Tony Curtis

Actor, writer, and artist

• Born: June 3, 1925
• Birthplace: Bronx, New York
• Died: September 29, 2010
• Place of death: Henderson, Nevada

Curtis’s ability to play both serious and comedic roles made him one of the best loved actors in Hollywood. He started in film in 1949 and remained a popular figure for more than fifty years. Though best known for acting, Curtis was also a writer and a painter.

Early Life

Tony Curtis (curtihs) was born on June 3, 1925, to Mono (known as Manny) and Helen Schwartz, who had moved to New York from Budapest in hopes of making a better living. Though he had been an amateur actor in his home country, Mono soon realized that he needed a more stable income and became a tailor. The family often suffered from poverty, moving from one location to another in the middle of the night when Mono’s tailoring could not pay their bills. Mono was an Orthodox Jew, and he made his sons (Julius and Robert were born after Curtis) maintain the traditional long braids until they were six years old. Curtis’s mother was less strict in regards to their Jewish heritage.

Curtis became rebellious in early childhood, fighting as a result of the family’s poverty and his Jewish appearance. It was not until a truant officer took an interest in the boy that Curtis settled down. He joined the Boy Scouts at age twelve, after having stayed at a memorial settlement house, where he learned better behavior. He later attended Seward Park High School but joined the Navy six months before graduation. During his time in the military, he received a leg injury, which resulted in temporary paralysis and an early discharge. Upon returning home, he finished his high school education.

One of Curtis’s childhood heroes was actor Cary Grant, and Curtis began his pursuit of acting by using his G.I. Bill to pay for tuition at the Dramatic Workshop in New York. He schooled with other young actors, such as Walter Matthau, Rod Steiger, and Harry Belafonte. Curtis’s theater debut was in a production of Thunder Rock at New York’s 92nd Street Y. Over the next few years, he circulated through a number of small theater groups. A Universal Studio talent scout discovered Curtis in 1948 and offered him a seven-year contract. He was one of a group of young actors, including two of his regular costars, Rock Hudson and Piper Laurie, who were slated to become the next generation of stars. It was during Curtis’s first season at Universal that his name was changed. Early variations included Jimmy Curtis and Anthony Curtis before it was shortened to Tony Curtis.

Life’s Work

Curtis’s first film was Criss Cross (1949), which starred Burt Lancaster, but Curtis was not even listed in the credits. Fan interest led to more small parts, and he appeared in three other films that year: City Across the River, The Lady Gambles, and Johnny Stool Pigeon. He was listed in the credits primarily as Anthony Curtis until Winchester ’73 (1950). His first big chance came in 1951 with The Prince Who Was a Thief, costarring Laurie.

Over the next decade, Curtis became a household name as his starring roles multiplied, and his life changed dramatically. He had met and begun a relationship with Janet Leigh in 1950, and they married on June 4, 1951, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Despite the studio’s desire that he remain single to uphold his standing as a sex symbol, the couple became popular with the gossip columns, and they won a Golden Apple from the Hollywood Women’s Press Club for being the most cooperative couple. Over the following years, they starred together in five films, Houdini (1953), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), The Vikings (1958), The Perfect Furlough (1958), and Who Was That Lady? (1959). Curtis also took on the role of father with the birth of two daughters: Kelly Lee on June 16, 1956, and Jamie Lee on November 22, 1958.

Despite the number of films Curtis appeared in in the 1950’s, critics were often negative during the first decade of his fame. The resulting self-confidence problems led Curtis to seek regular psychiatric help, and he reportedly became superstitious on set. However, his film career was flourishing, and he was able to earn better roles. He was earning more money per film and finally gained critical acclaim by the end of the decade. Curtis’s filmography grew with roles in many different types of films. Films such as Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe, Spartacus (1960) with Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, and Boeing Boeing (1965) with Jerry Lewis led to stronger roles such as Albert De Salvo in The Boston Strangler (1968).

His personal life changed as well over the next few decades. He and Leigh divorced in 1962; he married Christine Kaufmann six months later, on February 8, 1963. This marriage produced two more daughters, Alexandra (1964) and Allegra (1966), but it lasted only five years. His third marriage, on April 20, 1968, was to Leslie Allen. Curtis and Allen had two sons: Benjamin (1973) and Nicholas (1971). He was married officially two more times: to Lisa Deutsch (1993-1994) and in 1998 he married Jill Vandenberg.

Curtis’s lifetime achievement included more than 140 films, numerous television series appearances, and voice work for several animated characters (notably the character “Stony Curtis” in the cartoon series The Flintstones). Curtis also worked as a producer and was featured as a performer on the sound track for So This Is Paris (1955). In his later years, he branched out into writing (generating several autobiographies) and into painting (beginning in the 1960’s). He also became an animal activist, founding the Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary with Vandenberg, his fifth wife. On September 29, 2010, Curtis died of cardiac arrest at his home in Henderson, Nevada.

Significance

Curtis was one of the most versatile and well-known actors of his time. His popularity with fans ranked him alongside his idol Grant and his contemporaries such as Douglas, Matthau, and Jack Lemmon. Curtis’s roles spanned from comedies and Westerns to musicals, swashbucklers, and dramas. He starred alongside acting legends and created unforgettable characters, playing parts that ranged from an uncredited dancer with Yvonne De Carlo (Criss Cross) to a cross-dresser opposite Monroe (Some Like It Hot) and a real-life murderer (The Boston Strangler). His patented look was copied by no less a celebrity figure than Elvis Presley, and Curtis’s image appears on the sleeve of a Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). In his later career, he appeared in small film parts and produced numerous paintings that sold for more than fifty thousand dollars.

Bibliography

Curtis, Tony, and Peter Golenbock. American Prince: A Memoir. New York: Harmony Books, 2008. Curtis recounts a variety of aspects of his life in this candid autobiography. It includes information about his early life, his relationships with women, his films, and his paintings.

Curtis, Tony, and Barry Paris. Tony Curtis: The Autobiography. New York: William Morrow, 1993. This autobiography covers numerous elements of Curtis’s life but focuses on the behind-the-scenes issues of being a star. Curtis’s sometimes harsh tone comes across in this controversial book.

Curtis, Tony, and Mark A. Vieira. The Making of “Some Like It Hot”: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Detailed account of the making of one of Curtis’s most popular films. Curtis shares insight into his costars and the film, with details on his relationship with Monroe.

Hunter, Allan. Tony Curtis: The Man and His Movies. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1985. This book provides a brief synopsis of Curtis’s life, a list of all his films, and a detailed summary of his major films.

Munn, Michael. The Kid from the Bronx: A Biography of Tony Curtis. London: W. H. Allen, 1984. A dramatic retelling of Curtis’s life until the mid-1980’s includes a list of his films, starting with Criss Cross (1949) and continuing through The Scarlett O’Hara War (1980).