Growing Up Hungry
Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in 1925 in the Bronx, New York. He was actually born at his father’s tailor shop. His parents struggled financially, so much that they ended up sending him and his brother to stay at an orphanage so that they would have something to eat.
Growing Up Hungry
Tragic Childhood
About five years after moving into to orphanage, Curtis’ brother was tragically killed after he was involved in a collision with a truck. Tony was only 12 years old, placing another huge tragic event in his life. Additionally, he was especially at risk since mental illness ran in his family.
Tragic Childhood
Mental Illness Plagues the Family
Curtis’ family had been through the ringer. Before the children were sent away, his mother’s mental health began to deteriorate, and since she was not provided with the proper support, she began to take out her frustrations on her children, often beating them.
Mental Illness Plagues The Family
His Mom Suffered
Ultimately, Curtis’ mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She did begin to receive treatment, and at around the same time, Curtis’ brother was diagnosed with the same condition. It was a difficult situation for everyone to get through.
His Mom Suffered
Protecting His Assets
After going through so much at a young age, Curtis eventually joined a neighborhood gang and began skipping school and engaging in petty theft at local dime stores. He credits a neighbor with saving him at the age of 11, when the neighbor decided to send Curtis to Boy Scouts camp, which set him on the right path.
Protecting His Assets
Agent Discovers Him
Now that he had his life more under control, Curtis decided to join the US Navy. After he was discharged, he attended City College of New York and began taking acting classes at the New School. While there, he met talent agent Joyce Selznik. In 1948, he decided to move to Hollywood, where he said a chance encounter led him to meet film executive Jack Warner.
Agent Discovers Him
Changing His Name
He decided it was time to change his name from Bernard Schwarz to Anthony Curtis, and thus his new life began. He signed a contract with Universal thanks to Selznik. He began appearing in films with small roles, but his star would slowly begin to grow. He also began to enjoy increased female attention.
Changing His Name
Dating a Legend
Interestingly, Curtis had a relationship with Marilyn Monroe before either one was famous, and long before they both starred in Some Like It Hot. They went to barbecues and the beach together, but the relationship was far from perfect, and other ladies would attract his attention soon enough.
Dating A Legend
Romancing a Film Goddess
At the time, Janet Leigh was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with roles in films like Psycho launching her into stardom. When the pair began dating, they very quickly became the newest “it” couple of show business. Soon after, the couple wanted tog get married, but they ran into an issue.
Romancing A Film Goddess
The Huge Obstacle
At the time, Curtis was signed to Universal-International, and the studio was very against the idea of him getting married, telling him that doing so would amount to “poisoning himself at the box office.” Despite this, the couple decided to ignore their threats and eloped in 1951.
The Huge Obstacle
Running Away
The couple eloped in Greenwich, Connecticut where they were married by a local judge with Jerry Lewis as their witness. Following their marriage, they returned to California where they braced to face a backlash.
Running Away
Cinematic Gold
However, it turned out that getting married didn’t damage Curtis’ career. It actually was beneficial to both of their careers as audiences couldn’t get enough of them. They began to appear alongside one another in films and they were on top of the world. Sadly, this wouldn’t last.
Cinematic Gold
People Laugh
Curtis began appearing in comedy roles, and this was a great hit with audiences. However, he was not completely immune to criticism. When he starred in Son of Alibaba, people laughed at the fact that his accent was so clearly from the Bronx and not Persian. Curtis didn’t take the criticism well.
People Laugh
Many Life-Changing Events
Although at this point Curtis’ career was at a high point, he decided that it was time to grow his family. Leigh and Curtis had their first daughter, Kelly Curtis, in 1956. Their second daughter, Jamie Leigh Curtis, was born two years later in 1958. Both daughters would also go on to become successfully Hollywood actresses.
Many Life Changing Events
Starring in a Classic
In 1959, Curtis landed a role in Some Like It Hot, alongside his former lover Marilyn Monroe. The film was a smash hit, winning many accolades and being considered one of the greatest films of all time. It was one of the first films to feature LGBT themes, including cross dressing, which Curtis partook in.
Starring In A Classic
Insulting a Co-Star
One of the scenes in Some Like It Hot involved Curtis and Monroe’s characters sharing a kiss. When he was later asked about what it was like to kiss Monroe, he responded that he said it was “like kissing Hitler.” The joke was not taken well by Monroe and many others also took offense to it.
Insulting A Co Star
Trouble In Paradise
Curtis and Leigh began having marital problems, and Curtis said: “For a while, we were Hollywood’s golden couple,” he said. “I was very dedicated and devoted to Janet, and on top of my trade, but in her eyes that goldenness started to wear off. I realized that whatever I was, I wasn’t enough for Janet. That hurt me a lot and broke my heart.”
Trouble In Paradise
Constant Cheating
However, despite his claims that he was very dedicated and devoted to his wife, he was in fact quite unfaithful to her and was known for spending a significant amount of time at the Playboy Mansion. There were also rumors that he was seeing Natalie Wood. Later, he also admitted that he had fallen for Gloria DeHaven while still being married.
Constant Cheating
His Dark Place
At the same time, Curtis was very paranoid that Leigh was cheating on him. He was always suspicious of her and would constantly call to check in on her, which must have been maddening. He then started to believe that she was having an affair with his close friend Frank Sinatra.
His Dark Place
Drove Her to Cheating?
Leigh actually proved Curtis’ intense jealousy and paranoia correct as she did have an affair with Frank Sinatra. However, many people speculated that had he not been so accusatory, it wouldn’t have happened at all. Perhaps the affair was done to spite him. Either way, the couple finally got divorced in 1962.
