Bernard Schwartz was born in the Bronx in 1925, but after a whirlwind acting career and long eventful life, the man we know as Tony Curtis has passed away from heart failure in his Las Vegas area home at the age of 85.
After a series of frivolous movies that exploited his handsome physique and appealing personality, Curtis moved to more substantial roles, starting in 1957 in the harrowing show business tale Sweet Smell of Success.
In 1958, The Defiant Ones brought him an Academy Award nomination as best actor for his portrayal of a white racist escaped convict handcuffed to a black escapee, Sidney Poitier. The following year, he donned women’s clothing and sparred with Marilyn Monroe in one of the most acclaimed film comedies ever, Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot.
Sad to hear of his passing, however this man lived his life to the fullest, refusing at 60 to resign himself to being “an elderly Jewish gentleman, sitting on a bench and leaning on a cane”.
His first wife Janet Leigh gave the world actress Jamie Leigh Curtis, and after her parents divorce in 1963 she became estranged from her father to reconcile much later.
Check out Tony Curtis (Joe/Josephine) and Jack Lemmon (Jerry/Dapne) in Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe:;
Rest in Peace Mr Curtis.
