Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. The first son of Oscar-winner

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...

and costume designer Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

’s

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning ''

Platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

'' (1986). However, his first major role in television was in the 1985 prime-time

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

miniseries '' Quo Vadis?''. His final role was the voice of the Autobot Dino (Mirage) in '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon''.

Early years

Francesco Quinn was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the son of

and second wife Iolanda Addolori, a noted costume designer to whom Anthony Quinn was married for 31 years. Quinn had Mexican, Irish, and Italian ancestry.

Career

Film

Quinn appeared in many feature films including the New York Independent Film Festival winner ''

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''. He acted with his father in several films, including ''A Star For Two'' with

Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

. The two Quinns also had the opportunity to share the role of Santiago in the 1990 mini-series '' The Old Man and the Sea'', son and father playing the character as a young and old man. Quinn sometimes played moody, dangerous characters, such as vampire Vlad Tepes in the 2003 direct to video alt-historical thriller '' Vlad'', and wandering warrior Thane Le Mal in the short film ''The Gnostic''. Like his father, Quinn also appeared in historical dramas, playing such roles as Latino Captain Salamanca in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

’s mini-series '' Into the West'' (2005) and a lead role in TNT's '' Rough Riders'' (1997) (TV). One of Quinn's earliest roles was as Marcus Vinicius in the 1985 mini-series '' Quo Vadis?'', co-starring with some major film actors of the 1980s. Later examples of Quinn's work included ''

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

'', which won the audience award at 2007 CineVegas, and the short film '' Muertas'', starring America Ferrera. In 2007, he appeared as Ruben Vega in the

-nominated short film ''The Tonto Woman'', adapted from the

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

short story.

Television

From 1999 to 2001, Francesco appeared on the CBS soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' as Nina Webster's boyfriend, Tomas del Cerro, and was nominated for an ALMA Award (an award reserved for Latino/a performers) as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera for his work as Tomas Del Cerro, an aloof writer from New York. Quinn also appeared extensively in television guest-star roles in crime and thriller dramas. He was lead guest star in an episode of '' JAG'' (1995). On CBS's '' The Fugitive'', Quinn played Victor Gutierrez, a DEA agent with an edge, and played the recurring role of Islamic terrorist Syed Ali on Fox's series '' 24''. Other TV guest starring roles occurred in '' Criminal Minds'', '' ER'', '' CSI: Miami'', '' The Glades'', '' Navy NCIS'', '' Alias'', '' Crossing Jordan'', '' In the Heat of the Night'', '' Miami Vice'', '' Red Shoe Diaries'', '' The Handler'', '' Soldier of Fortune'', '' Good vs. Evil'', '' Vengeance Unlimited'', and '' The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones''. Quinn also portrayed the final criminal/villain, Guillermo Beltran, in the long-running F/X series, '' The Shield''. In 2008, Quinn joined Luke Perry and C. Thomas Howell in the western film '' A Gunfighter's Pledge''. Quinn was one of the earlier working actors to branch out into contributing to video games with his role as a main character in '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'' (1999). In 2010–2011, he took part in the second season of the Italian TV series ''Il commissario Manara''.

Personal life

Francesco married Julie McCann and had two children; Massimiliano and Michela Quinn. The marriage ended in divorce in 2008. Before his death he was dating Valentina Castellani. Quinn has two siblings: Danny Quinn, Lorenzo Quinn. Quinn has eight other surviving half siblings: Alex, Antonia, Catalina, Christina, Danny, Duncan, Ryan, Sean, and Valentina Quinn. His eldest sibling, Christopher, drowned in 1941, aged two.

Athletic pursuits

Quinn pursued sports such as

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

, free diving, road cycling, mountain biking, and actively raced

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

and street bikes. Quinn also was an avid motorcycler, and was a spokesman for The Motorcycle Industry Council and

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. He was fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian. Quinn was a contestant on ''Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge'' on CMT, until he was sidelined with a broken rib after being stomped on by a Level 2 bull.

Death

Quinn died on August 5, 2011, in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

after experiencing what was believed to be a heart attack while running up a street with his children near his home.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
QuickTime-viewable copy of Francesco Quinn as The Gnostic

L.A. Times article "Quinn Begins Again" on Oscar-nominated ''The Tonto Woman''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Francesco 1963 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Rome American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American male voice actors People of Lazian descent Italian expatriates in the United States Italian male film actors Italian male television actors American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American actors of Mexican descent Italian people of Irish descent Italian people of Mexican descent