Tony Curtis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people named Tony Curtis, see Tony Curtis (disambiguation).

Tony Curtis
Las Vegas, Nevada
Alma materThe New School
OccupationActor
Years active1948–2008
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1962)​
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1968)​
Leslie Allen
​
​
(m. 1968; div. 1982)​
Andrea Savio
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 1992)​
Lisa Deutsch
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 1994)​
Jill Vandenberg
​
(m. 1998)​
Children6, including
World War II Victory Medal

Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles covering a wide range of genres. In his later years, Curtis made numerous television appearances.

He achieved his first major recognition as a dramatic actor in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) with co-star Burt Lancaster. The following year he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Defiant Ones (1958) alongside Sidney Poitier (who was also nominated in the same category). This was followed by the comedies Some Like It Hot and Operation Petticoat in 1959. In 1960, Curtis played a supporting role in the epic historical drama Spartacus.

His stardom and film career declined considerably after 1960. His most significant dramatic part came in 1968 when he starred in the true-life drama The Boston Strangler. Curtis also took on the role of the Ukrainian Cossack Andrei in the historical action romance epic Taras Bulba in 1962 and starred in the ITC TV series The Persuaders!, with Curtis playing American millionaire Danny Wilde. The series ran for twenty-four episodes.

Curtis married six times and fathered six children. He was the father of actresses Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis with his first wife, actress Janet Leigh, and actresses Allegra Curtis and Alexandra Curtis with his second wife Christine Kaufmann. He had two sons with his third wife Leslie Allen, one of whom predeceased him. From 1998 until his death, he was married to horse trainer Jill Vandenberg.

Early life

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz on June 3, 1925, at the Fifth Avenue Hospital corner of East 105th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan the first of three boys born to Helen (née Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz.[1][2]

His parents were Jewish emigrants from Hungary: his father was born in Ópályi, near Mátészalka, and his mother was a native of Michalovce, Slovakia; she later said she arrived in the U.S. from Vaľkovo, Slovakia.[3] He spoke only Hungarian until the age of six, delaying his schooling.[4] His father was a tailor and the family lived in the back of the shop. His mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. His youngest brother Robert was institutionalized with the same mental illness.

When Curtis was eight, he and his brother Julius were placed in an orphanage for a month because their parents could not afford to feed them. Four years later, Julius was struck and killed by a truck. Curtis joined a neighborhood gang whose main crimes were playing truant from school and minor pilfering at the local dime store. When Curtis was 11, a friendly neighbor saved him from what he felt would have led to a life of

Seward Park High School. At 16, he had his first small acting part in a school stage play.[5]

Military service

Curtis enlisted in the

Second World War. On September 2, 1945, Curtis witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from his ship's signal bridge about a mile away.[6]

Following his

casting director, and niece of film producer David O. Selznick.[citation needed
]

Career

In 1948, Curtis arrived in Hollywood at age 23. In his autobiography, Curtis described how by chance he met Jack Warner on the plane to California, and also how he briefly dated Marilyn Monroe before either was famous.[citation needed]

Universal as "Anthony Curtis"

Under contract at Universal Pictures, he changed his name from Bernard Schwartz to Anthony Curtis and met unknown actors Rock Hudson, James Best, Julie Adams and Piper Laurie.[7] The first name was from the novel Anthony Adverse and "Curtis" was from Kurtz, a surname in his mother's family.[8] Although Universal Pictures taught him fencing and riding, Curtis admitted he was initially only interested in girls and money—adding that he was pessimistic regarding his chances of becoming a major star. Curtis's biggest fear was having to return home to the Bronx as a failure:

I was a million-to-one shot, the least likely to succeed. I wasn't low man on the totem pole, I was under the totem pole, in a sewer, tied to a sack.[5]

Curtis's uncredited screen debut came in the crime drama

Yvonne de Carlo. The male star was Burt Lancaster
who would make a number of films with Curtis.

In his second film,

user-generated source?] He had four lines in The Lady Gambles (1949) and a bigger part in Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949). He was also in Francis (1950), Woman in Hiding (1950), and I Was a Shoplifter
(1950).