Drove Her To Cheating
The Controversial Scene
Another huge hit film for Curtis was Spartacus, which is an epic historical drama that ended up being nominated for six Academy Awards, winning four of those. One scene in the film was particularly controversial, and Curtis happened to be in this scene. In it, it was heavily implied that Laurence Olivier’s character was being flirtatious with Curtis’ character, and any same-sex attraction in films at the time was highly uncommon.
The Controversial Scene
Fighting the Producers
Spartacus producers did worry that the scene would be censored or completely cut, so they weren’t sure whether they should film it at all. However, the actors fought to keep the scene in. They did film the scene, but it was eventually cut from the final film. However, in 1991, a restored and complete version of the film was released and the scene was included.
Fighting The Producers
Remarkable Rebounder
Following his divorce from Leigh, Curtis embarked on a new relationship. He began to date German actress Christine Kaufmann, who was 18 years old, while he was 38 years old at the time. She was his co-star in the film Taras Bulba. He married Kaufmann shortly after he divorced Leigh and they had two children together.
Remarkable Rebounder
Ruining His Reputation
While his marriage to Leigh didn’t ruin his reputation, his divorce from her certainly did. He didn’t help matters when he decided to marry a teenager. Once a part of Hollywood’s hottest “it” couple, now many thought he was sleazy for marrying such a young woman.
Ruining His Reputation
No More Laughter
Beginning in 1961, he launched a film production company called Curtis Enterprises that focused on producing many comedy films. However, though he appeared in a series of comedies, none of them were very successful. He was beginning to feel frustrated with the decline of his career.
No More Laughter
The Disturbing Role
After the series of failed comedies, Curtis decided to make a drastic change. He fired his agent and agreed to a $100,000 pay cut in order to appear in the title role of The Boston Strangler. The film was a tremendous success, and critics praised his role in particular. Following the success of the film, he went on to appear in more successful comedy films, dramas, and even TV shows.
The Disturbing Role
Trading His Wife In
In 1968, Curtis and Kaufmann’s marriage fell apart and they decided to get a divorce. Shortly after, he married Leslie Allen, who was 20 years his junior. It began to look like Curtis had a pattern, and audiences took notice. He had two children with Allen.
Trading His Wife In
Breaking the Law
Following Curtis and Kaufmann’s divorce, she decided to go back to Germany along with their children, Allegra and Alexandra. Curtis was furious about this, so he decided to take the girls back to the U.S. without Kaufmann’s permission.
Breaking The Law
Giving Up the Kids
Although at first Kaufmann agreed to let him have their children, she soon became aware of the fact that he and his new wife did not provide a safe environment for their daughters. Curtis was struggling with substance addiction, and Allen was a heavy drinker.
Giving Up The Kids
Falling Far
Curtis’ career was once again in decline, and he had to face the fact that he was now a washed up actor with a drug addiction. He spent his days filming low budget movies and the evenings using drugs and alcohol to numb his reality away. This is when Kaufmann stepped in, demanding that he return their daughters and advising him to get his act together.
Falling Far
Seeking Help
After losing his daughters, Curtis went on to divorce his third wife, and checked into the Betty Ford treatment center, which is a rehab well known for working with wealthy and famous clientele. He decided to get serious about getting sober.
Seeking Help
Getting Married Again
After he got sober, it seemed like the one addiction he couldn’t quit was marrying much younger women. He next married actress Andrea Savio, who was 21 at the time while he was 59 years old. Interestingly, Savio had played the same role in Bus Stop as Marilyn Monroe had.
Getting Married Again
Changing His MO
Curtis felt a disconnect from his fans, but he couldn’t stop his pattern. Once he divorced Savio, he continued to engage in relationships with young starlets. He then decided to marry Lisa Deutsch, a lawyer, thinking that maybe the marriage would last if his wife was not in show business. However, this marriage also only lasted 18 months.
Changing His MO
Likes Younger Women
Curtis couldn’t stop his womanizing ways and dating much younger women. He eventually even owned up to his reputation for dating younger women and even joked that he couldn’t be with a woman that was old enough to be his wife.
Likes Younger Women
Family Tragedy
While Curtis was going through his fifth divorce, another tragedy struck. One of his sons, Nicholas Allen, who was just 23 years old, lost his life after struggling with drug abuse. Curtis said it was devastating to lose a son.
Family Tragedy
Not a Good Father
Jamie Lee Curtis opened up and shared some dark truths about her relationship with her father. In fact, she said that she struggled with addiction and even did drugs with her father. She said it took her a decade to get sober.
Not A Good Father
The Final Attempt at Love
Curtis decided to give marriage a sixth attempt, marrying Jill Vandenberg, who was 46 years younger than him and was Jamie Leigh Curtis’ exact age.
The Final Attempt At Love
His Confession
In 2009, Curtis released a book called The Making of Some Like It Hot. In the book, he admitted that while they were filming, he and Monroe rekindled their romance and engaged in an affair, while both were married to other people at the time.
His Confession
Marilyn’s Sadness
Curtis also shared in the book that Monroe confessed to her husband about their affair, and even revealed that she had become pregnant with Curtis’ child. She ended up miscarrying, which was devastating to her, especially in light of the fact that she was never able to carry a baby to term throughout her life.
Marilyn’s Sadness
His Passing
Curtis’ final film was David & Fatima, which was completed in 2008. Two years later, he died in his home of cardiac arrest when he was 85 years old. He left behind a film legacy as well as several children, and many failed marriages.
His Passing