What was Anthony Perkins's Net Worth?
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, director, and singer who had a net worth of $2.5 million at the time of his death in 1992. That's the same as around $6 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation. Anthony Perkins passed away on September 12, 1992 at 60 years old from AIDS related pneumonia.
Anthony Perkins appeared in films like "Psycho," "Catch-22," "Murder on the Orient Express," "Psycho II," "Psycho III," and "Psycho IV: The Beginning," among many others.
Early Life
Perkins was born on April 4, 1932 in Manhattan, New York City to Osgood Perkins and Janet Esselstyn. His father was a stage and film actor. Through his paternal line, he was descended from John Perkins, who arrived in Boston from England in 1630 as part of the Puritan migration to New England. Throughout his early childhood, Perkins did not see much of his father, who was busy with his acting career. The family hired a French nanny, Jeanne, to watch Perkins for much of the time which allowed Perkins to learn French as a boy. He was also very close to his mother and became even closer to her after his father's sudden death in 1937.
The family moved to Boston in 1942. Perkins began doing poorly in school and his mother sent him to Brooks School, forty minutes outside of Boston. She made a deal with him that if he would get good grades, he would be allowed to return to Boston. He succeeded and enrolled at Browne & Nichols School the following year. During the summers, he would work at various theatre companies with his mother. After finishing high school, he attended Rollins College in Florida. He later transferred to Columbia University.
Career
In 1953, Perkins was cast in the film "The Actress" alongside Jean Simmons and Spencer Tracy. In 1954, he joined the Broadway cast of "Tea and Sympathy." In 1956, he acted in "Friendly Persuasion." The film earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor of the Year and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He then landed a seven-year-semi-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures. His first film for the studio was a 1957 biopic about Boston Red Sox baseball player Jimmy Piersall called "Fear Strikes Out." His performance was widely praised by critics. He then starred in two Western films in 1957 – "The Lonely Man" and "The Tin Star." In 1959, he appeared in "Green Mansions" opposite Audrey Hepburn. The same year, he appeared in "On the Beach." His next film, "Tall Story," was Jane Fonda's film debut.
In 1960, Perkins was cast in the Alfred Hitchcock film "Psycho" as Norman Bates. The film was a critical and commercial success. He later went on the reprise his role in three subsequent "Psycho" films. Around this time, he also bought himself out of his contract with Paramount in order to pursue more roles. He moved to France and began making European films in the early 1960s like "Goodbye Again." For his role in the film, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He continued making films in Europe throughout the 1960s and then returned to the U.S. in 1968 to make the film "Pretty Poison."
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In the wake of "Pretty Poison," he starred in a number of both commercially and critically successful films like "Catch-22" in 1970, "Play It as It Lays" in 1972, "Murder on the Orient Express" in 1974, and "Mahogany" in 1975. He reprised his role as Norman Bates in the subsequent "Psycho" films in 1983, 1986, and 1990. Around this time, he also appeared in films like "Edge of Sanity," "Daughter of Darkness," "A Demon in My View," and "In the Deep Woods." The latter film was released posthumously.
Perkins is considered a cultural icon, most notably for his defining role as Norman Bates in "Psycho." He was honored many times throughout his career and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – one for motion pictures and one for television.
Personal Life and Death
Perkins married his first wife, Berinthia Berenson, in August 1973. Berenson was three months pregnant at the time. The couple had their first son, Oz, in 1974. He later became a director and actor. They had their second son, Elvis, two years later. Elvis became a musician. Friends of the couple were surprised by the relationship, as it was widely believed that Perkins was gay. Rumors about Perkins's sexuality had persisted since the beginning of his career. It was later confirmed that Perkins did have a number of homosexual relationships with men in his early life. He had a longtime boyfriend, Grover Dale, from 1964 to 1971. It was reported, however, that he had become convinced that his homosexuality was obstructing his happiness and wanted to restart his life with a woman. This led him to undergo conversion therapy and to seek out relationships with women and eventually married Berenson. Despite their unconventional relationship, Perkins and Berenson remained married until Perkins's death. Outside of romantic relationships, Perkins also had many friends in Hollywood, including Stephen Sondheim and Alfred Hitchcock.
During filming of "Psycho IV: The Beginning," Perkins was undergoing treatment for facial palsy. Around this time, a tabloid newspaper ran an article that said he was HIV-positive. Perkins hid the fact that he had AIDS for the public for two years. He sought treatment as hospitals using assumed names. During this time, his wife and children were regularly tested but did not have the disease. He died at his home in Los Angeles on September 12, 1992 from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 60.
His wife, Berenson, later died during the 2001 September 11 attacks. She was onboard American Airlines Flight 11 which was hijacked and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. She was 53 years old at the time.
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