, I turned around and said, 'Who, ''me''?' and I was in the test."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=61}}

It was later that summer that Perkins learned he had been cast as Fred Whitmarsh in the film, now renamed ''[[The Actress]]'' (1953), alongside [[Jean Simmons]] and [[Spencer Tracy]]. He was also directed by [[George Cukor]], who was a friend and collaborator of his late father. In the film, he played a fumbling Harvard student who chases the interest of Ruth Gordon Jones (Simmons), who wants to perform onstage despite her family's disapproval.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=69}} The film was a commercial disappointment, although it scored an [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]].

Perkins was first noticed when he replaced [[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]] on Broadway in the lead of ''[[Tea and Sympathy (play)|Tea and Sympathy]]'' in 1954, where he was directed by [[Elia Kazan]], who had been a friend of his father's. In the play, he took on the role of Tom Lee, a college student who is labelled as a "sissy" and fixed with the love of the right woman, in an almost autobiographical role.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=68}} Perkins said years later, "It was the best part ever written for a young guy. I felt so involved with that particular play. In many ways, I ''was'' Tom Lee." Although homophobically written and resolved, the play was the only explicit work to hit Broadway depicting homosexuality and garnered a large gay following, therefore establishing Perkins in the gay-dominated theater world.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=77}} It was through this audience that the production became a success, and many people thought Perkins was substantially better than his predecessor, John Kerr, who went on to play the role in the [[Tea and Sympathy (film)|film adaptation]]. Joan Fickett, who played Perkins's love interest in the play, commented, "He was that boy. I'd seen John Kerr do it before, but Tony had a quality that was fantastic for the part—all the rawness and the hurt and the confusion, he just had. I found his performance tremendously poignant."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=96}} The play's success and Perkins's performance renewed Hollywood's interest in him.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/14/obituaries/anthony-perkins-star-of-psycho-and-all-its-sequels-is-dead-at-60.html|title=Anthony Perkins, Star of 'Psycho' And All Its Sequels, Is Dead at 60|last=Myers|first=Steven Lee|date=September 14, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

According to posthumous biographer Charles Winecoff, it was during the production of ''Tea and Sympathy'' that Perkins was drafted, despite the recent conclusion of the Korean War. Without consulting anybody, he decided to tell the Selective Service he was a "practicing homosexual," which was an eligible way to be deemed unfit for service. Reportedly, this had disastrous results, leaving Perkins traumatized.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|pp=92–93}}

====Serious roles====
[[File:FriendlyPersuasionSet.jpg|thumb|Perkins (left) and Gary Cooper (right) filming ''Friendly Persuasion'' (1956)]]

Just as his run in ''Tea and Sympathy'' was coming to an end, director [[William Wyler]] sent out his assistant, Stuart Millar, to search out talent on Broadway for his upcoming film ''[[Friendly Persuasion (1956 film)|Friendly Persuasion]]''. It centered around a family of Quakers during the American Civil War, and he was scouting an actor to play the oldest of the Birdwell children, Josh. When Millar saw Perkins in ''Sympathy'', he gave him a page of script and let him do an audition. As Millar recalled: "About half an hour later, [Perkins] had the part. [William Wyler] was thrilled with the reading, he saw everything instantly. It was really one of the best, if not ''the'' best, readings I've ever seen."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=97}}

