Quotes from colleagues, friends & family

His mother Jane on Tony's characteristic 'restlessness' - "I sometimes wonder how my son concentrates on a script and learns all of his lines. Then I think back - and I know the answer. Whenever Tony has become truly interested in something, he has followed it all the way. But it must be his own interest, of his own choice - there must be a good reason to apply himself."

His mother talking about feelings towards Tony - "Osgood and I felt fortunate, even in the qualities about Tony that confused us. His intelligence and his imagination reached out in so many directions."

Old school friend Henry Scammell - "Whatever Tony did, he did completely. When he broke the rules, he broke them with a vengeance. When he read, he devoured his books. When he joined the drama society, he was not only the first to memorize his lines, he memorized the entire play in case he had to prompt someone else."

Director Robert Mulligan on shooting Fear Strikes Out- "He went through the scenes showing the breakdown for three days and three nights. And because Tony doesn't spare himself when he acts, he was in a state of nervous exhaustion the entire time. I felt like a monster; my wife thought I was one... Tony gripped a bat and swung it with such violence I was afraid he really had cracked up. Often, I had to run down to him and take him out of the scene for a few moments so he could cry it out. Tony lived his role, and his tortures were real."

Actress Norma Moore on her Fear Strikes Out co-star- "He was very pleasant and encouraging. I appreciated his kindness during the screen test very much, and he was lots of fun to work with."

Actor Donovan Scott, who worked on Psycho 3- "Tony Perkins was wonderful. He knew, of course, the role of Norman like no-one else, so it was fun to watch him slip into the role with such ease. And, being an actor made him a generous director because he realised what the other actors needs were. I think he was a very versatile talent, and I really enjoyed being a part of that film."

Producer Hilton Green, on telling Perkins the plans for Psycho 4- "He loved it. He grinned that Tony Perkins grin of his and he said, "You're making me stretch in this aren't you?".

Tony's eldest son Oz- "I asked dad once, 'If you could go back to 1959 and either take or not take the role in Psycho, knowing that taking it would mean that you would be typecast for the rest of your life, what would you do?'. He thought about that for a while. It seemed to me that he might have thought about that for a whole day. And he came back and said, 'I would definitely take it!' "

Tony's wife Berry on her husband's career- "I think he settled for less than he should have. I think that maybe if he had expressed his opinion more he might have been offered a variety of roles. I believe it is very hard to break out of a mould, and I can't think of anybody else who was typecast. Not that severely."

Berry on her 19-year marriage to Tony- "We had a very satisfying life together. It was a wonderful love affair."

Bob Willoughby (photographer) who worked on Green Mansions- "Tony was easy-going. I had worked with him on a couple of films previously and he had a gentle personality, ever smiling without a lot of ego to deal with. A photographer's delight."

Bob Willoughby (photographer) on Tony's relation ship with Audrey Hepburn- "He kept his eye on Audrey. If he saw her sitting off the set, maybe looking a little sad, he would jump in, shaking her chair until he had her laughing. Getting her a cup of tea, telling her a joke, anything that would perk up her spirits. They had a really good relationship, and he brought out a facet of Audrey's personality that I had never seen before. At times thay acted like two young kids. I think he was Audrey's tonic on this film. He seemed like a brother to Audrey, and watched over her. It was lovely to see them together."

Crew member on Crimes of Passion, David DeCoteau- "Conversations with Tony were very brief because he didn't seem to have one consistent train of thought. He was all over the place. But he was into one thing: he loved to talk a bout sex a lot! He was very open about that, always winking and hinting at stuff, nonstop!"

Vince Vaughn on his approach to playing Norman Bates in Psycho(1998)- "I approached it from the point of view of a tribute. I think Perkins gave a beautiful performance and signed his work wonderfully, and if my mind-set going in [to the film] was a competition with him, I would never have done it. There's no value in that. But there is value in great material being re-investigated 38 years later."

Actor Tab Hunter, who had a 2-3 year relationship with Tony - "Tony was complex. Tony was very bright. He had an amazing sense of humor, just wonderful and dry. He was sheepish in many ways, and he had a mischievous air about him, and he was talented. When people want to talk about it, yes, it was a wonderful time of my life."

back
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1