Tony Curtis

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Birthday:

3 June 1925, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

Bernard Herschel Schwartz

Height:

175 cm

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the eldest of three children of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz, Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks" and learned from a young age that the only person who ever had his back was himself, so he learned how to take care of both himself and younger brother, Julius. Curtis grew up in poverty, as his father, Emanuel, who worked as a tailor, had the sole responsibility of providing for his entire family on his meager income. This led to constant bickering between Curtis's parents over money, and Curtis began to go to movies as a way of briefly escaping the constant worries of poverty and other family problems. The financial strain of raising two children on a meager income became so tough that in 1935, Curtis's parents decided that their children would have a better life under the care of the state and briefly had Tony and his brother admitted to an orphanage. During this lonely time, the only companion Curtis had was his brother, Julius, and the two became inseparable as they struggled to get used to this new way of life. Weeks later, Curtis's parents came back to reclaim custody of Tony and his brother, but by then Curtis had learned one of life's toughest lessons: the only person you can count on is yourself.In 1938, shortly before Tony had his Bar Mitzvah, tragedy struck when Tony lost the person most important to him, when his brother, Julius, was hit by a truck and killed. After that tragedy, Curtis's parents became convinced that a formal education was the best way Tony could avoid the same never-knowing-where-your-next-meal-is-coming-from life that they had known. However, Tony rejected this because he felt that learning about literary classics and algebra wasn't going to advance him in life as much as some real hands-on life experience would. He was to find that real-life experience a few years later, when he enlisted in the navy in 1942. Tony spent the next three years getting the life experience he desired by doing everything from working as a crewman on a submarine to honing his future craft as an actor by performing as a sailor in a stage play at the Navy Signalman School in Illinois.In 1945, Curtis was honorably discharged from the navy, and when he realized that the GI Bill would allow him to go to acting school without paying for it, he now saw that his lifelong pipe dream of being an actor might actually be achievable. Curtis auditioned for the New York Dramatic Workshop, and after being accepted on the strength of his audition piece (A scene from "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in pantomime), Curtis enrolled in early 1947. He then began to pay his dues by appearing in a slew of stage productions, including "Twelfth Night" and "Golden Boy". He then connected with a small theatrical agent named Joyce Selznick, who was the niece of film producer David O. Selznick. After seeing his potential, Selznick arranged an interview for Curtis to see David O. Selznick at Universal Studios, where Curtis was offered a seven-year contract. After changing his name to what he saw as an elegant, mysterious moniker--"Tony Curtis" (named after the novel Anthony Adverse (1936) by Hervey Allen and a cousin of his named Janush Kertiz)--Curtis began making a name for himself by appearing in small, offbeat roles in small-budget productions. His first notable performance was a two-minute role in Criss Cross (1949), with Burt Lancaster, in which he makes Lancaster jealous by dancing with Yvonne De Carlo. This offbeat role resulted in Curtis's being typecast as a heavy for the next few years, such as playing a gang member in City Across the River (1949).Curtis continued to build up a show reel by accepting any paying job, acting in a number of bit-part roles for the next few years. It wasn't until late 1949 that he finally got the chance to demonstrate his acting flair, when he was cast in an important role in an action western, Sierra (1950). On the strength of his performance in that movie, Curtis was finally cast in a big-budget movie, Winchester '73 (1950). While he appears in that movie only very briefly, it was a chance for him to act alongside a Hollywood legend, James Stewart.As his career developed, Curtis wanted to act in movies that had social relevance, ones that would challenge audiences, so he began to appear in such movies as Spartacus (1960) and The Defiant Ones (1958). He was advised against appearing as the subordinate sidekick in Spartacus (1960), playing second fiddle to the equally famous Kirk Douglas. However, Curtis saw no problem with this because the two had recently acted together in dual leading roles in The Vikings (1958). Show less «

They gave me away as a prize once - a Win Tony Curtis For A Weekend competition. The woman who won was disappointed. She'd hoped for second ...Show more »

They gave me away as a prize once - a Win Tony Curtis For A Weekend competition. The woman who won was disappointed. She'd hoped for second prize - a new stove. Show less «

I ran around with a lump in my pants, chased all the girls. This is what I reflected on the screen. There wasn't anything deeper or less dee...Show more »

I ran around with a lump in my pants, chased all the girls. This is what I reflected on the screen. There wasn't anything deeper or less deep than that. Show less «

What's the secret to a long and happy life? Young women's saliva!

