Tony Curtis

85 years 2010

USA

Biography

Tony Curtis (June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010) was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama. In his later years, Curtis made numerous television appearances.

Although his early film roles were partly the result of his good looks, by the later half of the 1950's he became a notable and strong screen presence. He began proving himself to be a “fine dramatic actor,” having the range to act in numerous dramatic and comedy roles. In his earliest parts he acted in a string of "mediocre" films, including swashbucklers, westerns, light comedies, sports films, and a musical. However, by the time he starred in Houdini (1953) with his wife Janet Leigh, "his first clear success," notes critic David Thomson, his acting had progressed immensely.

He won his first serious recognition as a skilled dramatic actor in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) with co-star Burt Lancaster. The following year he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in another drama, The Defiant Ones (1958). Curtis then gave what many believe was his best acting, in a completely different role, the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959). Thomson calls it an "outrageous film," and it was voted the number 1 funniest film in history from a survey done by the American Film Institute. It costarred Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, and was directed by Billy Wilder. That was followed by Blake Edwards’ comedy Operation Petticoat (1959) with Cary Grant. They were both “frantic comedies,” and displayed "his impeccable comic timing." He often collaborated with Edwards on later films.

His most significant serious part came in 1968 when he starred in the true-life drama The Boston Strangler, which some consider his "last major film role." The part reinforced his reputation as a serious actor with his "chilling portrayal" of serial killer Albert DeSalvo. He gained 30 pounds and had his face "rebuilt" with a false nose to look like the real DeSalvo.

Curtis was the father of actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis by his first wife, actress Janet Leigh.

Acting (155 movies)

8.1

Some Like It Hot

1959

7.5

Spartacus

1960

7.6

Sweet Smell of Success

1957

5.1

Don't Make Waves

1967

6.8

The Count of Monte-Cristo

1975

Casanova & Co.

1977

5.5

Play It to the Bone

1999

6.3

Paris When It Sizzles

1964

7.1

Criss Cross

1949

Center of the Web

1992

3.9

The Mummy Lives

1993

4.0

Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball

1997

6.1

The Mirror Crack'd

1980

7.1

The Defiant Ones

1958

7.1

The Great Race

1965

5.7

Murder in Three Acts

1986

6.6

The List of Adrian Messenger

1963

4.4

Naked in New York

1993

6.2

The Black Shield of Falworth

1954

Allen in Movieland

1955

6.6

Captain Newman, M.D.

1963

6.7

The Boston Strangler

1968

7.2

Operation Petticoat

1959

6.4

Sex and the Single Girl

1964

Forbidden

1953

5.4

The Manitou

1978

6.2

Trapeze

1956

5.6

The Immortals

1995

6.2

Six Bridges to Cross

1955

Lepke

1975

7.3

Winchester '73

1950

5.9

The Lady Gambles

1949

6.4

Insignificance

1985

7.0

The Vikings

1958

Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved

2010

People, Hopes, Medals

1960

6.3

Taras Bulba

1962

6.5

Houdini

1953

6.5

Reflections of Evil

2002

5.6

Beachhead

1954

6.3

The Last Tycoon

1976

City Across the River

1949

Mission: Monte Carlo

1974

6.9

The Great Impostor

1960

6.3

Boeing, Boeing

1965

5.1

Lobster Man from Mars

1990

5.8

Monte Carlo or Bust!

1969

I Was a Shoplifter

1950

6.5

Little Miss Marker

1980

4.7

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

1978

Club Life

1986

Walter and Carlo in America

1989

6.2

Johnny Stool Pigeon

1949

5.8

Goodbye Charlie

1964

6.3

Pepe

1960

5.4

Son of Ali Baba

1952

The Prince Who Was a Thief

1951

6.0

The Midnight Story

1957

Not With My Wife, You Don't!

1966

4.7

Christmas in Connecticut

1992

3.9

BrainWaves

1983

6.0

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

2009

6.0

Kings Go Forth

1958

Flesh and Fury

1952

5.8

Kansas Raiders

1950

6.6

The Rat Race

1960

The Continued Adventures of Reptile Man

1997

6.3

Who Was That Lady?

1960

5.5

The Rawhide Years

1956

The Purple Mask

1955

Johnny Dark

1954

5.3

Sierra

1950

The Masqueraders

1980

Death Becomes Me

1979

The Last Appointment!

1977

The Persuaders!

1973

3.7

Sextette

1978

5.9

You Can't Win 'Em All

1970

No Room for the Groom

1952

Midnight

1989

Mister Cory

1957

Where Is Parsifal?

1984

The Million Dollar Face

1981

The Outsider

1961

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

The Passenger – Welcome to Germany

1988

The Users

1978

Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration

1979

Magic with the Stars

1982

The Third Girl from the Left

1973

Balboa

1983

6.7

The Perfect Furlough

1958

Tony Curtis on 'Some Like It Hot'

2001

The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'

2006

The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'

2006

Prime Target

1991

The All American

1953

5.2

40 Pounds of Trouble

1962

How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border

1949

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?

1970

Title	Year	Job
Sweet Smell of Success	1957	Executive Producer
The Vikings	1958	Executive Producer
Captain Newman, M.D.	1963	Executive Producer
Sex and the Single Girl	1964	Executive Producer
Not With My Wife, You Don't!	1966	Executive Producer
Don't Make Waves	1967	Executive Producer