Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis is the stage name of Bernard Schwartz (b. June 3 1925 in the Bronx, New York), an actor who has appeared in over 100 films since 1949. Curtis has also appeared frequently on television; he co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders.
Since at least the early 1980s Curtis has had a second career as a painter.
Curtis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1995.
He has been married several times; his first wife was actress Janet Leigh, with whom he fathered actress Jamie Lee Curtis. He was also married to actress Christine Kaufmann in the 1960s.
Partial filmography
His earliest credited role is in the 1949 film City Across the River. He is probably best known for his role in the 1959 film Some Like It Hot, co-starring with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. Other notable roles include:
- Harry Houdini in the 1953 film Houdini;
- press agent Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success (1957);
- his Oscar-nominated role in The Defiant Ones (1958);
- Navy Lieutenant Nicholas Holden from that equally famous pink submarine SeaTiger in Operation Petticoat (1959);
- appearing as Antoninus in Spartacus (1960);
- Ferdinand Waldo Demara, the title role of The Great Impostor (1962); and
- a stunt man in The Great Race (1965).
Politics
Curtis and actress-activist Bo Derek met with Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA) in Washington, D.C., in May 2004 to discuss protecting horses. The relevant bill is H.R. 857, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
External links
- His official website (http://www.tonycurtis.com/), a "Virtual Art Gallery"
- Biography (http://www.oralhistoryproject.com/TonyCurtis1.html) and Naval service (http://www.oralhistoryproject.com/tcurtis_navy.html) from the California Center for Military History website
- Tony Curtis (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000348/) at the Internet Movie Database
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