[asked who the most attractive person he ever worked with was] I am.

I wouldn't be seen dead with a woman old enough to be my wife.

I had to be careful where I went because I was a Jew, because I was young and because I was handsome. It made me wiry and erratic and parano...Show more »

I had to be careful where I went because I was a Jew, because I was young and because I was handsome. It made me wiry and erratic and paranoid, which is what I still am. Always on guard. Show less «

Hollywood... the most sensational merry-go-around ever built.

Comedy is the most honest way for an actor to earn his living. People would rather laugh than cry. The quickest way to change drama into com...Show more »

Comedy is the most honest way for an actor to earn his living. People would rather laugh than cry. The quickest way to change drama into comedy is simply to speed up the film. Show less «

Fame is another profession. I feel that I have two professions, I have the profession of being an actor and I have the profession of being f...Show more »

Fame is another profession. I feel that I have two professions, I have the profession of being an actor and I have the profession of being famous. Show less «

I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948. I had more action than Mount Vesuvius - men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated wh...Show more »

I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948. I had more action than Mount Vesuvius - men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated where I wanted to and didn't where I didn't. I've always been open about it. Show less «

My father was a tailor. I used to deliver for him. I'd have to hold the clothes up high to keep them from dragging on the ground.

[on Marilyn Monroe] I'm in love with her now. I've loved her all these years.

[on Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot (1959)] I knew there was something disturbing her. For some inexplicable reason, she was g...Show more »

[on Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot (1959)] I knew there was something disturbing her. For some inexplicable reason, she was going down the wrong path and no one knew it. Show less «

[about Spartacus (1960)] Kirk Douglas is tough, but Stanley Kubrick was tougher!

Well, on the one hand you could say I was tremendously blessed, on the other I was definitely cursed.

Look. I'm so privileged to be alive in this studio that happens to be mine. I'm 83 years old and I'm still a factor in this world, I still c...Show more »

Look. I'm so privileged to be alive in this studio that happens to be mine. I'm 83 years old and I'm still a factor in this world, I still contribute wherever I go. It's astounding. I could have been a politician or a brain surgeon. But I didn't have an education, so there wasn't anything I could do but get into the movies. And, boy, did I ever. To burst into the movies like I did. Isn't that neat? Show less «

Early on, I decided I didn't want to be known as a mere actor. I wanted to feel like a star. I wanted to get my footprints in Hollywood on t...Show more »

Early on, I decided I didn't want to be known as a mere actor. I wanted to feel like a star. I wanted to get my footprints in Hollywood on the sidewalk, which I got. I wanted to be on the cover of all the magazines and go to parties in a limousine with a beautiful girl. I did all of that - and more. And I appreciate it. Every day I'm reminded of who I am. People stop me in the street all the time. Women love to see me - and I love to see them. I have an affinity for women, you know. Show less «

[about his many sexual dalliances] It was love. I was falling in love every day. I am completely in love with women. Every woman. I loved th...Show more »

[about his many sexual dalliances] It was love. I was falling in love every day. I am completely in love with women. Every woman. I loved their company and there was always a chance you could kiss them. I found kissing a very appealing experience. I was just always hoping for that conquest, hoping for that physical affection . . . that ejaculation. Show less «

[about his schizophrenic mother's influence on his childhood] Yes, yes, that had a lot to do with it. I got nothing from her. I got slapped ...Show more »

[about his schizophrenic mother's influence on his childhood] Yes, yes, that had a lot to do with it. I got nothing from her. I got slapped around is what I got. But I liked to be with women. I never did it with dogs or elephants or men. Only with women. Show less «

