Bernard Schwartz was born in the Bronx on June 3, 1925 to Hungarian Jewish immigrants Helen and Emanuel. His father owned a tailor shop and he shared a room with his two brothers Julius and Robert. His mother suffered from schizophrenia and she often beat her sons. As the depression worsened the boys found themselves in a state institution and were the targets of anti-Semitic boys who threw stones and in 1938 Julius was struck and killed by a truck at just 12 years old.
So, disturbed by the loss of his brother Bernard was determined to make a better life and he attended Seward Park H.S. on Manhattan's lower East Side. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Navy served in WWII aboard the U.S.S. Proteus and received an honorable discharge. After the military he enrolled in the New School for Social Research for acting lessons where he met fellow classmate Walter Matthau.
Trained in horseback riding and fencing he debuted in what was called a blink-and-miss role as a rumba dancer in a '49 movie Criss Cross starring Burt Lancaster who he would later star with in The Sweet Smell of Success some 8 years later. He changed his name and for a time was known as Anthony Curtis. His first big role came In 1958 starring with Sidney Poitier who Curtis insisted he be billed below in the credits had two escaped convicts chained together who detested each other but found themselves forced to collaborate to stay alive. Their former animosity turns into one of respect and friendship and was a groundbreaking film for its time.
The very next year in a Billy Wilder film built on a story that only lasted 20 minutes the famed director and writer stretched it out into just over 2 hours. The plot which had two men in drag for most of the film remains in the top comedies of all time. In Some Like it Hot, Curtis and Jack Lemon starred opposite the enigmatic and often troublesome Marilyn Monroe the unlikely threesome pulled off a movie for the ages aided by fading stars George Raft, Pat O'Brien and Joe E. Brown. It was in this film that Curtis in the beach scene with Monroe that he played homage to his hero Cary Grant imitating his voice and inflection as the millionaire. It had been Curtis's dream to star with Grant because he joined the Navy at 16 and served as a tender on a submarine in WWII because he saw Cary staring into a periscope in Destination Tokyo from 1943. After he was on top of the world having filmed The Defiant Ones and Some Like it Hot Hollywood producers asked him what did he want to do next? He said that he wanted to star in a service comedy with Cary Grant. That dream became reality when he filmed Operation Petticoat also in 1959 a story about a pink sub used to evacuate WAC’s during the war. When Grant told him once that acting was so artful it’s artless it struck a chord with him and remained with him the rest of his life. Curtis a few years before his death paid tribute to Cary Grant on TCM where he talked about the actor’s influence and friendship throughout his career.
When Tony spoke of Marilyn he said that early in their career they were lovers in the years 1949-51 and remarked she wasn’t the brightest but her vulnerability and power made her a force and he thought when the director could get her to perform she was a great actress. Billy Wilder while filming her had to put up with a lot and said once of her: She’s a mean 7 year old girl.
His Hollywood star building in 1960, he starred alongside now centenarian Kirk Douglas in the epic Spartacus then followed with The Great Impostor and then gave an acclaimed performance in 1961’s The Outsider even though it was box office poison. Focusing on comedy for the next few years in comedies like 40 Pounds of Trouble, The Great Race and Sex and the Single Girl his box office appeal started to wane. Revival albeit short lived had Curtis going against type giving him critical success once again in 1968’s The Boston Strangler. Tony gained 15 pounds and donned a fake nose for the role and some thought he was Oscar bound only to be disappointed when the announcements were made. Back to comedy once again but he was not able to recapture the magic of the past and he announced his retirement from films. He was a regular on the hit series Vega$ in the late 70’s and although he continued to work there was nothing of major distinction.
Tony Curtis a hopeless philanderer during his halcyon days in Hollywood had a famous actor wife Janet Leigh. They made several movies together including Houdini and The Vikings. He sired a famous daughter with Janet, Jamie Lee Curtis who had a modicum of success from the late 70’s to the present day in films like Halloween, Trading Places and True Lies. Tony married 6 times and had 6 children. His last wife Jill Vandenburg was more than 45 years his junior and was with him until his death in 2010. Interestingly enough when Jamie Lee met his last wife she urged her father to marry her becaause Jill was all about family and helped bring all of Tony’s children together up until his death.
