Family, fans pay tribute to actor Anthony Quinn

A large contingent of Quinn's family attended Saturday's service

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Reuters) -- Family, friends and fans gathered Saturday to say farewell to two-time Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn, whose vital screen presence gave life to a host of characters, including the career-defining earthy and worldly wise "Zorba the Greek."

A crowd of about 100 well-wishers paid tribute to Quinn's well-known zest for life during services at the First Baptist Church in America, the historic Providence, Rhode Island, church originally founded by Roger Williams. Quinn has been living in a town near Providence.

Quinn's fierce gaze, which emanated from two large-screen televisions bracketing the pulpit, and a colorful painting of the actor entitled "Triumph," which hung behind the speakers throughout the service, were a constant reminder of his vigorous life.

"Anthony was truly a gift to all of us and to millions and millions and millions of people," said actor Edward James Olmos, who befriended Quinn toward the end of his life. "He was prolific, outstanding; he gave his life to others."

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Quinn, who appeared in more than 100 movies in a career that spanned six decades, died on June 3 in Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. He was 86.

Tributes also came from Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, who called Quinn "a big man with a big heart." Quinn's last wife, Katherine, and four of his children also spoke.

A large contingent of Quinn's children and grandchildren attended the service. The actor fathered 13 children with five women, three of whom he married. One of the children died as a youngster but the others are still alive.

The speakers celebrated Quinn's passionate existence and the great spirit he exuded.

"He told me to always find new places and exciting new ways to get there," said Francesco, Quinn's sixth child, who has followed his father into acting.

Quinn has been mourned in Mexico, the place of his birth, and Greece, which considered him an honorary citizen because of his larger-than-life performance as Zorba.

Quinn's sensual, vigorous roles earned him two best supporting actor Academy Awards. He first won in 1952 for his portrayal of a Mexican revolutionary in "Viva Zapata!," and clinched the golden statue again four years later for his performance as the French painter Paul Gauguin in "Lust for Life".

But he was best known for "Zorba the Greek."

"I am Zorba" he once said after playing the character.

He also appeared in such landmark films as "Lawrence of Arabia," in which he played the Arab warrior Auda Abu Tayeh, and "The Guns of Navarone."

Quinn was born April 21, 1915, in Chihuahua, Mexico, where his half-Irish father Francisco Quinn had married a Mexican of Aztec ancestry while fighting for revolutionary leader Pancho Villa.

His early years were spent in poor neighborhoods in Los Angeles and he worked as a shoe shiner, fruit picker, electrician, cement mixer, dress cutter, musician and professional boxer before gravitating to acting.

"To me, acting ... (is) living," he once said. "I love to live, so I live. I love to act, so I act. I got to have vitality."