He was additionally in three Westerns, Sierra (1950), Winchester '73 (1950), and Kansas Raiders (1951), in which he was billed as "Tony Curtis".

Stardom

Curtis was receiving numerous fan letters, so Universal gave him the starring role in The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), a swashbuckler set in the Middle East with Piper Laurie. It was a hit at the box office and Curtis was now established.[citation needed]

He followed it up with Flesh and Fury (1952), a boxing movie; No Room for the Groom (1952), a comedy with Laurie directed by Douglas Sirk; and Son of Ali Baba (1952), another film set in the Middle East with Laurie.

Curtis then starred with then-wife

Johnny Dark (1954), as a racing car driver; and The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), a medieval swashbuckler with Leigh. They were moderately successful financially, and Curtis was growing in popularity.[citation needed
]

Curtis then starred in the musical So This Is Paris in (1955), before appearing in Six Bridges to Cross (1955), as a bank robber; The Purple Mask (1955), as a swashbuckler; and the boxing film The Square Jungle (1955).

Major star

Curtis graduated to more prestigious projects when he was cast as a co-star of

Hecht-Lancaster Productions' Trapeze (1956). It was one of the biggest hits of the year. Curtis and Leigh formed their own independent film production company, Curtleigh Productions, in early 1955.[10][11]

Curtis made a Western, The Rawhide Years (1957), was a gambler in Mister Cory (1957) and a cop in The Midnight Story (1957). Lancaster asked for him again, to play scheming press agent Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring and co-produced by Lancaster. The film was a box office disappointment, but Curtis, for the first time in his career, received sensational reviews.

Curtis starred alongside

Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance—losing to David Niven in Separate Tables.[14]

Curtis with Marilyn Monroe in
Some Like It Hot (1959)

Curtis and Janet Leigh then starred in Blake Edwards' The Perfect Furlough (1958). He subsequently co-starred with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot as well as Cary Grant in Operation Petticoat (1959).

Curtis and Leigh made one more film together Who Was That Lady? (1960), a comedy with Dean Martin. He and Debbie Reynolds then starred in The Rat Race (1960). He then started in a supporting role in Spartacus (1960), before making two biopics: The Great Impostor (1961), directed by Robert Mulligan, playing Ferdinand Waldo Demara; and The Outsider (1961), in which he played war hero Ira Hayes. He returned to epics with Taras Bulba (1962), co starring Yul Brynner and Christine Kaufmann, who became Curtis's second wife.

Comedic roles

On October 6, 1961, Curtis formed a new film production company, Curtis Enterprises, Incorporated.[15] The company would make 40 Pounds of Trouble, which co-starred Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette and Phil Silvers; it was the first motion picture ever filmed at Disneyland.[16][17][18] On August 3, 1962, Curtis formed another new film production company, Reynard Productions, Incorporated.[19]

Curtis was one of many stars who had small roles in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963). He supported Gregory Peck in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) and had an uncredited dual role in Paris When It Sizzles (1964). He and Kaufmann made their third movie together, the comedy Wild and Wonderful (1964). His focus remained on comedies: Goodbye Charlie (1964), with Debbie Reynolds; Sex and the Single Girl (1964), with Natalie Wood; The Great Race (1965), with Wood and Lemmon for Blake Edwards — the most expensive comedy film up till that time, but popular; Boeing Boeing (1965) a sex farce with Jerry Lewis; Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) with George C. Scott; Drop Dead Darling (1966), a British comedy with Rosanna Schiaffino; Don't Make Waves (1967), a satire of beach life from director Alexander Mackendrick, with Claudia Cardinale; and On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who... (1967), an Italian comedy with Monica Vitti. In the early 1960s, he was a voice-over guest star on The Flintstones as "Stoney Curtis".

The Boston Strangler

Because of the poor performance of a series of comedies, Curtis fired his agent and took a pay cut to $100,000 to play the title role in The Boston Strangler (1968), his first dramatic film in several years.[20] Response from the critics and public was excellent. He returned to comedy for Monte Carlo or Bust! (1969), an all-star car race film in the vein of The Great Race.

He made some comic adventure tales: You Can't Win 'Em All (1970) with Charles Bronson and Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970).

