Tony Curtis
Date of birth: 1925-06-03
Place of birth: Bronx, New York, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Bernard Herschel Schwartz, Anthony Curtis, Тони Кертис, تونی کورتیس
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.
Movie Credits
Some Like It Hot
1959-03-19
Two musicians witness a mob hit and need to quickly find a way out of Chicago. Their only opportunit
Spartacus
1960-10-13
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. A
Sweet Smell of Success
1957-07-04
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his B
Don't Make Waves
1967-06-20
Carlo Cofield vacations to Southern California, where he quickly becomes immersed in the easy-going
The Count of Monte-Cristo
1975-10-31
A TV adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jeal
Casanova & Co.
1977-03-01
While hiding from the royal authorities, Giacomo Casanova, the famous romancer, encounters his look-
Play It to the Bone
1999-12-25
Two aging fighters in LA, friends, get a call from a Vegas promoter because his undercard fighters f
Paris When It Sizzles
1964-03-01
Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his latest
Criss Cross
1949-02-04
An armored-car guard must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife by her gangster husband
Center of the Web
1992-05-15
An actor is wrongly taken as a professional killer by a band planning to murder the Governor. Then h
The Mummy Lives
1993-07-10
An Egyptian noble, sentenced to death for a forbidden affair, returns from the grave 3,000 years lat
Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball
1997-03-30
Incompatible fugitive recovery agents, the flighty Jersey Bellini and his more serious-minded female
The Mirror Crack'd
1980-02-06
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to hav
The Defiant Ones
1958-08-14
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
The Great Race
1965-07-01
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto m
Murder in Three Acts
1986-10-01
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat an
The List of Adrian Messenger
1963-05-23
Adrian Messenger, a famous writer, asks his friend Anthony Gethryn, a former British agent, to help
Naked in New York
1993-11-10
Naked in New York begins in the car of grown up Jake, he is talking to us about his girlfriend, Joan
The Black Shield of Falworth
1954-09-02
In the days of King Henry IV, stalwart young Myles and his sister Meg have been raised as peasants,
Allen in Movieland
1955-07-02
TV goes Hollywood when Steve Allen visits Universal-International to prepare for his upcoming title
Captain Newman, M.D.
1963-12-25
In 1944, Capt. Josiah J. Newman is the doctor in charge of Ward 7, the neuropsychiatric ward, at an
The Boston Strangler
1968-10-08
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story
Operation Petticoat
1959-12-05
A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive offic
Sex and the Single Girl
1964-12-25
A womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to
Forbidden
1953-12-02
Eddie Darrow, seeking a mobster's widow in Macao, gets involved in a casino owner's affairs.
Hollywood Legenden
2004-01-01
Documentary about Hollywood.
The Manitou
1978-04-28
A psychic's girlfriend finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400 year-ol
Trapeze
1956-05-30
A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the du
The Immortals
1995-10-05
An elaborate heist unites 8 strangers in a simultaneous assault on targets all over the city- and ex
Six Bridges to Cross
1955-01-21
Follow the evolution of a small time juvenile delinquent hood to a big time racketeer. Based on the
Lepke
1975-05-23
Lepke is the feared leader of "Murder Incorporated" in this underworld drama based on the life of Lo
Winchester '73
1950-07-12
Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting com
The Lady Gambles
1949-05-20
When Joan Boothe accompanies husband-reporter David to Las Vegas, she begins gambling to pass the ti
Insignificance
1985-08-02
Four 1950s icons meet in the same hotel room, and two of them discover more in common between them t
The Vikings
1958-06-11
Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric
Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved
2010-02-10
Documentary about Marilyn Monroe.
Tony Curtis erzählt...
2010-10-03
The American actor Tony Curtis talks about his career.
People, Hopes, Medals
1960-03-14
A documentary covering the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California.
Taras Bulba
1962-11-21
Ukraine, 16th century. While the Poles dominate the Cossack steppes, Andrei, son of Taras Bulba, a C
Houdini
1953-07-02
By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical
Reflections of Evil
2002-03-22
Julie, a teen who died from a PCP overdose in the early '70s, searches from beyond the grave for her
Beachhead
1954-02-05
On a Japanese-occupied island during World War II, only two soldiers remain alive after a mission at
The Last Tycoon
1976-11-18
Monroe Stahr, a successful movie producer, pursues a beautiful and elusive young woman — all the whi
City Across the River
1949-04-07
Brooklyn youth Frank Cusack, good son and brother by day, is a gang member by night. The Dukes, seem
Mission: Monte Carlo
1974-01-01
Two episodes of the TV series "The Persuaders" joined into a movie. Two playboys investigate crimes
The Great Impostor
1960-12-23
Fictionalized account of Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., who stole or created fictional identities and w
Boeing, Boeing
1965-12-22
Living in Paris, journalist Bernard has devised a scheme to keep three fiancées: Lufthansa, Air Fran
Lobster Man from Mars
1990-02-09
A young film student tries to sell his weird movie to a desperate film producer who is in need of a
Monte Carlo or Bust!
