Editing Tony Curtis (section)

==Career==
In 1948, Curtis arrived in Hollywood at age 23. In his autobiography, Curtis described how by chance he met [[Jack L. Warner|Jack Warner]] on the plane to California.

===Universal as {{nobold|"}}Anthony Curtis{{nobold|"}}===
Under contract at [[Universal Pictures]], he changed his name from Bernard Schwartz to Anthony Curtis and met unknown actors [[Rock Hudson]], [[James Best]], [[Julie Adams]] and [[Piper Laurie]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com/2012/04/julie-adams-at-85.html| title=Julie Adams at 85| website=Great Entertainers Archives.com| date=April 9, 2012| first=David| last=Lobosco| access-date=October 26, 2015}}</ref> The first name was from the novel ''[[Anthony Adverse]]'' and "Curtis" was from Kurtz, a surname in his mother's family.<ref name="ref091">{{cite news | last = Rizzo| first = Frank| title = My Interview With Tony Curtis | newspaper = [[Hartford Courant]] | date = October 1, 2009 | access-date = October 1, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-date = July 7, 2012 | url = http://blogs.courant.com/curtain/2009/10/my-interview-with-tony-curtis.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707005014/http://blogs.courant.com/curtain/2009/10/my-interview-with-tony-curtis.html}}</ref> Although Universal Pictures taught him fencing and riding, Curtis admitted he was initially only interested in girls and money—adding that he was pessimistic regarding his chances of becoming a major star. Curtis's biggest fear was having to return home to the Bronx as a failure:

<blockquote>I was a million-to-one shot, the ''least'' likely to succeed. I wasn't low man on the totem pole, I was ''under'' the totem pole, in a sewer, tied to a sack.<ref name=Lifemag>{{cite magazine| title=Tony Curtis in a For–Real Bronx Dream: the Bee–Yoody–Ful Life of a Movie Caliph| first=Shana| last=Alexander| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6FMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA160| magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]| date=November 17, 1961| pages=161–176| volume=51| number=20| access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref> </blockquote>

Curtis's uncredited screen debut came in the crime drama ''[[Criss Cross (1949 film)|Criss Cross]]'' (1949) playing a [[Rhumba|rumba]] dancer, dancing with [[Yvonne de Carlo]]. The male star was [[Burt Lancaster]] who would make a number of films with Curtis.

In his second film, ''[[City Across the River]]'' (also in 1949), he was credited as "Anthony Curtis"<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041251/ IMDB]</ref>{{User-generated inline|date=April 2024}} He had four lines in ''[[The Lady Gambles]]'' (1949) and a bigger part in ''[[Johnny Stool Pigeon]]'' (1949). He was also in ''[[Francis (film)|Francis]]'' (1950), ''[[Woman in Hiding]]'' (1950), and ''[[I Was a Shoplifter]]'' (1950).

He was additionally in three Westerns, ''[[Sierra (film)|Sierra]]'' (1950), ''[[Winchester '73]]'' (1950), and ''[[Kansas Raiders]]'' (1951), in which he was billed as "Tony Curtis".

===Stardom===
Curtis was receiving numerous fan letters, so Universal gave him the starring role in ''[[The Prince Who Was a Thief]]'' (1951), a [[swashbuckler]] set in the Middle East with Piper Laurie. It was a hit at the box office and Curtis was now established.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

He followed it up with ''[[Flesh and Fury]]'' (1952), a [[boxing]] movie; ''[[No Room for the Groom]]'' (1952), a comedy with Laurie directed by [[Douglas Sirk]]; and ''[[Son of Ali Baba]]'' (1952), another film set in the Middle East with Laurie.

Curtis then starred with then-wife [[Janet Leigh]] in ''[[Houdini (1953 film)|Houdini]]'' (1953), in which Curtis played the title role. His next movies were more "B" fare: ''[[All American (film)|All American]]'' (1953), as a football player; ''[[Forbidden (1953 film)|Forbidden]]'' (1953), as a criminal; ''[[Beachhead (film)|Beachhead]]'' (1954), a war film; ''[[Johnny Dark (film)|Johnny Dark]]'' (1954), as a racing car driver; and ''[[The Black Shield of Falworth]]'' (1954), a medieval swashbuckler with Leigh. They were moderately successful financially, and Curtis was growing in popularity.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Curtis then starred in the musical ''[[So This Is Paris (1955 film)|So This Is Paris]]'' in (1955), before appearing in ''[[Six Bridges to Cross]]'' (1955), as a bank robber; ''[[The Purple Mask]]'' (1955), as a swashbuckler; and the boxing film ''[[The Square Jungle]]'' (1955).

