A Shroud of Thoughts: A Pictorial Tribute to Anthony Quinn on His 100th Birthday

Anthony Quinn was born Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca 100 years ago today in Chihuahua, Mexico. His mother was Manuela "Nellie" Quinn (her maiden name was Oaxaca). His father was Francisco "Frank" Quinn. Frank Quinn had a rather interesting life himself. Frank's father was an Irish immigrant from County Cork and had fought alongside Pancho Villa. Anthony Quinn was still young when the family moved to El Paso, Texas and later to California. There Frank Quinn worked as a property man for the Selig movie studio. Sadly, Frank Quinn would be killed in a car accident when Anthony Quinn was 9 years old.

Anthony Quinn worked as a professional boxer for a time before studying art and architecture under Frank Llloyd Wright. When Anthony Quinn expressed an interest in acting, it was Frank Lloyd Wright who encouraged him. Mr. Quinn made his his film debut in an uncredited role as a fight spectator in the The Milky Way in 1936. Over the next few years he would primarily play bit parts, often playing heavies or what was called during the Golden Age of Hollywood "exotic" parts.

By the early Forties Anthony Quinn's roles in films had become somewhat larger, so that he had substantial roles in such films as Bullets for O'Hara (1941), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). It was with the Fifties that he achieved stardom. He won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Viva Zapata! (1952) and Lust for Life (1956). He appeared as Zampanò in La Strada (1954), Gino in Wild Is the Wind (1957), Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), and Tom Morgan in Warlock (1959). Later in his career Mr. Quinn would appear in such films as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Guns for San Sebastian (1968), Lion of the Desert (1981), and Mobsters (1991). Anthony Quinn died on June 3 2001 at the age of 86.

In tribute to Anthony Quinn on the 100th anniversary of his birth, here are a few photos from his career.