Curtis decided it was time to turn to television and co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders! (1971).

He was one of the villains in

The Users
(1978).

Later career

Curtis in 1997

Curtis supported

Vega$
. After Vega$, on television, Curtis continued to make occasional guest appearances (sometimes playing fictional versions of himself) into the mid-2000s. His final TV series was as host of the documentary-retrospective series "Hollywood Babylon" (adapting Kenneth Anger's book series) in 1992–1993; each episode would include Curtis recalling some anecdotes from his own career. In 2002, Curtis was in the national tour of Some Like it Hot, a modified revival of the 1972 musical Sugar, itself based on the film in which he starred.[21] Curtis played the supporting role of Osgood Fielding.

Painter

Throughout his life, Curtis enjoyed painting and, beginning in the early 1980s, painted as a second career. In the last years of his life, he concentrated on painting rather than movies. A

Carmel, California
.

Curtis spoke of his disappointment at never being awarded an

Oscar. In March 2006, Curtis received the Sony Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame inducted in 1960, and received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France in 1995.[22]

Personal life

Curtis was married six times.

Universal-International, generally stayed out of their stars' love lives. When he chose to get married, however, studio executives spent three days trying to talk him out of it, telling him he would be "poisoning himself at the box office." They threatened "banishment" back to the Bronx and the end of his budding career. In response, Curtis and Leigh defied the studio heads and eloped and were married by a local judge in Greenwich, Connecticut. Comedian and close friend Jerry Lewis was present as a witness.[5]

The couple had two children, actresses Kelly and Jamie Lee.[24]

The couple divorced in 1962. "For a while, we were Hollywood's golden couple," he said. "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."[23][25]

The following year Curtis married Christine Kaufmann, the 18-year-old German co-star of his latest film, Taras Bulba. He stated that his marriage with Leigh had effectively ended "a year earlier".[4] Curtis and Kaufmann had two daughters, Alexandra (born July 19, 1964) and Allegra (born July 11, 1966). The couple divorced in 1968. After their divorce, Kaufmann resumed her career, which she had paused during their marriage.

On April 20, 1968, Curtis married Leslie Allen, with whom he had two sons -- Nicholas Bernard Curtis (December 31, 1970 – July 2, 1994)[26][27] and Benjamin Curtis (born May 2, 1973). The couple divorced in 1982.

Curtis married Andrea Savio in 1984; they divorced in 1992.[28]

The following year, on February 28, 1993, he married Lisa Deutsch. They divorced only a year later in 1994.

His sixth and last wife, Jill Vandenberg, was 45 years his junior. They met in a restaurant in 1993 and married on November 6, 1998.

Viagra either. There are 50 ways to please your lover."[29]

On April 26, 1970, Curtis was arrested for marijuana possession at Heathrow Airport in London.[30]

According to the

Betty Ford Clinic in the mid-1980s, which was successful for him.[28]

In 1994, his son Nicholas died of a heroin overdose at the age of 23. After his son's death, Curtis remarked that it was "a terrible thing when a father loses his son."[31]

Philanthropy

Beginning in 1990, Curtis and his daughter Jamie Lee Curtis took a renewed interest in their family's Hungarian Jewish heritage, and helped finance the rebuilding of the Great Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary. The largest synagogue in Europe today, it was originally built in 1859 and suffered damage during World War II.[32] In 1998, he also founded the Emanuel Foundation for Hungarian Culture, and served as honorary chairman. The organization works for the restoration and preservation of synagogues and the 1300 Jewish cemeteries in Hungary and is dedicated to the 600,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust in Hungary and lands occupied by the Royal Hungarian Army.[33] Curtis also helped promote Hungary's national image in commercials.[34]

Books and appearances

Curtis in 2009, during a book-signing of his memoir American Prince

In 1965, Tony Curtis was animated in an episode of The Flintstones; he also voiced his character Stoney Curtis. In 1994, a mural featuring his likeness, painted by the artist George Sportelli, was unveiled on the

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album by The Beatles
.

Also in 1994, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation awarded its Lone Sailor Award for his naval service and his subsequent acting career.