===Major star===
Curtis graduated to larger projects when he was cast as a co-star of [[Burt Lancaster]] and [[Gina Lollobrigida]] in [[Hecht-Lancaster Productions]]' ''[[Trapeze (film)|Trapeze]]'' (1956). It was one of the biggest hits of the year. Curtis and Leigh formed their own independent film production company, [[Curtleigh Productions]], in early 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elmira Advertiser from Elmira, New York on May 28, 1955 · 7|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/276730527/|access-date=June 28, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=May 28, 1955 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mirror News from Los Angeles, California on August 6, 1955 · 19|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/693900579/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=August 6, 1955 |language=en}}</ref>

Curtis made a Western, ''[[The Rawhide Years]]'' (1957), was a gambler in ''[[Mister Cory]]'' (1957) and a cop in ''[[The Midnight Story]]'' (1957). Lancaster asked for him again, to play scheming press agent Sidney Falco in ''[[Sweet Smell of Success]]'' (1957), starring and co-produced by Lancaster. The film was a box office disappointment, but Curtis, for the first time in his career, received sensational reviews.

Curtis starred alongside [[Kirk Douglas]] and [[Janet Leigh]] in ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'' (1958, produced by Douglas' [[Bryna Productions]]), which was a major box office hit.<ref name=":111">{{Cite news |title=The New Box Office Champ! |url=https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-07 |format=Advertisement |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=2 July 1958 |page=[https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-07/page/n17/mode/2up?q=curtis 18] |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> Curtis then co-starred with [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Natalie Wood]] in the war movie ''[[Kings Go Forth]]'' (1958),<ref name=":03">{{Cite news |title=Kings Go Forth |url=https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-06 |department=Film Reviews |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=11 June 1958 |page=[https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-06/page/n81/mode/2up 6] |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> before starring in ''[[The Defiant Ones]]'' the following year as a bigoted white escaped convict chained to a black man (played by [[Sidney Poitier]]). At the [[31st Academy Awards]], Curtis was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] for his performance—losing to [[David Niven]] in ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]''.<ref name="TCM">{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20965/separate-tables#awards |title=Awards for Separate Tables |access-date=June 28, 2022|work=TCM}}</ref>

[[File:Monroe and Curtis in Some Like it Hot.JPG|thumb|{{center|Curtis with [[Marilyn Monroe]] in<br />''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' (1959)}}]]

Curtis and Janet Leigh then starred in [[Blake Edwards|Blake Edwards']] ''[[The Perfect Furlough]]'' (1958). He subsequently co-starred with [[Jack Lemmon]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] in ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' as well as Cary Grant in ''[[Operation Petticoat]]'' (1959).

Curtis and Leigh made one more film together ''[[Who Was That Lady?]]'' (1960), a comedy with [[Dean Martin]]. He and [[Debbie Reynolds]] then starred in ''[[The Rat Race]]'' (1960). He then started in a supporting role in ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' (1960), before making two biopics: ''[[The Great Impostor]]'' (1961), directed by [[Robert Mulligan]], playing [[Ferdinand Waldo Demara]]; and ''[[The Outsider (1961 film)|The Outsider]]'' (1961), in which he played war hero [[Ira Hayes]]. He returned to epics with ''[[Taras Bulba (1962 film)|Taras Bulba]]'' (1962), co starring [[Yul Brynner]] and [[Christine Kaufmann]], who became Curtis's second wife.

===Comedic roles===
On October 6, 1961, Curtis formed a new film production company, [[Curtis Enterprises]], Incorporated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CURTIS ENTERPRISES, INC. :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates|url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/C0421366|access-date=June 28, 2021|website=opencorporates.com}}</ref> The company would make ''[[40 Pounds of Trouble]]'', which co-starred Curtis, [[Suzanne Pleshette]] and [[Phil Silvers]]; it was the first motion picture ever filmed at [[Disneyland]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Boxoffice|url=http://archive.org/details/boxofficeaprjun180boxo|title=Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1962)|last2=Boxoffice|date=1962|publisher=New York, Boxoffice|others=Media History Digital Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Evening Sun from Baltimore, Maryland on May 31, 1962 · 50|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/370917372/|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=May 31, 1962 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Valley Times from North Hollywood, California on May 14, 1962 · 6|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/580393232/|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=May 14, 1962 |language=en}}</ref> On August 3, 1962, Curtis formed another new film production company, Reynard Productions, Incorporated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reynard Productions, Inc. :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates|url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/C0437006|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=opencorporates.com}}</ref>

Curtis was one of many stars who had small roles in ''[[The List of Adrian Messenger]]'' (1963). He supported [[Gregory Peck]] in ''[[Captain Newman, M.D.]]'' (1963) and had an uncredited dual role in ''[[Paris When It Sizzles]]'' (1964). He and Kaufmann made their third movie together, the comedy ''[[Wild and Wonderful]]'' (1964). His focus remained on comedies: ''[[Goodbye Charlie]]'' (1964), with Debbie Reynolds; ''[[Sex and the Single Girl (film)|Sex and the Single Girl]]'' (1964), with Natalie Wood; ''[[The Great Race]]'' (1965), with Wood and Lemmon for Blake Edwards — the most expensive comedy film up till that time, but popular; ''[[Boeing Boeing (1965 film)|Boeing Boeing]]'' (1965) a sex farce with [[Jerry Lewis]]; ''[[Not with My Wife, You Don't!]]'' (1966) with [[George C. Scott]]; ''[[Drop Dead Darling]]'' (1966), a British comedy with [[Rosanna Schiaffino]]; ''[[Don't Make Waves]]'' (1967), a satire of beach life from director Alexander Mackendrick, with [[Claudia Cardinale]]; and ''[[On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...]]'' (1967), an Italian comedy with [[Monica Vitti]]. In the early 1960s, he was a voice-over guest star on ''[[The Flintstones]]'' as "Stoney Curtis".

