Tony Curtis
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| Tony Curtis | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Bernard Schwartz June 3, 1925 New York City, New York |
| Years active | 1949 - present |
| Spouse(s) | Janet Leigh (1951-1962) Christine Kaufmann (1963-1967) Leslie Allen (1968-1982) Lisa Deutsch (1993-1994) Jill Vandenberg Curtis (1998-) |
Tony Curtis (born June 3, 1925) is an American film actor. He is best known for light comic roles, especially his musician on the run from gangsters in Some Like It Hot (1959) with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. Over the years he has also assayed more serious dramatic roles, such as his escaped convict in The Defiant Ones (1958), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Since 1949, he has appeared in more than 100 films and has also made frequent television appearances.
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[edit] Early life
Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, in the Bronx, New York, in 1925, the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrant parents (from Mátészalka, Szatmár, Hungary) Emanuel and Helen Schwartz. His father was a tailor who had left his home country to find a new life in the United States. In the early days the family lived in the back of his father's shop, parents in one corner and Curtis and his brothers Julius and Robert in another. Curtis has said of his mother, "When I was a child Mom beat me up and was very aggressive and antagonistic." Mrs. Schwartz was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental illness which also affected his brother Robert and led to his institutionalization. When Curtis was eight, he and his younger brother Julius were placed in an orphanage for a month because their parents could not afford to feed them. When Curtis was 12, his brother Julius was hit by a truck and died. It fell to Curtis to identify the body. Curtis retains his brother's cap and school books because, he says, "That's all that's left of him."[cite this quote]
Between 1942 and 1945 Curtis served in the United States Navy aboard the submarine tender, the USS Proteus. On September 2, 1945, he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from 300 yards (274 m) away.[1] After his military service, Curtis studied acting in New York alongside Elaine Stritch, Walter Matthau and Rod Steiger. He was "discovered" by talent agent and casting director Joyce Selznick because, as he says, "I was the handsomest of the boys." Arriving in Hollywood in 1948 at 23, he was placed under contract at Universal Pictures and changed his name to Tony Curtis. Although the studio taught him fencing and riding, Curtis admits he was only interested in girls and money.
[edit] Career
Curtis's screen debut came uncredited in the Criss Cross playing a rumba dancer. Later, he cemented his reputation with breakout performances such as in the role of the scheming press agent Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success with Burt Lancaster (who also starred in Criss Cross) and an Oscar-nominated performance as a bigoted escaped convict chained to Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones.
He was so popular during the 1950s as a screen hunk that Elvis Presley copied his on-screen ducktail hairstyle.[2]
Curtis also appeared frequently on television; he co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders!. Later, he co-starred in McCoy and Vega$. In the early 1960s, he was immortalized as "Stony Curtis," a voice-over guest star on The Flintstones.
Throughout his life, Curtis has enjoyed painting, and since the early 1980s, has painted as a second career. His work commands more than £25,000 a canvas now and he now focuses on painting rather than movies. "I still make movies but I'm not that interested in them any more. But I paint all the time." In 2007, his painting The Red Table was on display in the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan.
Curtis has spoken in the past of his disappointment at never being awarded an Oscar. "My profession has never recognized me sufficiently for my work."[cite this quote] But in March 2006, Curtis did receive the Sony Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) from France in 1995.
[edit] Personal life
Tony Curtis has been married five times. His first (and most famous) wife was the actress Janet Leigh (1927–2004), to whom he was married for 11 years (June 4, 1951-1962), and with whom he fathered actresses Jamie Lee and Kelly Curtis. "For a while, we were Hollywood's golden couple," he says. "I was very dedicated and devoted to Janet and on top of my trade, but in her eyes that goldenness started to wear off. I realized that whatever I was, I wasn't enough for Janet. That hurt me a lot and broke my heart."[cite this quote] It was Leigh's third marriage. Curtis, who admits to cheating on her throughout their marriage, left Leigh in 1962 for Christine Kaufmann, the 17-year-old German co-star of his latest film, Taras Bulba. Leigh was granted a quick divorce and later that year married stockbroker Robert Brandt in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
Curtis has also been married to:
- Jill Vandenberg Curtis (November 6, 1998—)
- Lisa Deutsch (February 28, 1993–1994); divorced
- Leslie Allen (April 20, 1968–1982); divorced, two children
- Christine Kaufmann (February 8, 1963–1967); divorced, two children
His son, Nicholas (with Leslie Allen), died of a heroin overdose on July 2, 1994, at the age of 23. Of this, Curtis has said, "As a father you don't recover from that. There isn't a moment at night that I don't remember him."[cite this quote]
In 2002, Curtis purportedly told a British gay magazine attitude, "I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948. I had more action than Mount Vesuvius; men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated where I wanted to and didn't where I didn't. I've always been open about it."[3]
Curtis states that he had a brief relationship with Marilyn Monroe in 1949, which had to end due to their different work commitments.[4]
His current wife is 42 years his junior. They met in a restaurant in 1993 and married in 1998. "The age gap doesn't bother us. We laugh a lot. My body is functioning and everything is good. She's the sexiest woman I've ever known. We don't think about time. I don't use Viagra either. There are 50 ways to please your lover."[cite this quote]
Curtis came close to death when he contracted pneumonia in December 2006 and was in a coma for several days. He now uses a wheelchair and can only walk short distances.[5]
In 2004, he was inducted into the UNLV Hall of Fame. [6] A street is named after him at The Revere at Anthem development in Henderson, Nevada.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] References
- ^ TenderTale
- ^ Elvis Presley News
- ^ IMDb: News for Some Like it Hot
- ^ "Shrink Rap" More4 interview with Pamela Connolly broadcast 8/5/2008
- ^ Daily Mail
- ^ View Newspapers: "TONY CURTIS: Now a local legend"
[edit] Further reading
- Curtis, Tony; Barry Paris (1993). Tony Curtis: The Autobiography. New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 978-0-688-09759-2.
- Ayres, Ian (2006). Van Gogh's Ear: The Celebrity Edition (includes Tony Curtis's prose/poetry/artwork). Paris: French Connection. ISBN 978-2-914-85307-1.
[edit] External links
- Tony Curtis at the Internet Movie Database
- Tony Curtis at the TCM Movie Database
- Biography and naval service from the California Center for Military History website
- John Patterson, Some like it very hot (Interview), The Guardian, 18 April 2008
- Alison Jackson, Some tormented Hollywood souls still like their gossip hot, Profile: Tony Curtis, Sunday Times, 20 April 2008
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Curtis, Tony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schwartz, Bernard |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 3, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
