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Salt Lake Tribune (13/Sep/1992) - 'Psycho' actor Anthony Perkins dies at 60 of AIDS

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'Psycho' actor Anthony Perkins dies at 60 of AIDS

Anthony Perkins, who played the murderous motel keeper Norman Bates in the classic thriller "Psycho," died Saturday of AIDS complications. He was 60.

Perkins died in the bedroom of his Hollywood home with his wife and sons at his side, his publicist, Leslee Dart, said. Earlier this week, Perkins put together a statement about his condition:

"There are many who believe that this disease is God's vengeance, but I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other. I have learned more about love, selflessness and human understanding from the people I have met in this great adventure in the world of AIDS than I ever did in the cutthroat, competitive world in which I spent my life."

Perkins, the son of stage and film actor Osgood Perkins, gained fame playing awkward, often neurotic young men.

He broke into movies in 1953, appearing in "The Actress" with Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright and Jean Simmons. He went on to make "Friendly Persuasion" in 1956 with Gary Cooper, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor, and he co-starred with Gregory Peck and Fred Astaire in the 1959 anti-war film, "On the Beach."

But it was "Psycho," director Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 horror film, that made Perkins — and his character Norman Bates — film legends. The movie proved so popular that the actor starred in three sequels, but none received the acclaim of the first.

Perkins played the owner of a lonely motel where vicious murders take place, including the stabbing of a character played by Janet Leigh. That murder scene, shot in a shower with quick flashes from many angles, is among the most famous in film history.

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