In 2004, he was inducted into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Hall of Fame.[36] A street is named after him in the Sun City Anthem development of his adopted hometown, Henderson, Nevada.[37]

In 2005, Curtis was criticized after he stated that he would refuse to watch Brokeback Mountain. He additionally stated that John Wayne would not have approved of a film about gay cowboys.[38]

In 2008, he was featured in the documentary The Jill & Tony Curtis Story about his efforts with his wife to rescue horses from slaughterhouses.[39] In October 2008, Curtis's autobiography American Prince: A Memoir, was published.[40] In it, he describes his encounters with other Hollywood legends of the time including Frank Sinatra and James Dean, as well as his hard-knock childhood and path to success. It was followed by the publication of his next book, The Making of Some Like it Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie (2009).[41] Curtis shared his memories of the making of the movie, in particular about Marilyn Monroe, whose antics and attitude on the set made everyone miserable.

On May 22, 2009, Curtis apologized to the BBC radio audience after he used three profanities in a six-minute interview with BBC presenter William Crawley. The presenter also apologized to the audience for Curtis's "Hollywood realism." Curtis explained that he thought the interview was being taped, when it was in fact live.[42]

Health and death

Curtis in 2004

In 1974, Curtis developed a heavy

heart bypass surgery in 1994, after suffering a heart attack.[45]

On July 8, 2010, Curtis, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was hospitalized in Las Vegas after suffering an asthma attack during a book-signing engagement in Henderson, Nevada, where he lived.[46]

Curtis died at his Henderson home on September 29, 2010, of cardiac arrest.[47][48][49][50] A few days beforehand, he had met photographer Andy Gotts for a photo-shoot at his home, saying: "I'm not in a good way at the moment but can I ask you one thing? Can you make me look like an icon just one more time?"[51] He left behind five children and seven grandchildren.[52] His widow Jill told the press that Curtis had suffered from various lung problems for years as a result of cigarette smoking, although he had quit smoking about 30 years earlier.[53] In fact, during the 1960s Curtis served as the president of the American 'I Quit Smoking' Club.[54] In a release to the Associated Press, his daughter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, said:

My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world. He will be greatly missed.[55]

His remains were interred at Palm Memorial Park Cemetery in Henderson, Nevada, on October 4, 2010. The service was attended by daughters Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis; as well as

pallbearers
. He was buried with a number of his favorite items, including a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf, driving gloves, a copy of his favorite novel, and his iPhone.

Five months before his death he rewrote his will, naming all his children and intentionally disinheriting them with no explanation, then leaving his entire estate to his wife.[58]