Perkins was soon after shipped out to Hollywood, where he began shooting alongside [[Dorothy McGuire]] and [[Gary Cooper]], his screen mother and father. Perkins, a native New Yorker, did not know how to drive yet and regularly hitchhiked out from his hotel room at the [[Chateau Marmont]] to the set each day, something that became infamous and was often talked about in fan magazines.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=103}} His boyfriend, [[Tab Hunter]], later taught him how to drive.{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=136}} Perkins's inexperience radiated almost childish naïveté, something that endeared him to Gary Cooper. "Coop was warm and gracious and kindly," [[Peter Mark Richman]], who worked on the film, said. "He liked [Perkins and me] a lot, and Tony loved to hear him talk."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=101}} The feeling was mutual between Perkins, Cooper, and even the director. Perkins was regularly praised by Wyler for his performance and Cooper began publicly endorsing Perkins's abilities. This led to Perkins and Cooper sharing the cover of the July 1956 issue of ''Life''.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=100}} In the issue, Cooper spoke about Perkins in a fatherly manner: "I think he'd do well to spend a summer on a ranch," he commented about his younger costar. "It would toughen him up and he'd learn a lot from another kind of people."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=101}} Cooper's daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, asserted that, although her father certainly admired Perkins, it could have also been for other reasons: "He had friends in Hollywood, in the acting community, who were gay, and they couldn't come out. He saw what an emotional toll it took on them. I know my father adored Tony Perkins. My father felt he was a hell of an actor."<ref name="advocate.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2012/08/08/hollywood-backstory-western-favorite|title=The Hollywood Backstory on a Western Favorite|website=The Advocate|date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref>

Whatever the reason, this did not alter Perkins's performance. After rushes of the film were shared, the advance praise of his performance became so strong that [[Paramount Pictures]] took an interest in him. They soon signed him under a seven-year semi-exclusive contract, which gave him room to return to Broadway whenever he wanted. He was their last matinee idol and was called the "fifteen million dollar gamble."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15878coll90/id/52/ |title=Interview with Tony Perkins |website=The Mike Wallace Show |access-date=January 21, 2022}}</ref>

Perkins's first film for the studio was a 1957 biopic about [[Boston Red Sox]] baseball player [[Jimmy Piersall]] titled ''[[Fear Strikes Out]]''. It followed his father's pressure to become a legendary baseball player and how it led to his highly publicized mental breakdown, as well as detailing his efforts to get better in a mental institution. The set of the film was hostile and riddled with homophobia, something that put Perkins on edge so much that the cast and crew feared he was actually having a mental breakdown while filming the scene.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=125}} Although he wasn't nominated for any Oscars, his performance was widely praised by critics. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' proclaimed of the film: "Every recent young star has been compared to [[James Dean]]. From now on the standard is Tony Perkins."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|pp=139–140}}

After this critical success, Perkins starred in the first of two Westerns, ''[[The Lonely Man]]'' (1957), with [[Jack Palance]]. Perkins played Riley Wade, whose father, Jacob (Palance), abruptly returns to his life after having abandoned his mother years before. Jacob battles Riley's hatred for him throughout the film, desperate to reconnect with his estranged son after years of separation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16857/the-lonely-man |title=The Lonely Man (1957) - Overview |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2022}}</ref> [[Kim Stanley]], a previous costar of Perkins's, was cast as his love interest but was replaced at the last minute by Elaine Aiken in her film debut.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=117}} Reportedly, the film set was riddled with tensions, most of which arose from Palance's ultra-masculinity and Perkins's lack thereof. This was only heightened when filming was put behind schedule by an abrupt weather crisis that prevented outdoor production for a number of days. Still, a feeling of vitality remained. "We all thought this was an important picture we were making."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=118}}

Perkins's next film was also a Western, this time named ''[[The Tin Star]]'' (1957) with [[Henry Fonda]]. Originally, despite his burgeoning popularity, Perkins was not wanted for the project: "The producers, Bill Perlberg and [[George Seaton]], told someone who told someone who told someone who told me that they wouldn't have me in their picture for a million dollars," Perkins admitted during filming. However, he auditioned for them as soon as he heard the news.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=128}} In the film, Perkins played yet another pacifist, this time a sheriff named Ben Owens. After encountering an experienced bounty hunter, Morgan Hickman (Fonda), Ben has to prove himself worthy of his title in an ironic reflection of Perkins's troubles with Paramount. Perkins and Fonda took the hours-long drive out to set together in the same car, during which they became closely acquainted and shared stories of their private lives. Some cast members speculate that Perkins confided in Fonda about his sexuality during these drives.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=132}} The film grossed over $1 million in the box office and was one of the biggest films of 1957. It is now considered a classic of the Western genre.<ref>"Top Grosses of 1957", ''Variety'', January 8, 1958: 30</ref>

