Who played Norman Bates in Psycho, when did Anthony Perkins die and who was the character in the Alfred Hitchcock classic based on?
The psycho villain is an iconic character in the horror movie genre
HE'S the psycho killer who made a generation afraid to go back in the shower.
Here's everything you need to know about the iconic and infamous Norman Bates...
Who is Norman Bates?
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by novelist Robert Bloch in his 1959 novel Psycho.
The novel was adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in his 1960 horror film.
The character is a loner who runs a motel in the fictional town of Fairvale, California.
In the book he murders both his mother Norma and her fiancée Joe Considine.
He also murders Marion Crane, a young woman who checks into the motel for a night.
Marion meets her demise after being stabbed in Hitchcock's iconic shower scene.
Who played Norman Bates in Psycho?
Anthony Perkins played Norman Bates in the original Hitchcock version of Psycho.
He reprised in the role in sequels Psycho II, Psycho III and prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning.
In the 1998 scene by scene remake of the film, Bates was played by Vince Vaughn.
Freddie Highmore played Bates in the TV series Bates' Motel which ran from 2013-2017.
Who was Norman Bates based on?
Norman Bates was based on real life Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein.
He was known as the Butcher of Plainfield - the town where he committed his crimes.
Gein was also a body snatcher who exhumed corpses from their graves and fashioned trophies out of their bones and skin.
He confessed to killing two women – tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954, and a Plainfield hardware store owner, Bernice Worden in 1957.
Gein was found guilty in 1968 but was deemed legally insane and sent to a psychiatric unit.
He died at Mendota Mental Health Institute from cancer-induced liver and respiratory failure in 1984.
Gein is buried in an unmarked grave in the Plainfield Cemetery.
Who was Anthony Perkins?
Anthony Perkins was an actor born in New York in 1932.
He was married to photographer Berinthia "Berry" Berenson.
The couple had two sons, Oz, 44, and Elvis, 42.
Whilst filming Psycho IV:The Beginning, Perkins was diagnosed with HIV.
He died from AIDs related pneumonia in 1992 at the age of 60.
His wife Berinthia died nine years later in the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.