Tony Curtis
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.
Known for
Bambi-Verleihung
Self
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tony Curtis
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Recipient
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
The Rosemary Clooney Show
Self
This Is Your Life
Self
Vega$
Roth
The Flintstones
Stony Curtis (voice)
The Persuaders!
Danny Wilde
Hope & Faith
Morris
The UnXplained
Self (archive footage)
The Oscars
Self
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
The Dame Edna Experience
Self
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Dinah!
Self
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
Roseanne
Spartacus
Antoninus
Rosemary's Baby
Donald Baumgart (voice) (uncredited)
Suddenly Susan
Peter DiCaprio
Some Like It Hot
Joe (Josephine)
General Electric Theater
Mario Galindo
General Electric Theater
David
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Charlie
Un film et son époque
Self
The Count of Monte-Cristo
Fernand Morcerf Mondego
Bracken's World
McCoy
McCoy
The Vikings
Eric
Sex and the Single Girl
Bob Weston
The Great Race
The Great Leslie
Operation Petticoat
Lieutenant Nicholas Holden
The Hollywood Greats
Sweet Smell of Success
Sidney Falco
Paris When It Sizzles
Actor Portraying Maurice or Philippe (uncredited)
The Defiant Ones
John 'Joker' Jackson
The Mirror Crack'd
Martin N. Fenn
The Last Tycoon
Rodriguez
The Boston Strangler
Albert DeSalvo
Winchester '73
Doan
Taras Bulba
Andrei Bulba
Criss Cross
Gigolo (uncredited)
Play It to the Bone
Tony Curtis (Ringside Fan)
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
Houdini
Harry Houdini
Trapeze
Tino Orsini
The Prince Who Was a Thief
Julna
Pepe
Tony Curtis
Captain Newman, M.D.
Cpl. Jackson "Jake" Leibowitz
You Can't Win 'Em All
Adam Dyer
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Marvin Lazar
The Celluloid Closet
Self
Monte Carlo or Bust!
Chester Schofield
Murder in Three Acts
Charles Cartwright
Don't Make Waves
Carlo Cofield
The Black Shield of Falworth
Myles Falworth
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Johnny Steele
Naked in New York
Carl Fisher
Boeing, Boeing
Bernard Lawrence
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Stargames
King Fendel
Lobster Man from Mars
J.P. Shelldrake
Casanova & Co.
Giacomo Casanova / Giacomino
Insignificance
The Senator
Beachhead
Burke
The Great Impostor
Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. / Martin Donner / Dr. Gilbert / Ben. W. Stone / Dr. Joseph Mornay / Robert Boyd Hammnd
Flesh and Fury
Paul Callan
The Manitou
Harry Erskine
Sextette
Alexei Karansky
Tarzan in Manhattan
Archimedes Porter
The List of Adrian Messenger
Organ Grinder
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Lady Gambles
Bellboy (as Anthony Curtis)
Six Bridges to Cross
Jerry Florea
Francis
Captain Jones
Woman in Hiding
Dave Shaw (voice) (uncredited)
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Shannon Gambroni
The Rat Race
Pete Hammond Jr.
The Users
Randy Brent
Elvis Meets Nixon
Tony Curtis
Half Nelson
A Century of Cinema
Self
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
The Immortals
Dominic
Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball
Wald
Sierra
Brent Coulter (as Anthony Cutis)
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
Kings Go Forth
Caporal Britt Harris
From Roger Moore with Love
Self (archive footage)
Little Miss Marker
Blackie
Goodbye Charlie
George Wellington Tracy
Not With My Wife, You Don't
Tom Ferris
Mission: Monte Carlo
Danny Wilde
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Eric (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rescued from the Closet
Self
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...
Guerrando da Montone
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
Self
Who Was That Lady?
David Wilson
Arrivederci, Baby!
Nick Johnson
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class
Self
The Perfect Furlough
Cpl. Paul Hodges
Reflections of Evil
Host
40 Pounds of Trouble
Steve McCluskey
The Purple Mask
Rene de Traviere / The Purple Mask
Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box
Narrator (voice) / Self
The Switch
Danny Wilde
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
The Rawhide Years
Ben Matthews
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Joey Hyatt (as Anthony Curtis)
Midnight
Mr. B
Johnny Dark
Johnny Dark
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
Meet Danny Wilson
Nightclub Patron
Son of Ali Baba
Kashma Baba
The Midnight Story
Joe Martini
I Was a Shoplifter
Pepe
Chamber of Horrors
Mr. Julian
Kansas Raiders
Kit Dalton
Marilyn Monroe: Death of an Icon
Self
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Self
Sparky's Magic Piano
Banter
Charles Foster
The Million Dollar Face
Chester Masterson
Christmas in Connecticut
Alexander Yardley
Lepke
Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter
Forbidden
Eddie Darrow
The Square Jungle
Eddie Quaid / Packy Glennon
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
Mafia Princess
Sam Giancana
The Scarlett O'Hara War
David O. Selznick
Magic with the Stars
Harry Houdini (archive footage) (uncredited)
Inmates: A Love Story
Flanagan
The Mummy Lives
Aziru / Dr. Mohassid
Hollywood Legenden
Self
The Outsider
Ira Hamilton Hayes
Prime Target
Copella
Mister Cory
Cory
No Room for the Groom
Alvah Morrell
Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit
Lucky Bergstrom
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
Walter and Carlo in America
WIlly La Rouge
Center of the Web
Stephen Moore
Club Life
Hector
London Conspiracy
Danny Wilde
Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved
Self
Where Is Parsifal?
Parsifal Katzanella-Boden
BrainWaves
Dr. Clavius
So This Is Paris
Joe Maxwell
Balboa
Ernie Stoddard
The Third Girl from the Left
Joey Jordan
Wild and Wonderful
Terry Williams
That's Insignificance
Self
Portrait of a Showgirl
Joey DeLeon
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
Self
Black Commando
Col. Iago
Jerry Lewis - König der Komödianten
Self (archive footage)
The All American
Nick Bonelli
Hugh Hefner: American Playboy
Self
Fairfax Avenue
The Persuaders!
Danny Wilde
Allen in Movieland
Self
Nobody's Perfect - The Making of Some Like It Hot
Self
Sporting Chance
Danny Wilde
The Masqueraders
Danny Wilde
The Passenger – Welcome to Germany
Mr. Cornfield
Louis & Frank
Lenny Star Springer
Thanksgiving Day
Max Schloss
City Across the River
Mitch (as Anthony Curtis)
People, Hopes, Medals
Self
The Last Appointment!
Danny Wilde
Wetten, dass..?
Self
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
Robert Talbot
Death Becomes Me
Danny Wilde/Aunt Sophie Schwartz
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Norman Jewison, Film Maker
Self (uncredited)
The View
Self
Come Back Little Shiksa
Title Shot
Frank Renzetti
The Graham Norton Show
Self
David & Fatima
Mr. Schwartz
Tony Curtis on 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
The Re-Inforcer
Baffo
The World's Most Beautiful Girls
Self
An Eye for an Eye
Roxanne's Best Christmas Ever
Bernard (voice)
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
Nightmare
Tony
Sacrée soirée
Self
Tony Curtis erzählt...
Self
The Continued Adventures of Reptile Man
Jack Steele
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
The One Show
Self - Guest
Goldene Kamera Verleihung
Self
Please Turn the Page
Self
The Johannes B. Kerner Show
Self
The Mrs Merton Show
Self
Shrink Rap
Himself
Matin Bonheur
Self
This Morning
Self