Though born in Mexico and of Irish descent, Quinn was embraced by Greek audiences, having filmed several movies in Greece, including The Guns of Navarone. That film was shot on the island of Rhodes, and its beauty inspired him to purchase a 117-stremma (29-acre) property in the Ladiko area in 1961. Decades later, his third wife and children became embroiled in a legal dispute with the Greek state, which contested ownership of the land, having classified it as part of the shoreline. Today, the beach bears his name—Anthony Quinn Bay.
“What matters is who I am. And I am Anthony Quinn: son, brother, seasonal farm worker, student, lover, actor, husband, father, sculptor, painter, arrogant bastard. I am Mexican, Irish, Native American, American, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Eskimo, Muslim. I am all of these things—and many more. And much less. But above all, I am an artist.”
epa02845295 A black and white handout picture released by Michael Cacoyannis Foundation on 28 July 2011 shows Cypriot film director, screenwriter and producer Michael Cacoyannis (L), music composer Mikis Theodorakis (C) and the actor Anthony Quinn (R), during the shooting of movie ‘Zorba the Greek’, in Greece, 1964. Michael Cacoyannis died aged 90 in an Athens hospital on 25 July 2011. His funeral takes place on 28 July at St. Dionyssios, in Athens and then will buried in the premises of his Foundation. EPA/MICHAEL CACOYANNIS FOUNDATION / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
It was his portrayal of Alexis Zorbas in Michael Cacoyannis’s 1964 film that remained Quinn’s most iconic role, earning him another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Freddy Germanos, writing from the film set in Crete for Eikones magazine, described him as:
“Anthony Quinn—rugged, massive, and unshaven—is the perfect Zorbas.”
In Zorba the Greek, based on Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel, Quinn didn’t just play a character—he became Zorbas: a man larger than life, raw yet wise, rough yet tender, philosophical yet a dreamer. The dance scene set to Mikis Theodorakis’s music made syrtaki famous worldwide.
Irene Papas was his co-star in Zorba the Greek, as well as in The Guns of Navarone and The Gambler. The two shared a lifelong friendship.
In 1978, Quinn returned to Greece to star in The Greek Tycoon, a film loosely based on the life of Aristotle Onassis—though to avoid lawsuits, the names were altered and Quinn’s character was called “Tomasis.”
Anthony Quinn was married three times and fathered twelve children. He passed away at the age of 86, on June 3, 2001, in Boston, Massachusetts, surrounded by his third wife, Kathy Benvin, their children, and grandchildren.
“My life has been a cavalry ride—I climbed every hill as if it were my last, turned every corner expecting to discover a secret,” he once said in an interview with To Vima, capturing the spirit of his extraordinary life.
“I did what life laid before me. I ate. I laughed. I worked. I buried my father. I worked. I ate. Picked up the kids from school. Answered the phone. Learned the script. Painted. Laughed again. Cried. I never stood still. There’s always something new to discover. There has to be…”
“What does it matter what I’ve been through?” he once said. “What matters is who I am. And I am Anthony Quinn: son, brother, seasonal farm worker, student, lover, actor, husband, father, sculptor, painter, arrogant bastard. I am Mexican, Irish, Native American, American, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Eskimo, Muslim. I am all of these things—and many more. And much less. But above all, I am an artist. That was my beginning, and it will be my end.”
Source: Grace
