born April 4, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died Sept. 12, 1992, Hollywood, Calif.
U.S. film actor.
He was the son of the actor Osgood Perkins, and he studied at Columbia University. After making his screen debut in The Actress (1953), he appeared in films such as Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Fear Strikes Out (1957), but he was best known as the murderous motel owner Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho (1960). He later appeared in several films in Europe, including The Trial (1963), The Champagne Murders (1967), and Ten Days' Wonder (1972), and in U.S. films such as Pretty Poison (1968), Catch-22 (1970), and WUSA (1970). He reprised his role as Norman Bates in three sequels (1983, 1986, and 1990).