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.
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.