In popular culture

In the 2022 Netflix film Blonde, Curtis was portrayed by Michael Masini.[59]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1949 Criss Cross Gigolo Uncredited
City Across the River Mitch Credited as Anthony Curtis
Johnny Stool Pigeon Joey Hyatt Credited as Anthony Curtis
The Lady Gambles Bellboy Credited as Anthony Curtis
Take One False Step Hot Rod Driver Uncredited
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border Unknown Short
1950 Francis Captain Jones Credited as Anthony Curtis
Woman in Hiding Dave Shaw Voice, Uncredited
I Was a Shoplifter Pepe Credited as Anthony Curtis
Sierra Brent Coulter Credited as Anthony Curtis
Winchester '73 Doan Credited as Anthony Curtis
Kansas Raiders Kit Dalton
1951 The Prince Who Was a Thief Julna
1952 Flesh and Fury Paul Callan
No Room for the Groom Alvah Morrell
Son of Ali Baba Kashma Baba
Meet Danny Wilson Himself, Nightclub Patron Uncredited
1953 Houdini Harry Houdini
All American Nick Bonnelli
Forbidden Eddie
1954 Beachhead Burke
Johnny Dark
 		Johnny Dark
The Black Shield of Falworth Myles
So This Is Paris Joe Maxwell
1955 Six Bridges to Cross Jerry Florea
The Purple Mask Rene de Traviere / Purple Mask
The Square Jungle Eddie Quaid / Packy Glennon
1956 Trapeze Tino Orsini
The Rawhide Years Ben Matthews
1957 Mister Cory Cory also Executive Producer
The Midnight Story Joe Martini
Sweet Smell of Success Sidney Falco also Executive Producer
1958
The Vikings
 		Eric
Kings Go Forth Corporal Britt Harris
The Defiant Ones John "Joker" Jackson also Executive Producer
The Perfect Furlough Corporal Paul Hodges
1959 Some Like It Hot Joe / Josephine / Shell Oil Junior
Operation Petticoat Lieutenant Nicholas Holden
1960 Who Was That Lady? David Wilson
The Rat Race Pete Hammond Jr.
Spartacus Antoninus
Pepe Himself Uncredited
The Great Impostor Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. / Martin Donner / Dr. Gilbert
1961 The Outsider Ira Hamilton Hayes
1962 Taras Bulba Andriy Bulba also Executive Producer
40 Pounds of Trouble Steve McCluskey also Executive Producer
1963 The List of Adrian Messenger Organ Grinder Cameo
Captain Newman, M.D. Corporal Jackson "Jake" Leibowitz also Executive Producer
1964 Paris When It Sizzles Maurice / Philippe – 2nd Policeman Uncredited
Wild and Wonderful Terry Willams also Executive Producer
Goodbye Charlie George Tracy
Sex and the Single Girl Bob Weston
1965 The Great Race Leslie Gallant III (The Great Leslie) also Executive Producer
Boeing, Boeing Bernard Lawrence
1966 Chamber of Horrors Mr. Julian Uncredited
Not with My Wife, You Don't! Tom Ferris also Executive Producer
Arrivederci, Baby! Nick Johnson also known as Drop Dead Darling
1967 Don't Make Waves Carlo Cofield
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who... Guerrando da Montone
1968 Rosemary's Baby Donald Baumgart Voice, Uncredited
The Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo
1969 Monte-Carlo or Bust! Chester Schofield also known as Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies
1970 You Can't Win 'Em All Adam Dyer
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came Shannon Gambroni
1974 Lepke Louis “Lepke” Buchalter
1976 The Last Tycoon Rodriguez
1977 Some Like It Cool Giacomino / Casanova
1978 The Manitou Harry Erskine
Sextette Alexei Karansky
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan Marvin Lazar
1979 Title Shot Frank Renzetti
1980 Little Miss Marker "Blackie"
It Rained All Night the Day I Left Robert Talbot
The Mirror Crack'd Martin N. Fenn
1982 Black Commando Colonel Iago
BrainWaves Dr. Clavius
Sparky's Magic Piano TV Interviewer Voice, Direct-to-Video
1983 Dexter the Dragon & Bumble the Bear Unknown Voice, English version
Balboa Ernie Stoddard
1984 Where Is Parsifal? Parsifal Katzenellenbogen
1985 Insignificance Senator