[about the starlet system of 1950s Hollywood] These girls of 18 or 20 were fodder. All the guys at the studios, including myself, would feas...Show more »

[about the starlet system of 1950s Hollywood] These girls of 18 or 20 were fodder. All the guys at the studios, including myself, would feast on them, taking their sweetness. There were a lot of them. I don't remember their names. Then they would go home and get married. Poor darlings. They came and went. Show less «

[about first meeting Marilyn Monroe] She was 19 and didn't look anything like what she became. She had reddish-brown hair and her figure was...Show more »

[about first meeting Marilyn Monroe] She was 19 and didn't look anything like what she became. She had reddish-brown hair and her figure was not distinguished yet. Her bosoms weren't what they were later and her legs were a little scrawny, but she was putting it all together. Don't you see? Once she accepted she was a woman, then, look out, world. There was no guy that was safe. If she liked you, there was no man who could resist. Show less «

[on his ambitions] I even married Janet Leigh for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention together. We had the paparaz...Show more »

[on his ambitions] I even married Janet Leigh for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention together. We had the paparazzi wherever we went, we were on the cover of all the movie magazines. It wasn't enough for a man to be cute, he had to be connected to the right woman. Show less «

I was the best-looking kid in town. It's not what you have but what you do with it that counts.

I became great friends with all my co-stars. With Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon and Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant...Show more »

I became great friends with all my co-stars. With Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon and Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant. He could have picked anyone, but he allowed me the privilege to be in the movie with him. Jesus. To be in a movie with Cary Grant. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was the reason why I wanted to get into the movies - and that is all I ever wanted. Show less «

A lot of things that would have meant a lot to me were denied me by Hollywood. I didn't speak properly. I spoke with a thick New York accent...Show more »

A lot of things that would have meant a lot to me were denied me by Hollywood. I didn't speak properly. I spoke with a thick New York accent. Everyone knew my name was Schwartz - and Jews were not welcome. [I suffered resentment from the Hollywood establishment for marrying a "shiksa goddess" in Janet Leigh.] "Debbie Reynolds was the centre of gravity for a glitzy Caucasian crowd, and I could tell they didn't appreciate me. They didn't pick on you, they just ignored you. I couldn't understand it. Show less «

[about Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was perfect. Great dialogue. Crisp acting. Billy Wilder was brilliant, and Jack Lemmon and I always had a...Show more »

[about Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was perfect. Great dialogue. Crisp acting. Billy Wilder was brilliant, and Jack Lemmon and I always had a great time together; even though we were from different backgrounds - he was Harvard-educated, very intelligent and urbane. We balanced each other out. Show less «

It's rather nice not to be waiting for a script to come through the door, and even if it did, I would turn it down.

[about his sixth wife Jillie] She's the only one who didn't want me to change after I married her.

[on finally forgiving his mother long after she died] We could have all turned out like her. She cleaned houses in Hungary from when she was...Show more »

[on finally forgiving his mother long after she died] We could have all turned out like her. She cleaned houses in Hungary from when she was six or seven. She had no opportunities. Show less «

[on what he misses] I miss a pale-green Buick convertible with Dynaflow drive. I miss a little beach house in Malibu with the waves lapping ...Show more »

[on what he misses] I miss a pale-green Buick convertible with Dynaflow drive. I miss a little beach house in Malibu with the waves lapping on the beach. [This was during his first months in Hollywood, when he would bring then-unknown Marilyn Monroe back to his beach house] Show less «

On living in the present: So far so good, and I'm ready for more. My art will give me more. There'll be more shows, and this book will open ...Show more »

On living in the present: So far so good, and I'm ready for more. My art will give me more. There'll be more shows, and this book will open things up for me again. There's still so much to discover. So I have to take good care of myself so you don't find me in the gutter. Show less «

I realized if I could [have sex with] a girl . . . a woman has accepted me. The main force in me was to be accepted by others. Not education...Show more »