''Friendly Persuasion'' opened globally to huge critical and commercial success. The film was largely praised by critics, who took a liking to Perkins. The film earned him the [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor|Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor of the Year]] and a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000578/awards?ref_=nm_awd |title=Anthony Perkins: Awards |publisher=IMDb |access-date=January 21, 2022}}</ref> In a 1958 cover story, ''Newsweek'' hailed Perkins as "possibly the most gifted dramatic actor in this country under 30."<ref>"Tony Perkins: Shooting Star," Newsweek, March 3, 1958</ref>

====Teen idol status====
[[File:AnthonyPerkinsPublicityShot.png|thumb|Perkins in a 1957 publicity still for ''Modern Screen'']]

Perkins released three pop music albums and several singles in 1957 and 1958 on [[Epic Records|Epic]] and [[RCA Victor]] under the name Tony Perkins.<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tony-perkins-mn0000015860|title=Tony Perkins|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> His single "Moon-Light Swim" was a moderate hit in the United States, peaking at number 24 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in 1957. 1958's "The Prettiest Girl in School" was also popular in Australia but a flop in the United States.<ref name="AllMusic"/> Many people believed he was inspired to pursue musical endeavors after the abrupt success of then-partner [[Tab Hunter]], who had scored a number one hit on his debut record, "[[Young Love (1956 song)|Young Love]]." To Hunter, Perkins was often heard joking "that his tremulous voice could make any happy love song sound sad."{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=198}} However, Perkins was not very committed to the music career, although he steadily produced full-length albums and a few EP's until as late as the mid-1960s.

Despite being a life member of the [[Actors Studio]]<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Garfield |title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio |url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf |url-access=registration |year=1980 |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. |location=New York |isbn=0-02-542650-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/279 279] |chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980}}</ref> and therefore open to many different acting business ventures, Perkins did not choose to act in a musical when he exerted the freedom of his studio contract in 1957, and returned to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in ''[[Look Homeward, Angel (play)|Look Homeward, Angel]]''. The play was an autobiographical, coming-of-age story about its writer, [[Thomas Wolfe]], and he took on the role of Eugene Gant, with his mother being played by [[Jo Van Fleet]]. The play enjoyed a successful run, and in 1958, he was nominated for a [[Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play|Best Actor in a Play]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/look-homeward-angel-2660|title=Look Homeward, Angel – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB|website=www.ibdb.com|access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref> although the rehearsals were tumultuous. Van Fleet developed a reputation for her standoffish behavior and temper tantrums, leading to contention on the set.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=1952}} This was not made better by the fact that Tab Hunter, among others, came to see the show during tryouts.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=1954}}{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=197}} This manifested in a restrained performance from Perkins, something Hunter picked up on:
<blockquote>Backstage, Tony asked what I thought of his performance, and I told him straight: "You're afraid to give vent to what you're truly feeling," I said. "You're only showing the side of yourself you want other people to see."{{nbsp}}... When I saw ''Look Homeward, Angel'' the second time, in late January, Tony had stripped away all preconceived ideas and was mesmerizing.{{sfn|Hunter|2006|pp=198–199}}</blockquote>

[[file:Jo Van Fleet Anthony Perkins Look Homeward Angel 1958.jpg|thumb|Perkins with [[Jo Van Fleet]] in ''[[Look Homeward, Angel (play)|Look Homeward, Angel]]'', 1957]]

Not all was bad on set, though. Perkins, who had a dressing room far from the stage, often had to race between scenes to retrieve something so as not to miss his cue, something his costars used in practical jokes. Many times, they turned the backstage area into an obstacle course, seeing if Perkins could get back to the curtain in time. Reportedly, he never missed his entrances.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=158}} On the day of his final performance, they went through with the prank as planned, watching Perkins leap over objects and dodge barriers. Once he made it through, he was greeted with a sign that said "We love you, Tony!"{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=159}}