1986 Club Life Hector
The Last of Philip Banter Charles Foster
1988 Welcome to Germany Mr. Cornfield
1989 Lobster Man from Mars J.P. Shelldrake
Midnight Mr. B.
Walter & Carlo i Amerika Willy La Rouge
1991 Prime Target Marietta Copella Direct-To-Video
1992 Center of the Web Stephen Moore
1993 Naked in New York Carl Fisher
The Mummy Lives Aziru / Dr. Mohassid
1995 The Immortals Dominic
1997 Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball Wald Direct-to-Video
1998 Louis & Frank Lenny Star Springer
1998 Stargames King Fendel
1999 Play It to the Bone Ringside Fan
2002 Reflections of Evil Host
2006 Where's Marty? Himself Direct-to-DVD
2007 The Blacksmith and the Carpenter God Voice, Short
2008 David & Fatima Mr. Schwartz Final film role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1955 Allen in Movieland Himself Television Movie
1955–1956 The Ed Sullivan Show Himself (Guest) 3 episodes
1959 The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial Charlie Episode: "Man on a Rock"
1960
Startime
 		The Juggler Episode: "The Young Juggler"
also Executive Producer
1965 The Flintstones Stony Curtis Voice, Episode: "The Return of Stony Curtis"
1968 The Song Is You Himself Television Movie
1968–1971 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Himself (Guest Performer) Recurring role (8 episodes)
1970 American Cancer Society anti-smoking PSAs Himself multiple PSAs[60]
interview with Martin Agronsky on WTOP-TV News.
1971–1972 The Persuaders! Danny Wilde / Aunt Sophie Series regular (24 episodes)
1972 The ABC Comedy Hour Himself (Guest Performer) Episode: "The Friars Roast of Joe Namath"
1972 The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour Himself (Guest Performer) 2 episodes
1973 The Third Girl from the Left Joey Jordan Television Movie
1973 Shaft Clifford Grayson Episode: "Hit-Run"
1975 The Count of Monte-Cristo Fernand Mondego Television Movie
1975–1976 McCoy McCoy Series regular (5 episodes)
1978
The Users
 		Randy Brent Television Movie
1978–1981 Vega$ Philip (Slick) Roth Series regular (17 episodes, 1978-1981)
1980 The Scarlett O'Hara War David O. Selznick Television Movie
1981 Inmates: A Love Story Flanagan Television Movie
1981 The Million Dollar Face Chester Masterson Television Movie
1982 Portrait of a Showgirl Joey DeLeon Television Movie
1983 The Fall Guy Joe O'Hara Episode: "Eight Ball"
1986 Mafia Princess Sam "Momo" Giancana Television Movie
1986 Murder in Three Acts Charles Cartwright Television Movie
1989 Tarzan in Manhattan Archimedes Porter Television Movie
1989 Charlie Scott Parish Television Movie
1990 Thanksgiving Day Max Schloss Television Movie
1992 Christmas in Connecticut Alexander Yardley Television Movie
1992–1993 Hollywood Babylon Himself (Host) 5 episodes
1994 Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit "Lucky" Bergstrom Television Movie
1994 A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor Johnny Steele Television Movie
1994 Cilla's World Himself Television Movie
1995–2003 Biography Himself (Interviewee) 4 episodes
– Episode: "Roger Moore" (1995)
– Episode: "Ernest Borgnine" (2000)
– Episode: "Tony Curtis" (2001)
– Episode: "Janet Leigh" (2003)
1996 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Dr. Issac Mamba Episode: "I Now Pronounce You..."
1996 Roseanne Hal Episode: "Ballroom Blitz"
1997 Elvis Meets Nixon Himself Uncredited, Television Movie
1998 Suddenly Susan Peter DiCaprio Episode: "Matchmaker, Matchmaker"
2004 Hope & Faith Morris Episode: "Jack's Back"
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Himself Episode: "Grave Danger (Part 1)"
2006 60 Minutes Himself Episode: "Gay Marriage/The Marilyn Mystery"
2010
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
 		Himself (Celebrity Question Presenter) Episode: "Million Dollar Movie Week 1"

