Tony Curtis is an American actor, singer, and producer. Most known to the general public for his roles in the films “Only Jazz in Jazz”, “The Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Big Race”, “Spartak” and “Vikings”. Oscar nominee for Best Actor. During his career, he took part in one hundred and thirty television and full-length projects.
Childhood and youth
Tony Curtis was born on June 3, 1925 in New York. Real name is Bernard Schwartz. The actor’s parents are Jews who emigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Tony grew up in the Bronx in difficult conditions. As he later stated in an interview, the mother often beat the children and behaved inappropriately, after she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Tony and his brother Julian lived for some time in an orphanage, as their parents could not feed their children. Julian died under the wheels of a car when Tony was still a child. Another brother of the actor, Robert, was hospitalized, later doctors found that he also had schizophrenia.
As a child, Curtis joined one of the Bronx minor gangs. One of the neighbors later enrolled the boy in a summer scout camp, after which he left the bad company. At the age of sixteen he became interested in theater, participated in school plays.
He enlisted in the army after the Japanese troops attacked Pearl Harbor, served in the crew of the submarine until the end of the war, and personally observed the surrender of the Japanese army. After the war, Tony Curtis attended New York City College and studied theater at New School.
Carier start
At twenty-three, the young actor came to Hollywood. Soon, he was able to conclude a contract with one of the country's largest film studios, Universal. Then he took a pseudonym. According to the actor himself, Tony Curtis did not believe in his own success and came to the film business solely for the money and attention of the girls.
In 1949 he appeared in small roles in several feature films. In subsequent years, the filmography of Tony Curtis was replenished with roles in the comedy "Francis", the crime drama "I was a shoplifter" and Westerns "Sierra", "Winchester 73" and "Kansas Raiders".
First successes
In 1951, the actor appeared in the title role in the adventure film "The Prince, who was a thief." The film became a box office hit and convinced the studio of Curtis' appeal to the audience. The following year, the boxing drama “Flesh and Rage”, the romantic comedy “There is no Place for the Groom,” and the adventure film “The Son of Ali Baba” were released. All three projects were successful.
In those days, the press and industry professionals believed that the secret to the popularity of Tony Curtis was his attractive appearance, and especially the thick pile of black hair that became his trademark. According to legend, the studio received about ten thousand letters from fans every week, all of them asked to send them a lock of Curtis hair.
Tony tried to prove that he was a serious actor, playing a major role in the drama "Houdini". However, the picture received mixed reviews from critics and showed itself poorly at the box office. In subsequent years, he returned to his usual role, playing for several years a bank robber, racing driver, professional football player and participating in several adventure films. All these films went great at the box office. Also in 1954, the list of films by Tony Curtis was replenished with the first musical, he appeared in the film "Such is Paris."
In 1956, the actor played a major role in the circus film "Trapeze", where he worked with the Hollywood star Bert Lancaster. The picture proved to be excellent at the box office, becoming one of the highest grossing films of the year.
International recognition
In 1957, Bert Lancaster asked Tony Curtis to play a major role in the film “The Sweet Smell of Success,” which he produced. The picture did not show itself at the box office, but Curtis for the first time in his career received positive assessments of his work in the press. Later the film became a cult and today is included in many lists of the best American paintings in history.
A year later, another actor and producer Kirk Douglas invited Tony to his new project. Together they played in the historical drama The Vikings, which became one of the major commercial hits of the year. Also in 1958, Tony Curtis in the military drama "Kings hit the road" with Frank Sinatra.
The actor also appeared in the drama “Chained by One Chain”, where he played a runaway prisoner, chained to a black man performed by Sidney Poitier. The film raised extremely acute social issues and was a high-profile event in the world of cinema. Tony Curtis received his first and only Academy Award nomination for this work.
In 1959, Tony played one of the main roles in Billy Wilder's comedy "Only Girls in Jazz." The picture was a huge hit at the box office and received many prestigious awards. The actor also appeared in the successful military comedy "Operation" Petticoat ".
In 1960, Curtis played a major role in the comedy Mouse Rush, and also worked again with Douglas on the epic directed by Stanley Kubrick Spartak. This work brought Tony a Golden Globe nomination.
After this, several major projects came out, where Tony Curtis was the only star for the first time in his career, without well-known screen partners. The success of these paintings confirmed the status of Tony. Also in 1962, he appeared in the film adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s novel “Taras Bulba”. In subsequent years, he turned his attention to comedic roles, occasionally appearing in more serious projects. For example, he played a major role in the 1968 drama Boston Strangler, which became the first serious role for the actor in the last few years. Tony Curtis received excellent critics for this work.
Sunset popularity
In subsequent years, the actor began to appear less often in successful projects, more often appeared on television, playing in many popular series and television films. Also in the eighties, he became more actively involved in the visual arts, which essentially became his second career.
The actor himself stated that he was interested in drawing more than in the movie. His works were exhibited in the best museums of the country, and today the price of some of them reaches the figure of tens of thousands of dollars.
Last years
Until the last days, the actor was actively involved in charity work and led a public life. In 2005, in one of the well-known publications about cinema and pop culture, nude photos of Tony Curtis appeared, who at that time was already over eighty years old.
In 2006, the actor fell into a coma after complications from pneumonia and spent a month in an unconscious state. After that, he could only move in a wheelchair. However, in 2008, Tony Curtis published successful memoirs.
Death
In July 2010, the actor was hospitalized after breathing problems and an asthma attack, died two months later at home as a result of cardiac arrest. Curtis began breathing problems due to smoking, despite the fact that he quit this habit in the sixties. The actor also had problems with drugs and alcohol, as a result of which he was hospitalized and underwent treatment for addiction.
Personal life
According to the actor’s memoirs, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe met at a time when both were not yet known. Also, the actor was married six times. The first wife was the Hollywood star Janet Lee, with whom Curtis worked together more than once. From this marriage, Tony has two daughters, Kelly and Jamie Lee, both famous actresses.
The second wife was the German actress Kristin Kaufman. In marriage, two daughters were born. In 1968, Curtis divorced Kaufman and a few months later married Leslie Ann, from her the actor has two sons.
Also from 1984 to 1992. Tony was married to Andrew Savio. The fifth wife was Lisa Deutsch, with whom Curtis was married for less than a year. In 1998, he married Jill Vanderberg, who was forty-five years younger than the actor. The couple lived together until Curtis's death.