Where is Tony Curtis from?

Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis (Tony Curtis, June 3, 1925 - September 29, 2010), formerly known as Bernard Schwartz , was born in the Bronx, New York, and is an actor by profession.

He is the son of a Hungarian Jewish immigrant. He joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. He witnessed the Japanese surrender ceremony at the age of 19. He broke into Hollywood at the age of 22 and changed his name to Tony Curtis under Universal. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He has acted in more than 100 film and television dramas and has become a typical representative of Hollywood's burly men after World War II. His representative work is "Some Like It Hot" filmed with Marilyn Monroe, and he was nominated for an Oscar for "Break Free". .

Chinese name: Tony Curtis

Foreign name: Tony Curtis

Alias: Bernard Schwartz

Nationality: United States

Constellation: Gemini

Birthplace: Bronx, New York

Date of birth: June 3, 1925

Date of death: September 2010 January 29

Occupation: Actor

Representative works: "Some Like It Hot", "Break Free" and "Holiday in Paris"

Main achievements: 45th Italian David Award David Special Award

Early Experience

Tony Curtis’s parents were Jewish immigrants Emmanuel and Emmanuel of Mátészalka, Hungary (Hungarian: Mátészalka). Helen (Emanueland Helen Schwartz.). Until he was five or six years old, Hungarian was the only language he knew. Although he had no formal education, he gradually learned to take care of his two younger brothers. His father, Emmanuel, was a tailor with a meager income, and he often quarreled with his wife over money (the mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia). In 1935, because his father was unable to support his children, he sent them to an orphanage. He and his younger brother Julius depended on each other and worked hard to adapt to this new lifestyle. In 1938, shortly after Bernard's bar mitzvah, tragedy struck and his brother Julius died in a car accident. After this tragedy, Bernard began to examine his life, and he began to enrich his brain through learning.

Acting experience

In 1942, Tony Curtis joined the U.S. Navy as a submariner and made his initial stage debut at the Naval Signal Corps Academy in Illinois. drama performance. In 1945, he witnessed Japan's surrender ceremony and was honorably discharged. The GI Bill allowed him to act. In 1947, he successfully auditioned for a one-act pantomime in "Dr. Jekyll" and successfully joined the New York Drama Studio, where he studied acting with the prestigious German stage director Erwin Piscator. Fellow students at the same time also included Eleni Struch, Walter Matthau and Rod Steiger. Began to perform "Twelfth Night" (Twelfth Night), "Golden Boy" (Golden Boy) and other plays on the stage. He met Joyce Selznick, an agent at a small theater and the niece of the famous film producer David Selznick. She arranged for him to go to Universal Studios and sign a seven-year contract with Selznick. This kind of luck was what Bernard called "I am a handsome boy." At the same time, he made a name for himself. An elegant stage name "Tony Curtis", which comes from the name Kurtz in one of his favorite novels "Anthony Adverse" (Anthony Adverse, also translated as: Romantic Family).

Tony's first film was in the film noir CrissCross (1949) starring Burt Lancaster, in which he played a jealous Lankan in the opening scene. Rumba dancers who danced together with Yvonne DeCarlo. His performance already attracted the attention of studios and influenced several of his subsequent roles, including as a gang member in City Across the River (1949).

Curtis continued to accept any film assignment from Universal. In 1950, he appeared in two good westerns, "Sierra" and "Winchester '73," the latter of which gave him the opportunity to work with James Stewart.

In 1952, Tony also began to stand out, starring in many movies, and rose rapidly in the 1950s, starring in a series of good movies: including the card with Burt Lancaster again. The circus film Trapeze (1956), directed by Roel Reed, and Sweet Smell of Success (1957), directed by Alexander Mackendrick, with Kirk Douglas The Vikings (1958), a pirate adventure film directed by Richard Fletcher, and Defiant Ones (1958), directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Sidney Poitier. ), the military comedy "Pink Submarine" (Operation Petticoat, 1959) directed by Blake Edwards in collaboration with Cary Grant, etc., and of course the "Pink Submarine" (1959) directed by Billy Wilder, which was named one of the "100 Best Films in Film History" by the American Film Institute. The scene where he and Jack Lemmon, who was just starting out, disguised themselves as women and sneaked into a women's cabaret band to pursue Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like It Hot," the number one comedy film, was talked about by movie fans.

In the 1960s, Tony Curtis's film career gradually entered a trough from its heyday. In his heyday, he was just a few fashionable comedies. During this period, he made two relatively outstanding plays. It is the star-studded epic drama "Spartacus" (1960) by Stanley Kubrick and the comedy "The Great Race" (1965) by Blake Edwards. Throughout the 1960s, Curtis continued to appear in similar films and roles. Only in 1968, he once again collaborated with Richard Fletcher in the psychological thriller "The Boston Strangler" (1968). Acting.

In the 1970s, Curtis began to invest in the television industry. His most famous work is the TV series "The Persuaders!" (The Persuaders!), which he collaborated with Roger Moore. His subsequent good works were lackluster and slightly lacking. What left a good impression were the two star-studded dramas "The Last Tycoon" and "Murder Behind the Mirror."

Personal life

Tony Curtis’s life is full of legends. The 1950s were the heyday of his career, and it was rumored that Elvis Presley's famous airplane head shape came from him. The scandal between him and Monroe was also often mentioned.

Tony Curtis was married 6 times in his life. The eldest son died of a drug overdose when he was 23 years old. Hollywood's most famous "Queen of Horror Movies", Jamie Lee Curtis, who starred in "True Lies", was born to him and actress Janet Leigh. Jamie was born with both male and female chromosomes, and her parents ultimately determined her gender. In addition, Tony Curtis's greatest hobby in life was painting, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York also purchased one of his works as a permanent collection. He also enjoyed playing the flute and was a great player. Sir Michael Caine and Roger Moore both quit smoking with his help.

Late life

A few years before his death, in December 2006, he suffered from pneumonia and was in a coma for several days. After that, he could only use a wheelchair and could only walk. You can only walk short distances. During this time, he also completed his last film "David & Fatima" (2008) in a wheelchair, which was a romance film in which he and another veteran movie star Martin Landau had supporting roles. Coincidentally, Tony plays Mr. Schwartz in this film with his own surname.

In October 2008, he released his autobiography "American Prince: A Memoir", which includes rumors about his relationship with Frank Sinatra and James Dean, as well as his childhood Experience and path to success.

On July 15, 2010, Tony Curtis was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and suffered an asthma attack.

On the night of September 29, 2010, Tony Curtis passed away at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 85.

Main Works

"Murder Through the Mirror"

"The Last Tycoon"

"The Seducer"

"Crazy Traffic Jam"

"Trapeze"

Award Record