Perkins was teamed up again with Van Fleet in ''[[This Angry Age]]'' (1958), also known as ''The Sea Wall'', for Columbia, replacing [[James Dean]]. (Van Fleet had played Dean's mother in ''[[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]]'', something many people believed influenced casting.) The story followed a mother who, unlike her restless children, attempts to cling to her dissipating rice farm in southeast Asia. He also starred in ''[[Desire Under the Elms (film)|Desire Under the Elms]]'' (1958) for Paramount with [[Sophia Loren]] and was her first American screen kiss. As Loren remembered in her 2014 memoir, "Perkins [was] as neurotic and handsome as we all remember him in [a later film] ''Psycho''. A gentle, polite, somewhat sullen young man, he didn't know how to hide his restlessness. Between us there was a certain complicity. He helped me with my English, and I tried to make him laugh."<ref name="Loren 2014">{{cite book|last=Loren|first=Sophia|title=Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: my Life|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2014|isbn=978-1-4767-9742-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.orgs/yesterdaytodayto0000lore}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Although Loren was proud to have scored the role, the unanimous decision upon its release was that Perkins's performance was not strong.{{sfn|Hunter|2006|p=209}}

Between the filming of ''Desire'' and his next movie, Perkins received an offer to appear in what became the 1959 comedy ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' with [[Marilyn Monroe]]. He was given the role of Shell Oil Junior and [[Frank Sinatra]] was considered for the role of his companion who both dress up in drag to board an all-women train car. Paramount, despite the appeal of a big star like Monroe, balked at the idea of having their already sexually-ambiguous heartthrob wear drag for an entire film and forbade Perkins from accepting the role. It ultimately went to [[Tony Curtis]] instead.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=163}} However, studio executives begged Perkins to return from Broadway to star in ''[[The Matchmaker (1958 film)|The Matchmaker]]'' (1958) alongside [[Shirley MacLaine]] and [[Shirley Booth]], during which he and a male companion dress up in women's clothing to escape a restaurant undetected. As if to ensure he would not turn the project down, Perkins was given a salary of $75,000 for 10 weeks' work while MacLaine only got $25,000 for the same number of days. Although Perkins protested MacLaine's smaller salary, no changes were made in her payment.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=149}}

''The Matchmaker'' was a non-musical film adaptation (later turned into the hit Broadway musical ''Hello, Dolly!'') of [[Thornton Wilder]]'s [[The Matchmaker|stage play]], in which [[Dolly Gallagher Levi]] (Booth) attempts to set up rich businessman Horace Vandergelder ([[Paul Ford]]) with a younger woman, Irene Malloy (MacLaine). Vandergelder's employees, Cornelius Hackl (Perkins) and Barnaby Tucker ([[Robert Morse]]), tired of their poor wages and constant work, escape to New York City and meet Irene, who's led to believe Cornelius is rich. Cornelius slowly falls in love with Irene while deceiving her. Morse had been a part of the original Broadway cast of the show, and he bonded with Perkins over the shared background. (Perkins later disclosed that Morse was bisexual, implying that they became confidants of sorts.)<ref name="Hadleigh 1996"/> Perkins, however, disliked MacLaine intensely despite defending her from studio bosses, and was put on edge by her intense drive and numerous pranks. "I've never been allowed that precious moment of seeing what Tony Perkins really is," MacLaine later reported. "I don't know what's an act and what isn't an act."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=150}}

[[File:Hepburn-Perkins-1959.JPG|thumb|left|Perkins and Audrey Hepburn in a publicity still for ''Green Mansions'' (1959)]]

Paramount decided to take Perkins's status as a teen idol one step further and cast him as [[Audrey Hepburn]]'s love interest in ''[[Green Mansions (film)|Green Mansions]]'' (1959), one of Hepburn's few flops. It was based on an explorer who stumbles upon both a girl who lives in the woods and the Native Americans nearby who want to kill her. The film was originally intended to be a vehicle for [[Elizabeth Taylor]] when the project was initially announced in 1953, but these plans were soon abandoned. In 1958, [[Mel Ferrer]] picked the film up for MGM, and Hepburn (his wife) was cast as the mystical Rima to secure funding. Perkins, who was still stinging after losing the role in ''Some Like It Hot'', was cast soon after. It was the only film in which Ferrer directed his wife.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=167}}