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1951 Suspense The McKay College Basketball Scandal[61]
1952 Stars in the Air Model Wife[62]

Awards and nominations

Association Year Category Nominated Work Result
Academy Awards 1959 Best Actor The Defiant Ones Nominated
BAFTA Awards 1958 Best Foreign Actor Sweet Smell of Success Nominated
1959 The Defiant Ones Nominated
Bambi Awards 1958 Best Actor, International Sweet Smell of Success Won
1959 The Defiant Ones Nominated
1960 Some Like It Hot Nominated
1973 TV series International The Persuaders! Won
Bravo Otto Awards 1972 Best Male TV Star The Persuaders! Won
California Independent Film Festival 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award — Won
David di Donatello Awards 2001 Special David — Won
Empire Awards 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award — Won
Golden Apple Awards 1952 Most Cooperative Actor — Won
1958 — Won
1964 Least Cooperative Actor — Won
Golden Camera Awards 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award — Won
Golden Globe Awards
 1958
World Film Favorite, Male
 — Won
1959 Best Actor in a Motion Picture— Drama The Defiant Ones Nominated
1961
World Film Favorite, Male
 — Won
1969 Best Actor in a Motion Picture— Drama The Boston Strangler Nominated
Jules Verne Awards
 2005
Lifetime Achievement Award
 — Won
Laurel Awards 1958 Top Male Dramatic Performance Sweet Smell of Success Nominated
1960 Top Male Star — Nominated
1960 Top Male Comedy Performance Who Was That Lady? Nominated
1961 Top Male Star — Nominated
1962 — Nominated
1962 Top Male Dramatic Performance The Outsider Nominated
1963 Top Male Star — Nominated
1963 Top Male Dramatic Performance 40 Pounds of Trouble Nominated
1964 Top Male Star — Nominated
1964 Top Male Comedy Performance Captain Newman, M.D. Nominated
1965 Male Star — Nominated
Montreal World Film Festival 2008 Grand Prix Special des Ameriques — Won
Palm Springs International Film Festival 1995
Desert Palm Achievement Award
 — Won
Photoplay Award 1959 Most Popular Male Star — Won
Primetime Emmy Awards
 1980
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
 The Scarlett O'Hara War Nominated
Sitges Catalonian International Film Festival 2000 "The General" Honorary Award — Won
St. Louis International Film Festival 1997 Distinguished Hollywood Film Artist Award — Won
TP de Oro 1973 Best Foreign Actor The Persuaders! Nominated
Walk of Fame 1960 Star on the Walk of Fame–Motion Picture 6817 Hollywood Blvd. — Won

Books

  • Curtis, Tony;
    ISBN 978-0-688-09759-2
    .
  • Curtis, Tony;
    ISBN 978-0-307-40849-5
    .
  • Curtis, Tony (2009). Some Like it Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Making of the Classic Movie. New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 240.
    ISBN 978-0-470-53721-3
    .

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tony Curtis biography". Biography.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  2. ^ "Curtis, Tony 1925–". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "USA: Zomrel americký herec Tony Curtis, po matke slovenského pôvodu" [USA: American actor Tony Curtis died, after a mother of Slovak origin]. Slovak Centre London (in Slovak). News Agency of the Slovak Republic. September 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Private Screenings: Tony Curtis Turner Classic Movies, January 19, 1999.
  5. ^ a b c Alexander, Shana (November 17, 1961). "Tony Curtis in a For–Real Bronx Dream: the Bee–Yoody–Ful Life of a Movie Caliph". Life. Vol. 51, no. 20. pp. 161–176. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "World War Two - and a young man serves his country". TenderTale. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  7. ^ Lobosco, David (April 9, 2012). "Julie Adams at 85". Great Entertainers Archives.com. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  8. ^ Rizzo, Frank (October 1, 2009). "My Interview With Tony Curtis". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  9. ^ IMDB
  10. ^ "Elmira Advertiser from Elmira, New York on May 28, 1955 · 7". Newspapers.com. May 28, 1955. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  11. ^ "Mirror News from Los Angeles, California on August 6, 1955 · 19". Newspapers.com. August 6, 1955. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "The New Box Office Champ!" (Advertisement). Variety. July 2, 1958. p. 18. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "Kings Go Forth". Film Reviews. Variety. June 11, 1958. p. 6. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Awards for Separate Tables". TCM. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  15. ^ "CURTIS ENTERPRISES, INC. :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  16. ^ Boxoffice; Boxoffice (1962). Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1962). Media History Digital Library. New York, Boxoffice.
  17. ^ "The Evening Sun from Baltimore, Maryland on May 31, 1962 · 50". Newspapers.com. May 31, 1962. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  18. ^ "Valley Times from North Hollywood, California on May 14, 1962 · 6". Newspapers.com. May 14, 1962. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  19. ^ "Reynard Productions, Inc. :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  20. ^ Beaupre, Lee (May 15, 1968). "Rising Skepticism On Stars". Variety. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Tour of Some Like It Hot, the Musical, Begins June 4 in TX; Tony Curtis Headlines". June 4, 2002.
  22. ISBN 978-0-307-44946-7
    .
  23. ^ a b "A Bronx boy who mastered his art". The Australian. October 1, 2010.
  24. ^ "Jamie Lee Honours Her Dad". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  25. YouTube
    2 minutes
  26. UPI
    . July 5, 1994. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  27. FamilySearch.org
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Further reading

External links

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