1969-04-28
Sequel to "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines". This time an international car rally fro
I Was a Shoplifter
1950-05-13
A police detective uses any means possible to trap a gang of shoplifters.
Little Miss Marker
1980-03-21
Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
1978-06-30
A small time promotor/hustler takes the pint-sized baseball team to Japan for a match against the co
Club Life
1986-02-20
A young man from a small town goes to Hollywood to make his fortune. He gets hired as a bouncer at a
Walter and Carlo in America
1989-11-24
The steward Walter and the cobbler Carlo is tasked to provide not the Little, but the High Mermaid t
Johnny Stool Pigeon
1949-04-20
A federal agent infiltrates a crime syndicate.
Goodbye Charlie
1964-11-18
When a cavorting Hollywood writer is killed by the angry husband of a woman he was having an affair
Pepe
1960-12-21
Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno is a hired hand, Pepe, employed on a ranch. A boozing Hollywood director b
Son of Ali Baba
1952-08-15
In ancient Persia the son of Ali Baba (of forty thieves fame), Kashma Baba is a military cadet by da
The Prince Who Was a Thief
1951-05-17
An Arabian prince, kidnapped at birth and raised as a thief, plots to regain his throne from his evi
The Midnight Story
1957-06-04
Beloved priest Father Thomasino is murdered in a San Francisco alley, and the police have few clues.
Not With My Wife, You Don't!
1966-11-02
During the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis
Christmas in Connecticut
1992-12-22
Elizabeth is the star of a successful cooking show and author of several cookbooks. But when her man
BrainWaves
1983-08-05
After a traffic accident Kaylie is in coma for months and her doctors want to try a new procedure on
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
2009-09-12
A revealing look at the outspoken, flamboyant founder of the Playboy empire. With humor and insight,
Kings Go Forth
1958-06-28
When Harris applies for the position of a radioman in Loggins' army unit, he is hired immediately. W
Flesh and Fury
1952-06-26
Deaf boxer Paul Callan captures the interest of gold-digging blonde Sonya Bartow and retired fight m
Kansas Raiders
1950-11-15
Outraged by Redleg atrocities, the James and Younger Brothers along with Kit Dalton join Quantrill's
The Rat Race
1960-07-10
An aspiring musician arrives in New York in search of fame and fortune. He soon meets a taxi dancer,
The Continued Adventures of Reptile Man
1997-05-13
A satire about an actor from the 1960s coming to terms with the pressures of today's entertainment i
Who Was That Lady?
1960-04-08
In order to get back into the good graces with his wife with whom he has had a misunderstanding, a y
The Rawhide Years
1956-07-01
Ben Matthews gives up the flashy life of a riverboat gambler, hoping to settle down in Galena with h
The Purple Mask
1955-06-15
France, 1803: 11 years after the Revolution, a royalist underground is led by a new 'Scarlet Pimpern
Johnny Dark
1954-06-25
A young auto racer competes in a Canada-to-Mexico race in a car he designed himself. Director George
Sierra
1950-05-26
Ring Hassard and his father Jeff, wild horse breakers, live in a hidden mountain eyrie as Jeff is wa
The Masqueraders
1980-01-01
Two episodes of the TV series "The Persuaders" joined into a movie. Two playboys, Brett Sinclair (Ro
Death Becomes Me
1979-01-01
Two episodes of the TV series "The Persuaders" joined into a movie. Two playboys, Brett Sinclair (Ro
The Last Appointment!
1977-06-11
Two jet-setting playboys, Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde, investigate crimes. Two episodes of the T
The Persuaders!
1973-04-01
Two episodes of the TV series "The Persuaders" joined into a movie. Two playboys, Brett Sinclair (Ro
Sextette
1978-03-03
On the day of her wedding to her sixth husband, a glamorous silver screen sex symbol is asked to int
You Can't Win 'Em All
1970-07-23
During the 1922 Turkish Civil War, two Americans and a group of foreign mercenaries offer their serv
No Room for the Groom
1952-06-13
A young GI elopes to Las Vegas with his housekeeper’s daughter, but delays to their wedding night ar
Midnight
1989-07-01
The sultry Midnight, late-night horror movie hostess, has the highest rated show on TV. Mr. B is sch
Mister Cory
1957-02-23
An opportunistic young man from the slums gambles his way to wealth, power and high society.
