Quinn, Anthony

Quinn, Anthony

(1915–  ) film actor; born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Of Irish-Mexican parentage, he grew up in the U.S.A., and after a few stage roles, he made his movie debut in Parole! (1936). For many years he was confined to small parts as an ethnic or exotic, usually as a menacing foreigner or Indian. The status of his roles changed when he won an Oscar for Viva Zapata (1952) and gained critical acclaim in Fellini's La Strada (1954), but his looks and manner kept him playing exotics, the most notable being Zorba the Greek (1964); he later appeared in a musical version of this and he starred in the television series, The Man and the City. He was also a serious painter for many years.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Quinn, Anthony

 

Born Apr. 21, 1916, in Chihuahua, Mexico. American motion-picture actor.

Quinn made his film debut in 1936. His first important role was the Mexican lynched in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). He won world renown for his portrayal of Zampano in the Italian motion picture La Strada (1954). Eufemio in Viva Zapata! (1952) and Zorba in Zorba the Greek (1964) were among his other important roles.

Quinn has primarily portrayed primitive, intellectually undeveloped people. He has appeared in many Westerns and detective and suspense dramas.

REFERENCE

“Antoni Kuinn.” In Aktery zarubezhnogo kino, issue 4. [Leningrad, 1968.]

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.