Perkins, Osgood

(1892-1937)

   A native of West Newton, Massachusetts, Osgood Perkins graduated from Harvard University in 1914, where he studied with George Pierce Baker at Harvard University, where he graduated in 1914. He served in World War I and acted in silent motion pictures, forming the Film Guild. Perkins made his Broadway debut in a supporting role in George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly's Beggar on Horseback (1924), followed by Lynn Starling's Weak Sister (1925). His greatest stage success came as the cynical newspaper editor Walter Burns in The Front Page (1928), which amply demonstrated Perkins's versatility in moving easily from comedy to drama. He subsequently appeared in a variety of innocuous plays, including The Masque of Venice (1926), Pomeroy's Past (1926), Loose Ankles (1926), Say It with Flowers (1926), Spread Eagle (1927), Women Go On Forever (1927), and Salvation (1928). After 1930, Perkins was well-received as Astrov in a revival of Uncle Vanya (1930), and also appeared in Point Valaine* (1935), Ceiling Zero* (1935), and End of Summer* (1936), among others. Perkins also acted in several films, including Scarface (1931), and was the father of actor Anthony Perkins.*