Where Is Parsifal?
1984-01-01
Tucked away in his castle, a hypochondriac inventor plays generous host to a revolving cast of wacky
The Million Dollar Face
1981-03-12
Tony Curtis is the ruthless head of a cosmetics firm, Kiss of Gold, locked in fierce competition wit
The Outsider
1961-12-27
Ira Hayes, a young Pima Indian, enlists in the Marine Corps. At boot camp, he is shunned and mocked
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983-02-25
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, war
The Passenger – Welcome to Germany
1988-05-04
An American filmmaker travels to modern day Berlin to make a film based on a real-life incident from
The Users
1978-10-01
A beautiful girl from a small town with dreams of making it in Hollywood marries an actor whose care
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
1979-05-07
A salute to Playboy Magazine on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, hosted by founding pub
Magic with the Stars
1982-01-17
Hollywood celebrities assist magicians in a program of magic and illusion.
The Third Girl from the Left
1973-10-16
A chorus girl comes to the realization that she is not getting any younger and that her longtime rel
Balboa
1983-01-02
A battle between a man's determination to bring legal gambling to an island off the California coast
Jerry Lewis - König der Komödianten
2006-03-15
A documentary about Jerry Lewis directed by Eckhart Schmidt.
The Perfect Furlough
1958-11-30
A love-starved soldier stationed at an Arctic base wins a furlough in Paris, but a pretty, no-nonsen
Tony Curtis on 'Some Like It Hot'
2001-05-22
Leonard Maltin interviews Tony Curtis on his experience filming 'Some Like It Hot'.
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
2006-06-25
A look back at the impact Billy Wilder's comedy classic "Some Like It Hot" has left since it's relea
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
2006-06-25
A look back at the making of Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy classic "Some Like It Hot."
Prime Target
1991-09-27
Maverick Cop John Bloodstone is taken off suspension to ferry a Mob Boss into custody. But all is no
The All American
1953-10-01
A family tragedy causes a college football quarterback to re-think his goals in life.
40 Pounds of Trouble
1962-12-31
Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
1949-01-01
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border is a 1949 American short comedy film directed by Jerry Lew
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
1970-09-11
War is brewing between the soldiers at an otherwise quiet army base and the civilians of a nearby So
Portrait of a Showgirl
1982-04-09
The story of three Las Vegas showgirls, each at a different stage in her career.
Arrivederci, Baby!
1966-12-28
Nick tries to kill his wife to get her money, but when learning of this, she plans the same for him!
Stargames
1998-06-03
A young space prince on the run from an evil space villain, stranded on Earth and waiting for his gr
Roxanne's Best Christmas Ever
1998-12-15
Roxanne is a dog who wants a great Christmas tree. She can't find it. What will she do? Have the
Meet Danny Wilson
1952-02-08
A lounge singer sees his career skyrocket after he signs a contract for a mobster nightclub owner.
Louis & Frank
1998-07-08
Third-rate doo-wop singers making a comeback hook up with a campy manager who books them to perform
The Square Jungle
1955-12-30
Grocery clerk Eddie Quaid, in danger of losing his father to alcoholism and his girl Julie through l
Tarzan in Manhattan
1989-04-15
Tarzan goes to New York to rescue the chimp Cheetah, who has been captured by an evil animal experim
Rat Pack
2022-01-11
In the 1950s, a small group of artists monopolized the attention of the cameras and the public. Fran
Black Commando
1982-11-15
The Moorish general Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carryi
Thanksgiving Day
1990-11-19
Light-hearted spoof about a dysfunctional upper-income family who have to come to terms with family
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...
1967-12-01
A chastity belt provides an endless amount of grief for a woman whose jealous husband has gone off t
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
1980-08-05
A tough rich female ranch owner in Africa wants to cut off the water supply to the locals, since she
The Celluloid Closet
1996-03-15
Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men a
The Scarlett O'Hara War
1980-05-19
The trials and tribulations of David O. Selznick as he attempts to find an actress to play the role
David & Fatima
2008-06-27
A retelling of Romeo and Juliet in Jerusalem involving a Palestinian woman and an Israeli man.
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class
1995-11-16
The story of actor Roger Moore, including clips from his movies, television shows and interviews wit
Francis
1950-02-08
During World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatri
So This Is Paris
1954-12-15
Three sailors on leave head for Paris with one thing on their minds.
