Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) is best known as an actor, starring in such films as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Zorba the Greek (1964), and La Strada (1954), but he was also a writer and visual artist. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, then his parents moved to Los Angeles where Quinn grew up in Boyle Heights and Echo Park. Quinn was a boxer for a time and studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright before starting his film acting career in 1936. Quinn was under contract at Paramount and played characters of various ethnicities such as Native American, Crazy Horse, in They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and a Chinese character, Chang Tai, in Island of Lost Men (1939). Quinn was a Mexican national until he became an American citizen in 1947. In 1947, Quinn played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway, replacing Marlon Brando. This led to director Elia Kazan casting Quinn alongside Brando in 1952's Viva Zapata! Quinn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first Mexican-American to ever win an Academy Award. He won the award a second time for his performance in Lust for Life (1956). Quinn went on to star in many successful films throughout the 1950s and 60s. He was also active on Broadway. After the success of the TV movie, The City (1971), Quinn reprised his role in the short lived television series, The Man and the City (1971-1972), as the Hispanic mayor of a city in the American Southwest. His acting career continued until his death in 2001. Anthony Quinn was also involved in and had a rich interest in civil rights movements throughout the United States. In 1970, Quinn was a panelist at the Mexican-American Conference. He attended events for La Raza and other groups. In 2001, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival awarded Quinn their Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. The National Council of La Raza gives out an award named for Quinn, the Anthony Quinn Award for Industry Excellence, at the annual American Latino Media Arts Awards.

Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) is best known as an actor, starring in such films as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Zorba the Greek (1964), and La Strada (1954), but he was also a writer and visual artist. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, then his parents moved to Los Angeles where Quinn grew up in Boyle Heights and Echo Park. Quinn was a boxer for a time and studied architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright before starting his film acting career in 1936.

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The Anthony Quinn Collection of Scripts is the physical property of California State University, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Special Collections and Archives.