Anthony Quinn, American Actor, Painter, Writer, and Film Director

He was Oscar-nominated four times, winning twice. In the fifties and sixties, he was that rare phenomenon: a highly respected performer who alternated between leading and character parts with equal ease, and who managed to succeed on his own terms. His life was every bit as colorful as any role he played Quinn was born in Mexico, to a half Irish/half Mexican father and a Mexican mother. His father Frank had fought with Pancho Villa’s troops during the Mexican Revolution; he and his small family eventually escaped over the border to El Paso. From there they ventured to Los Angeles, where Frank eventually found work as an assistant cameraman.