Perhaps still remembering the ''Some Like It Hot'' incident, Paramount used the film to promote Perkins's masculinity, showing him shirtless and fighting apparently stronger men. He did receive a reprieve to sing "Green Mansions," the title song of the film, which briefly entered the charts before almost immediately falling off.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=168}} Speaking about the movie later in life, Perkins said, "[Hepburn] was wonderful to work with, like a real person, almost a sister{{nbsp}}... [The film] was good but unusual."<ref name="Hadleigh 1996">{{cite book|last=Hadleigh|first=Boze|title=Hollywood Gays: Conversations with Cary Grant, Liberace, Tony Perkins, Paul Lynde, Cesar Romero, Brad Davis, Randolph Scott, James Coco, William Haines, David Lewis|publisher=Barricade Books|date=1996|isbn=1-56980-083-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodgayscon0000hadl}}</ref>

Perkins's next film, ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]'' (1959), however, did little to promote his teen idol status, and was his last serious film before his ''Psycho'' performance later that year. He played a doomed father living in Australia after a nuclear war wipes humanity off all other continents. He supported actors such as [[Gregory Peck]], [[Ava Gardner]], and [[Fred Astaire]] in his first dramatic role. All filming took place on location in Melbourne over the course of three months, and a soundstage was made out of a warehouse for the crew's use.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=178}} Unlike other films, Perkins got on well with his fellow cast members and even helped Astaire prepare for his serious scenes.{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=179}} Years later, in an interview with ''People'', Perkins listed Gardner as the first of many female stars who tried to put the make on him, but due to his sexuality, he very cautiously declined.<ref name=People/>

Perkins's next roles were less serious. ''[[Tall Story]]'' (1960) was best remembered for being [[Jane Fonda]]'s film debut, and he had to play a college basketball champion. As a man who had never been talented in sports, he had to be trained to play basketball for his performance, but, unlike his lessons on the set of ''Fear Strikes Out'', these ones stuck. Perkins recounted to reporters: "I've been working out at the [[Warner Brothers]] gym, discovering what basketball is all about. I spend about an hour and a half a day dribbling, passing, shooting baskets, and going after rebounds{{nbsp}}... It's a good game. Like chess in a way."{{sfn|Winecoff|1996|p=187}} Also unlike ''Fear Strikes Out'', the set of ''Tall Story'' was hospitable to him from what he could see. Because Perkins had worked with her father, he and Fonda had a connection, but not many could foresee the chemistry they would have both on- and off-screen. As Fonda later recounted to [[Patricia Bosworth]]: "Tony [Perkins] told me 'Forget about the lights, just forget about the lights.' And I did. And he taught me fascinating things, like the audience's eyes always move to the right side of the screen so you should always try to get on the right side of the set." Fonda also solely credits Perkins for helping her learn how to play before the camera when acting.<ref name="Bosworth 2011">{{cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Patricia|title=Jane Fonda: the Private Life of a Public Woman|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing|date=2011|isbn=978-0-547-15257-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780547152578}}</ref>

In a repeat of ''On the Beach'', Fonda developed a crush on Perkins, who later recalled an occasion when she sat in his dressing room, completely naked, powdering her body.<ref name=People/> Unlike others, Fonda was actually understanding of his homosexuality and became good friends with whoever he was seeing at the time. Behind the scenes, however, there was more turmoil: Fonda recalled "Both [[Joshua Logan]] [the film's director] and I were in love with Tony Perkins, and so that caused a problem."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions &#124; WIRED |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9tgFMR4wgA?t=63 |via=YouTube|magazine=Wired |access-date=January 9, 2022}}</ref>