Following the release of Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story, viewers have revisited Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, which drew inspiration from the real-life killer. The 1960 film turned Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates, into a star. However, the role also brought challenges, with his son Oz later describing it as a 'curse'.
Perkins earned an Academy Award nomination for Friendly Persuasion before Psycho. After the film's success, he faced typecasting and moved to France, making his European debut in Goodbye Again (1961). He returned to Hollywood in 1968, starring in Pretty Poison, Catch-22, and Murder on the Orient Express.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Oz Perkins said: 'In the mythology of my family, the Psycho thing was considered far more of a curse than not.' He noted that his father was a versatile young actor, but the role was 'dangerously close to who he actually was'.
Perkins was forced to hide his sexuality due to American conservatism. He had relationships with actors Tab Hunter and Grover Dale but later married actress Berry Berenson in 1973. Oz told the Irish Times: 'It's such a weird thing because, even in today's context, it's not safe to be that way.'
Perkins died in 1992 from AIDS-related complications. His wife Berry was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. Their son Oz continues to work as an actor and director.
