Anthony Quinn

Born in Chihuahua and raised between El Paso and East L.A., Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca boxed and studied architecture before landing in a Cecil B. DeMille Western in 1936. He spent years as a heavy and in minor roles until meatier parts arrived: Blood and Sand, The Ox-Bow Incident, then Viva Zapata! in 1952, which brought him his first Oscar and made him the first Mexican-born performer to win one. A second came in 1957 for Lust for Life. Two more Best Actor nominations followed - Wild is the Wind, Zorba the Greek - and the roles kept coming: La Strada, Lawrence of Arabia, The Guns of Navarone, Lion of the Desert. He also painted, wrote autobiographies, and fought for civil rights. By the time he died in 2001, he'd spent sixty-six years onscreen and left a permanent mark on how Latin-American men could be seen in American film.