I realized if I could [have sex with] a girl . . . a woman has accepted me. The main force in me was to be accepted by others. Not education, not money in my pocket, nothing except to be accepted by a girl. Show less «

[in 2008] I'm just wondering how many more years I have. I don't have 20. I don't have 15. How many years do I have? I don't know, but I pla...Show more »

[in 2008] I'm just wondering how many more years I have. I don't have 20. I don't have 15. How many years do I have? I don't know, but I plan to reinvent myself as an 84-year-old, as an 85-year-old man who can do anything and everything. Show less «

[on Brokeback Mountain (2005)] This picture is not as important as we make it. It's nothing unique. The only thing unique about it is they p...Show more »

[on Brokeback Mountain (2005)] This picture is not as important as we make it. It's nothing unique. The only thing unique about it is they put it on the screen. And they make 'em gay cowboys. 'Howard Hughes (I)' and John Wayne wouldn't like it. Show less «

[on his troubled relationship with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] I have a feeling she wanted to teach me a lesson for abandoning her mother and...Show more »

[on his troubled relationship with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] I have a feeling she wanted to teach me a lesson for abandoning her mother and her. But I couldn't be with Janet Leigh anymore. She was disappearing into her own madnesses. Show less «

[on dying] I may have them take my ashes and spread them all over Las Vegas!

[on his relationship with his mother] I got nothing from her. I got slapped around is what I got.

[on his 1951 marriage to first wife Janet Leigh] I even married Janet for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention toge...Show more »

[on his 1951 marriage to first wife Janet Leigh] I even married Janet for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention together. We had the paparazzi wherever we went, we were on the cover of all the movie magazines. It wasn't enough for a man to be cute, he had to be connected to the right woman...What better way to get famous? Show less «

[on the long-running feud with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] What am I going to do? God bless her, I wish her the best. If she can't forgive me...Show more »

[on the long-running feud with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] What am I going to do? God bless her, I wish her the best. If she can't forgive me, then get another father. Show less «

I just wanted to be treated like anybody else. There was a lot of opposition to me during the early years of movies. It had an effect on me....Show more »

I just wanted to be treated like anybody else. There was a lot of opposition to me during the early years of movies. It had an effect on me. I don't feel like I got the movies I should've gotten. I felt I deserved more than that the industry had given me. I felt I should have been considered more, with a little more respect from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy. I don't feel like I contributed what I wanted to contribute in the movies. Show less «

[on Marilyn Monroe] You could tell she'd already been battered by life, and I found that she'd been in an orphanage, as I had, and that her ...Show more »

[on Marilyn Monroe] You could tell she'd already been battered by life, and I found that she'd been in an orphanage, as I had, and that her mother was also schizophrenic. I loved her. And she loved me, but we both wanted to be in the movies, and that meant everything. Show less «

[on Cary Grant] The greatest movie actor of all time.

[on today's actors, starting with Brad Pitt] That Pitt fellow - what's his name? He hasn't got it. Now, Robert Downey Jr. - I think he might...Show more »

[on today's actors, starting with Brad Pitt] That Pitt fellow - what's his name? He hasn't got it. Now, Robert Downey Jr. - I think he might have something. Show less «

One of the big reasons I started using cocaine was that I was told it was great for sex. It didn't make me superhuman in the longevity depar...Show more »

One of the big reasons I started using cocaine was that I was told it was great for sex. It didn't make me superhuman in the longevity department, but it certainly did make my sexual experiences more intense. Show less «

[on Marlon Brando] He was an interesting man, different, a genius in the way he thought.