===''The Boston Strangler''===
Because of the poor performance of a series of comedies, Curtis fired his agent and took a pay cut to $100,000 to play the title role in ''[[The Boston Strangler (film)|The Boston Strangler]]'' (1968), his first dramatic film in several years.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 1968|page=1|last=Beaupre|first=Lee|title=Rising Skepticism On Stars}}</ref> Response from the critics and public was excellent. He returned to comedy for ''[[Monte Carlo or Bust!]]'' (1969), an all-star car race film in the vein of ''The Great Race''.

He made some comic adventure tales: ''[[You Can't Win 'Em All]]'' (1970) with [[Charles Bronson]] and ''[[Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came]]'' (1970).

Curtis was signed by British producer [[Lew Grade]] for the tv series, ''[[The Persuaders!]]'', which he co-starred with [[Roger Moore]]. (1971).

He was one of the villains in ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (1975 film)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' (1975) and had the title role in the gangster film ''[[Lepke (film)|Lepke]]'' (1975). Curtis had the lead in a TV series that did not last, ''[[McCoy (TV series)|McCoy]]'' (1975–76). He was one of many names in ''[[The Last Tycoon (1976 film)|The Last Tycoon]]'' (1976) and had the title role in an Italian comedy ''[[Casanova & Co.]]'' (1977). Later, Curtis co-starred as a casino owner in the [[Robert Urich]] 1978–1981 ABC series ''[[Vega$]]'' and appeared in the 1978 movie ''[[The Users (1978 film)|The Users]]''.

===Later career===
[[File:Tony Curtis 1997 cropped.JPG|thumb|upright|Curtis in 1997]]
Curtis supported [[Mae West]] in ''[[Sextette]]'' (1978) and starred in ''[[The Manitou]]'' (1978), a horror film, and ''[[The Bad News Bears Go to Japan]]'' (1978), a comedy. He had good roles in ''[[It Rained All Night the Day I Left]]'' (1980), ''[[Little Miss Marker (1980 film)|Little Miss Marker]]'' (1980) and ''[[The Scarlett O'Hara War]]'' (1980) and was one of many stars in ''[[The Mirror Crack'd]]'' (1980). On ABC, he co-starred from 1978 to 1981 in prime time, as Las Vegas Desert Inn casino owner Philip (Slick) Roth, in 17 episodes of the [[Aaron Spelling]] produced series hit series, ''[[Vega$]]''. After ''Vega$'', on television, Curtis continued to make occasional guest appearances (sometimes playing fictional versions of himself) into the mid-2000s. His final TV series was as host of the documentary-retrospective series ''Hollywood Babylon''
(adapting [[Kenneth Anger]]'s [[Hollywood Babylon|book series]]) in 1992–1993; each episode would include Curtis recalling some anecdotes from his own career.
In 2002, Curtis was in the national tour of ''Some Like it Hot'', a modified revival of the 1972 musical ''[[Sugar (musical)|Sugar]]'', itself based on the film in which he starred.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/tour-of-some-like-it-hot-the-musical-begins-june-4-in-tx-tony-curtis-headlines-com-106263|title = Tour of Some Like It Hot, the Musical, Begins June 4 in TX; Tony Curtis Headlines|date = June 4, 2002}}</ref> Curtis played the supporting role of Osgood Fielding.

===Painter===
Throughout his life, Curtis enjoyed painting and, beginning in the early 1980s, painted as a second career. In the last years of his life, he concentrated on painting rather than movies. A [[surrealist]], Curtis claimed [[Vincent van Gogh|Van Gogh]], [[Henri Matisse|Matisse]], [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]], and [[René Magritte|Magritte]] as influences.<ref name="tcmcurtis"/> "I still make movies but I'm not that interested in them any more. But I paint all the time." In 2007, his painting ''The Red Table'' was on display in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York City. His paintings can also be seen at the Tony Vanderploeg Gallery in [[Carmel, California]].

Curtis spoke of his disappointment at never being awarded an [[Academy Award|Oscar]]. In March 2006, Curtis received the [[Empire Awards|Sony Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award]]. He also has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] inducted in 1960, and received the ''[[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]'' from France in 1995.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0sFjFxhoGIC&dq=Tony+Curtis+Ordre+des+Arts+et+des+Lettres&pg=PR15 |title=American Prince: A Memoir |last2=Golenbock |first2=Peter |date=October 14, 2008 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-307-44946-7 |language=en}}</ref>