Tony Curtis, the Bronx tailor’s son who became a 1950s movie heartthrob and then a respected actor with such films as “Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Defiant Ones” and “Some Like It Hot,” has died.
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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His first wife was actress Janet Leigh of “Psycho” fame; actress Jamie Leigh Curtis is their daughter.
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In later years, he returned to film and television as a character actor after battling drug and alcohol abuse. His brash optimism returned, and he allowed his once-shiny black hair to turn silver. He also became a painter whose canvasses sold for as much as $20,000.
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Tony Curtis paints next to his girlfriend Gill Van den Berg on the croisette in Cannes. “I’m not ready to settle down like an elderly Jewish gentleman, sitting on a bench and leaning on a cane,” he said at age 60. “I’ve got a helluva lot of living to do.”
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Curtis perfected his craft in forgettable films such as “Francis,” “I Was a Shoplifter,” “No Room for the Groom” and “Son of Ali Baba.”
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He first attracted critical notice as Sidney Falco, the press agent seeking favor with a sadistic columnist, played by Burt Lancaster, in the 1957 classic “Sweet Smell of Success.” In her book “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” Pauline Kael wrote that in the film, “Curtis grew up into an actor and gave the best performance of his career.”
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Other prestigious films followed: Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” “Captain Newman, M.D.,” “The Vikings,” “Kings Go Forth,” “Operation Petticoat” and “Some Like It Hot.” He also found time to do a voice acting gig as his prehistoric lookalike, Stony Curtis, in an episode of “The Flintstones.”
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Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann pose with their daughter Alexandra in Los Angeles, Calif., in this August 1964 file photo. The Defiant Ones” remained his only Oscar-nominated role. “I think it has nothing to do with good performances or bad performances,” he told The Washington Post in 2002. “After the number of movies I made where I thought there should be some acknowledgment, there was nothing from the Academy.”
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My happiness and privilege is that my audience around the world is supportive of me, so I don’t need the Academy.” In 2000, an American Film Institute survey of the funniest films in history ranked “Some Like It Hot” at No. 1. Curtis — famously imitating Cary Grant’s accent — and Jack Lemmon play jazz musicians who dress up as women to escape retribution after witnessing a gangland massacre.
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Monroe was their co-star, and he and Lemmon were repeatedly kept waiting as Monroe lingered in her dressing room out of fear and insecurity. Curtis fumed over her unprofessionalism. When someone remarked that it must be thrilling to kiss Monroe in the film’s love scenes, the actor snapped, “It’s like kissing Hitler.” In later years, his opinion of Monroe softened, and in interviews he praised her unique talent.
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Tony Curtis dances with his wife Janet Leigh during a party in Beverly Hills. In 2002, Curtis toured in “Some Like It Hot” — a revised and retitled version of the 1972 Broadway musical “Sugar,” which was based on the film. In the touring show, the actor graduated to the role of Osgood Fielding III, the part played in the movie by Joe E. Brown.
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Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe in the hilarious milestone comedy “Some Like It Hot.”
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