When I made Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones, I should have continued in that milieu. It was my own stupidity that I didn't. I jus...Show more »

When I made Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones, I should have continued in that milieu. It was my own stupidity that I didn't. I just went on blithely from one picture to the next, letting other people guide my destiny, instead of taking hold of it myself. But that's not bad either because I find now that there's no period in my life that I regret. Each had a reason and a purpose. The thing is to learn to accept it and not spend your present and your future looking back and thinking, 'Oh shit, I wish I hadn't done that.' Show less «

[on his love for the ladies] Listen, we all do. I tell ya, there isn't a guy a met that wouldn't love to jump on a beautiful woman without k...Show more »

[on his love for the ladies] Listen, we all do. I tell ya, there isn't a guy a met that wouldn't love to jump on a beautiful woman without knowing her name. And if that's what you call womanizing, then call me the King. Show less «

They are all dead now; Cary Grant, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, all my Hollywood friends. Sometimes I feel so lonely. Actors today achieve no...Show more »

They are all dead now; Cary Grant, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, all my Hollywood friends. Sometimes I feel so lonely. Actors today achieve nothing nor do they have any glamour. They seem more interested in adopting babies than films. All the films are terrible, too, because the scripts are so bad and there are no decent film-makers. Show less «

I was resented and hated because I was so good-looking and Jewish. It's true. This is not paranoia. I think that because of the Iraq war, an...Show more »

I was resented and hated because I was so good-looking and Jewish. It's true. This is not paranoia. I think that because of the Iraq war, anti-Semitism is on the increase again. Show less «

[His advice to George Michael after his 1998 arrest for lewd conduct] Keep smiling.

Don't listen to them, when they say don't drink, or drink very little, don't smoke, don't eat too much, don't eat badly, don't get fat, don'...Show more »

Don't listen to them, when they say don't drink, or drink very little, don't smoke, don't eat too much, don't eat badly, don't get fat, don't get ugly, and p*ssed off that life is passing you by. There's no such animal, my friend. Show less «

Here in America, you have to die before they say something nice about you.

[on Some Like It Hot (1959)] It's one of the most outstanding movies I've made. It was a very complicated role. I played a straight man, I p...Show more »

[on Some Like It Hot (1959)] It's one of the most outstanding movies I've made. It was a very complicated role. I played a straight man, I played a comic, I played a woman, I played a saxophone player, I played a millionaire, I played a little bit of Cary Grant as well. When the picture was over, Billy Wilder ran the picture for Cary, and said, 'Well, how did you like Tony's impression?' and Cary said (doing Cary Grant imitation) 'I don't talk like that!' Show less «

I enjoy being Tony. I was the only one who ever knocked Burt Lancaster on his *ss in Trapeze (1956), and I took Kirk Douglas' eye out in The...Show more »

I enjoy being Tony. I was the only one who ever knocked Burt Lancaster on his *ss in Trapeze (1956), and I took Kirk Douglas' eye out in The Vikings (1958), and I took two girls away from Jack Lemmon. I also took away Cary Grant's submarine, so I've got these nice moments in my movies. Show less «

I have met every President of the United States from Kennedy on, except Nixon.

Painting is more meaningful to me than any performance I've ever given.

I got a lot of girls while I was at the peak. If I didn't get them, I got their stand-ins.

God is great, he won't hurt us, 'cause he looks like Tony Curtis.

[on working with Laurence Olivier on Spartacus (1960)] Olivier taught me a lot about acting. He said to me, "Tony, clothes maketh the man." ...Show more »

[on working with Laurence Olivier on Spartacus (1960)] Olivier taught me a lot about acting. He said to me, "Tony, clothes maketh the man." He taught me that you choose your clothes and you put them on and you finally become that character. He didn't just put on any costume that was given to him. He chose what was best for the character he was playing and he showed me how that helps to take the character into another dimension. I learned that from him and always used it. So he gave me tips on acting and I gave him tips on body-building. I took him behind the set and said, "On your face." Then I showed him how to do press-ups properly and it helped to get him into good shape. Show less «

[on his love scene with Marilyn Monroe on the yacht in Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was like kissing Hitler. She'd gone funny, her mind was a...Show more »

[on his love scene with Marilyn Monroe on the yacht in Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was like kissing Hitler. She'd gone funny, her mind was all over the place. It was awful. She nearly choked me to death by deliberately sticking her tongue down my throat into my windpipe. Show less «

(On Don't Make Waves (1967) The plot was utterly ridiculous, but I agreed to appear in the film because I got a percentage of the gross.