Anthony Quinn

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Anthony Quinn (left) and Alan Bates in Zorba the Greek (1964).

Anthony Quinn, Pamela Brown, and Kirk Douglas in Lust for Life

Anthony Quinn

Mexican American actor

Also known as: Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 17, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn

Born:: April 21, 1915, Chihuahua, Mexico

Died:: June 3, 2001, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (aged 86)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1957); Academy Award (1953); Academy Award (1957): Actor in a Supporting Role; Academy Award (1953): Actor in a Supporting Role; Cecil B. DeMille Award (1987)

Married To:: Katherine DeMille (1937–1965); Jolanda Addolori (1966–1997); Kathy Benvin (married 1997)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Mobsters" (1991); "City Beneath the Sea" (1953); "Seven Servants" (1996); "Flap" (1970); "Avenging Angelo" (2002); "Where Do We Go from Here?" (1945); "Daughter of Shanghai" (1937); "The Savage Innocents" (1960); "A Man of Passion" (1989); "China Sky" (1945); "The Ride Back" (1957); "Revenge" (1990); "Sinbad, the Sailor" (1947); "Guns for San Sebastian" (1968); "The Black Swan" (1942); "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977); "The Cosby Show" (1989); "Viva Zapata!" (1952); "Swing High, Swing Low" (1937); "Cosby" (1999); "Road to Singapore" (1940); "Waikiki Wedding" (1937); "The Ghost Breakers" (1940); "Road to Morocco" (1942); "Lion of the Desert" (1980); "Television Spy" (1939); "Regina Roma" (1982); "Somebody to Love" (1994); "Last Action Hero" (1993); "Man from Del Rio" (1956); "The Salamander" (1981); "The Greek Tycoon" (1978); "The 25th Hour" (1967); "Blood and Sand" (1941); "Seven Cities of Gold" (1955); "Portrait in Black" (1960); "La strada" (1954); "The Perfect Snob" (1941); "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" (1969); "Danger" (1951); "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (1944); "Target of an Assassin" (1977); "The River's Edge" (1957); "Larceny, Inc." (1942); "Black Gold" (1947); "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1942); "Partners in Crime" (1937); "L'isola del tesoro" (1987); "Terra de canons" (1999); "Only the Lonely" (1991); "L'eredità Ferramonti" (1976); "Emergency Squad" (1940); "ITV Play of the Week" (1956); "The Marseille Contract" (1974); "R.P.M." (1970); "Island of Lost Men" (1939); "The Ed Sullivan Show" (1963); "Guadalcanal Diary" (1943); "Union Pacific" (1939); "The Happening" (1967); "The Don Is Dead" (1973); "Jungle Fever" (1991); "Heller in Pink Tights" (1960); "Oriundi" (2000); "Thieves Fall Out" (1941); "Knockout" (1941); "Attila" (1954); "Lust for Life" (1956); "Angels of Darkness" (1954); "Back to Bataan" (1945); "Bulldog Drummond in Africa" (1938); "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1956); "Camino de Santiago" (1999); "Lost Command" (1966); "The Visit" (1964); "Wild Is the Wind" (1957); "Roger Touhy, Gangster" (1944); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1951–1955); "The Plainsman" (1936); "Across 110th Street" (1972); "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1962); "Tycoon" (1947); "Bullets for O'Hara" (1941); "Blowing Wild" (1953); "Hunted Men" (1938); "City for Conquest" (1940); "The Guns of Navarone" (1961); "Parole Fixer" (1940); "La fabuleuse aventure de Marco Polo" (1965); "High Risk" (1981); "They Died with Their Boots On" (1941); "Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears" (1973); "Ladies of Washington" (1944); "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1989); "Hot Spell" (1958); "Ulisse" (1954); "A Dream of Kings" (1969); "Barabbas" (1961); "Buffalo Bill" (1944); "The Imperfect Lady" (1947); "Lights Out" (1951); "The Brave Bulls" (1951); "Mask of the Avenger" (1951); "The Man and the City" (1971–1972); "L'avventuriero" (1967); "Last Train from Gun Hill" (1959); "The World in His Arms" (1952); "Ride, Vaquero!" (1953); "Zorba the Greek" (1964); "Parole!" (1936); "Valentina" (1982); "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse" (1951); "The Children of Sanchez" (1978); "California" (1947); "Cavalleria rusticana" (1953); "The Brigand" (1952); "The Wild Party" (1956); "The Magus" (1968); "The Message" (1976); "A High Wind in Jamaica" (1965); "The Buccaneer" (1938); "The Shoes of the Fisherman" (1968); "East of Sumatra" (1953); "La noche de los castillos" (1995); "King of Alcatraz" (1938); "The Long Wait" (1954); "The Last Train from Madrid" (1937); "Il sindaco" (1997); "Bluff: Storia di truffe e di imbroglioni" (1976); "The Naked Street" (1955); "Somerset Maugham TV Theatre" (1951); "Behold a Pale Horse" (1964); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1949); "Against All Flags" (1952); "A Walk in the Spring Rain" (1970); "Stradivari" (1988); "King of Chinatown" (1939); "Texas Rangers Ride Again" (1940); "Dangerous to Know" (1938); "The Black Orchid" (1958); "Tip-Off Girls" (1938); "Seminole" (1953); "The Ford Theatre Hour" (1951); "Caravans" (1978); "The Magnificent Matador" (1955); "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962); "Warlock" (1959); "A Star for Two" (1991); "The Passage" (1979); "A Walk in the Clouds" (1995)

Anthony Quinn (born April 21, 1915, Chihuahua, Mexico—died June 3, 2001, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) was a Mexican-born American actor who appeared in more than 150 films but was universally identified with one role especially—the earthy, full-of-life title character in Zorba the Greek (1964), whom he inhabited so completely and comfortably that many of his later parts seemed also to be infused with that character’s spirit. He embraced his offscreen life with the same gusto, evidenced in part by the fact that his 13th child was born when he was in his 80s.

Quinn had a variety of jobs—prizefighter, painter, and musician and preacher for an evangelist among them—and, besides studying for the priesthood, considered becoming an architect. To aid him in the latter, he began taking acting lessons after Frank Lloyd Wright suggested that he improve his speech, and before long he was cast in the play Clean Beds. In 1936 Quinn appeared in a small part in the movie Parole, and he thereafter garnered a number of roles of various ethnic or outlaw characters in the films They Died with Their Boots On (1941), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Guadalcanal Diary (1943), and Back to Bataan (1945). His first lead role came in 1947 in Black Gold. That year Quinn went to New York City and made his Broadway debut in The Gentleman from Athens. He followed that with touring as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, returning to New York City in 1950 to replace Marlon Brando in that role and then touring in Born Yesterday and Let Me Hear the Melody. He also appeared in a number of live television programs.

Returning to Hollywood, Quinn had roles in The Brave Bulls (1951) and Viva Zapata! (1952), for which he won the first of his two Academy Awards for best supporting actor. He then made a few films in Italy, the most notable of which was Federico Fellini’s La strada (1954), in which he gave one of his finest performances. Quinn won his second Oscar for Lust for Life (1956) and went on to roles in the memorable motion pictures Wild Is the Wind (1957), The Savage Innocents (1959), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Quinn returned to the stage in 1982 to tour with and appear on Broadway in a revival of the musical version of Zorba, and he also became a successful artist and sculptor. His final movie role was in Avenging Angelo (2002).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.