Roger-Luc Chayer (Photo: Anthony Perkins / Source unknown)
Most readers will remember actor Anthony Perkins, famous for portraying Norman Bates in the Psycho film series, the first of which was released in 1960 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. However, few know the sad reality of a difficult life marked by having to hide his homosexuality, the treatments he accepted to “cure” this orientation, as well as an even more painful end: dying of AIDS at a time when no medication existed to fight the virus.
A homosexuality lived in discretion
Anthony Perkins never publicly spoke of a specific moment when he “discovered” his homosexuality, like many people of his generation. His sexuality was often kept discreet, partly because of the very conservative social climate in which he grew up and worked, notably in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, where homosexuality could ruin a career.
What is known is that he lived this part of himself in great confidentiality, sometimes with much suffering, notably due to social pressure and the medical treatments he underwent, such as conversion therapies, and almost no one knew about this.
Marriage and private life
There were some rumors about his loves, but to silence them, he agreed to marry Berry Berenson, an American photographer and actress, at the age of 41. Their marriage lasted until Anthony Perkins’s death in 1992, but according to observers of the time, the relationship was platonic.
Electroshock treatments and social pressure
What shocked me the most was the recent discovery of information I absolutely did not know. Anthony Perkins underwent electroshock treatments, known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as part of the common attempts at the time to “cure” homosexuality, then wrongly considered a mental illness. These treatments were part of conversion therapies practiced in the 1950s and 1960s, often imposed or strongly encouraged on homosexual people.
The exact circumstances surrounding the electroshocks Perkins received are not fully documented in public sources, but it is known that he accepted certain psychiatric treatments under social and professional pressure to try to hide or modify his sexual orientation. These experiences deeply affected his life and mental well-being, adding to the suffering already caused by secrecy.
A painful and discreet end
Until the end, he was tormented by his homosexuality to the point of dying from it: in 1990, he contracted HIV, which took his life quickly in 1992 at the age of 60, without ever publicly revealing his sexual orientation.
Difficulties surrounding AZT treatment
At the beginning of the HIV epidemic, many HIV-positive people felt great hesitation, sometimes refusal, toward AZT, the first available antiviral treatment. Although this drug represented new hope, it was unfortunately associated with side effects difficult to endure, such as nausea, extreme fatigue, anemia, or muscle pain, making its daily use arduous.
Moreover, its effectiveness, still limited at the time, did not fully control the disease, which could sow doubt and uncertainty among those using it. The high cost and limited access to this treatment also complicated the situation.
In this context, fear, stigma, and distrust of medicine fostered deep anxiety, leading some to perceive the treatment as a source of additional suffering rather than a true solution. Refusing AZT could thus also be a way to preserve some control in the face of a disease and heavy treatments, at a time when therapeutic options remained scarce.
A medical breakthrough arrived too late
Despite these challenges, this period also fueled relentless research, which led in the 1990s to the arrival of combined antiretroviral treatments, more effective and better tolerated.
But it came too late. His death marked the end of a life both filled with immense talent and marked by heavy personal struggles against stigma, suffering, and himself.