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
1986-07-31
Among the legends of Hollywood, George Pal takes his place as a true visionary, an innovator and a s
Half Nelson
1985-03-24
Rocky Nelson is a New York cop, who after making a major bust and selling the rights of his story to
Sparky's Magic Piano
1987-01-01
A boy becomes a virtuoso pianist, but when he gets too big-headed the piano decides to teach him a l
Woman in Hiding
1950-01-06
As far as the rest of the world is concerned, mill heiress Deborah Chandler Clark is dead, killed in
Wild and Wonderful
1964-06-09
Cognac, a pampered poodle and popular star on French television, creates marital problems for his pr
Mafia Princess
1986-01-19
Looks at the life of mafia boss Salvatore Giancana. Especially his troubled relationship with his fa
Banter
1986-08-25
An alcoholic partier becomes a paranoid maniac when a manuscript that predicts real-life horrors tak
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
2012-03-20
Tony Curtis, the man who influenced Elvis Presley and James Dean. A sex symbol, a matinee idol, a po
Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box
1991-11-29
This is a 1991 documentary film about the legendary artist and filmmaker, Joseph Cornell, who made t
Rosemary's Baby
1968-06-12
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frigh
Title Shot
1979-09-09
In Toronto, Canada, a troubled police detective investigates fixed betting and corruption in the wor
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954-09-28
Live television broadcast of the world premiere. Described by various participants as the biggest wo
Come Back Little Shiksa
1952-01-01
A Jerry Lewis directed home movie remake of the Burt Lancaster drama Come Back Little Sheba. Dean Ma
The Re-Inforcer
1951-10-04
A Jerry Lewis home movie remake of Humphrey Bogart's The Enforcer. Joe Lasagna (Dean Martin)'s reign
Chamber of Horrors
1966-10-19
A one-handed madman (he lost the hand while escaping a hanging) uses various detachable devices as m
An Eye for an Eye
1952-01-02
An Eastman Color short with Leigh and Curtis as a couple dealing with suspicions of infidelity.
Fairfax Avenue
1951-01-01
Janet Leigh commands her close-up as the faux Norma Desmond character in what an elaborate title seq
Nightmare
1956-01-01
10-minute short Nightmare, with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.
Hugh Hefner: American Playboy
2003-11-18
With his magazine Hugh Hefner changed the face of publishing, combining titillation with hard-edged
A Century of Cinema
1994-01-01
A look back at the first 100 years of the movies.
London Conspiracy
1974-10-04
Life is never dull where Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde are concerned. But who would expect dir
That's Insignificance
2011-06-14
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film INSIGNIFICANCE featuring intervie
Norman Jewison, Film Maker
1971-01-01
Toronto-born Norman Jewison first gained prominence producing for Canadian television, then went on
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
2014-09-20
In his early days as an actor, Marlon Brando (1924-2004) was a shy young man with theatrical ambitio
Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot
2001-12-31
Documentary discussing the casting and making of "Some Like It Hot", the film voted as the Best Come
Sporting Chance
1975-01-01
Life in the fast lane becomes deadly for Wilde and Sinclair when the mob tries to "fix" the sport of
The Switch
1976-06-07
Our heroes find themselves at the famed Cannes Film Festival to help foil a plot to murder a former
Inmates: A Love Story
1981-02-13
Accountant Roy is sentenced to prison because he cooked up balances. He hopes that his companions, w
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
1994-11-09
The alleged suicide of a gubernatorial candidate triggers a series of mysterious deaths leading to t
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010-05-05
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Acad
Rescued from the Closet
2001-05-29
Rescued from the Closet is a 2001 documentary consisting of interviews originally recorded for the 1
The World's Most Beautiful Girls
1953-01-29
When 78 beauties are assembled from the far corners of the globe in order to select the most beautif
Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit
1994-04-03
Bandit, always willing to help a lady, bites off more than he can chew when he helps a lady who is o
Elvis Meets Nixon
1997-08-12
A "mockumentary" about Elvis's real-life trip to the White House to become a federal marshal under t
From Roger Moore with Love
2024-12-15
Friends, family and co-stars take part in this revealing and entertaining look at British icon Roger
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
1954-04-18
Miss Glucksman, teacher of Englewood Liberty school, visits Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Jerry Lewi
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012-05-15
Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous and adored icons of the 20th century. Like no other Hollywo
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time
1992-01-01
Amicalement vôtre : Hollywood au service de sa Majesté
2017-07-05
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1966-11-30
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe is a 1966 American documentary film chronicling the life and career of
The Jill & Tony Curtis Story
2008-04-27
Actor Tony Curtis and his wife, Jill, discuss the important need to protect horses from consumption