Half of the Human Race

Anthony Quinn, April 21, 1915 - June 3, 2001 Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn was born April 21, 1915 in Chihuahua, Mexico. Quinn and his parents crossed the border into El Paso, Texas and then continued on to California. His parents were migrant farm workers for a time before they finally settled in Los Angeles, and Quinn's father got a job working for major motion picture companies. Quinn never received a formal education and instead held various jobs. He worked as a street preacher and a musician for an evangelist, he was a boxer, studied to become a priest and an architect. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright told him to improve his speech if he planned on becoming an architect and so Quinn began taking acting lessons.

At the age of 21, Quinn was cast in a Mae West play called "Clean Beds." His character was based on the actor John Barrymore and when Barrymore saw his performance, the two became fast friends, and Quinn was introduced to the world of acting. In 1936, Quinn got his first movie role, a silent part as a convict in the film "Parole." His first speaking part was as a Cheyenne warrior in Cecile B. DeMille's "Plainsmen," also in 1936. In the 30' and 40's, Quinn played many small roles, usually as some sort of ethnic character. He has played a Filipino soldier in "Back to Bataan," a Libyan guerilla in "Lion of the Dessert," a Spanish matador in "Blood and Sand," American Indians, pirates, a Basque guide in "The Passage," a Colombian bandit in "High Risk," and many Italians. He also played many historical figures such as Chief Crazy Horse in "They Died With Their Boots On" in 1941, Sheik Auda abu Tayi in Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 and Attila the Hun in "Attila" in 1954. Quinn attempted to direct a movie but it didn't turn out as well as he hoped. In the 50's and 60's, he was much sought after as an actor and made very good money, but none of his roles defined him so much as his role in "Zorba the Greek," the character he is best known for.