Growing Up Hungry
Born Bernard Schwartz in the East Harlem in 1925, Tony Curtis was the first of three boys born to his parents. The family went through many struggles, including financially, and eventually his parents sent him and his brother Julius to an orphanage for a month as they did not have enough money to feed them.
Growing Up Hungry
Tragic Childhood
About four years after he and his brother Julius moved into the orphanage, Julius was hit by a truck and was tragically killed. Tony was only 12 years old, and the horrific event added another difficulty to his family’s already encumbered life. Curtis was especially susceptible to mental illness as it was common in his family.
Tragic Childhood
Mental Illness Plagues the Family
Even before his parents sent the boys to the orphanage, his mother struggled with her mental health, and with lack of proper resources, she began to take out all of her frustration on the boys, which often translated to physical harm as well.
Mental Illness Plagues The Family
His Mom Suffered
Eventually, Curtis’ mother Helen was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and she began to receive treatment. About the same time she was given the diagnosis, his younger brother Robert was also diagnosed with the same condition, complicating matters even more for the family. Robert was eventually institutionalized.
His Mom Suffered
Saving His Life
Tony had gone through so much at such a young age that he was bound to head onto the wrong path in life. He joined a gang in the neighborhood and would commit petty theft at local dime stores with them while skipping school. He said that a neighbor of his saved him at age 11 by sending him to a Boy Scouts camp, which helped him get on a better path in life.
Saving His Life
Agent Discovers Him
After getting his life together, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Curtis joined the US Navy. Once he was discharged, he enrolled at the City College of New York and started taking acting classes at the New School. There he met Joyce Selznik, a talent agent. In 1948, he made the decision to move across the country to Hollywood, where a total chance encounter gave him the opportunity to meet film exec Jack Warner.
Agent Discovers Him
Changing His Name
It was then when he decided to change his name to Tony Curtis, and his new life was officially off to a start. He signed a deal with Universal studios thanks to Selznik and he soon began to star in small film roles. His popularity slowly started to gain momentum, and he was definitely enjoying all of the increased attention he was getting from women.
Changing His Name
Dating a Legend
Funnily enough, during these early Hollywood days, he began dating a then-also unknown actress named Marilyn Monroe. This was many years before they would go on to star in Some Like It Hot together. They went to the beach and to barbecues together, but it wouldn’t last, and many other women would continue to have his attention.
Dating A Legend
Romancing a Film Goddess
Janet Leigh was one of the brightest stars in Hollywood at the time, with her roles in Psycho and many other films making her into a well known actress. When Janet and Tony started their relationship, it wasn’t long before they were the newest Hollywood “it” couple. They wanted to get married shortly after starting their relationship, but it wouldn’t be a smooth road to the altar.
Romancing A Film Goddess
The Huge Obstacle
Since Curtis was signed to Universal-International, he had to take the studio’s opinion into consideration with pretty much everything relating to his personal life that may become public. Studio execs were very against the idea of him marrying Janet, saying that it would be “poisoning himself at the box office.” However, the couple couldn’t be kept apart and they decided to elope in 1951.
The Huge Obstacle
Running Away
Tony and Janet set off to Greenwich, Connecticut, and were married by a local judge there. Their witness was Jerry Lewis, a good friend of Tony’s. After they were officially married, they traveled back to California, ready to face the backlash they were warned against.
Running Away
Cinematic Gold
As it turned out, there was no backlash after all, and instead of hurting their careers, it actually helped, as audiences were enamored with the couple. Soon after, they started to appear in films together, and it looked like they were on top of the world. However, this wouldn’t last forever.
Cinematic Gold
People Laugh
Curtis started to star in mayn comedy roles and his popularity was gaining. Yet, he was not totally immune from harsh criticism. After he starred in Son of Ali Baba, he was made fun of for what people perceived as putting on a terrible accent, with actress Debbie Reynolds saying: “Did you see the new guy in the movies? They call him Tony Curtis, but that’s not his real name. In his new movie he’s got a hilarious line where he says, ‘Yonder lies the castle of my fodda.'” While the line was actually different in the film, this line would follow him for much of the rest of his career.
People Laugh
Many Life-Changing Events
At this time, Curtis’s career was at a high, but he and Janet decided that it was time to turn their attention to growing their family. Their first daughter, Kelly Curtis, was born in 1956. Two years later, their second daughter, Jamie Leigh Curtis, was born. Both would grow up to become Hollywood actresses as well.
Many Life Changing Events
Starring in a Classic
In 1959, Curtis starred in Some Like It Hot alongside his former flame and fellow Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. The film became a huge hit, winning praise, awards, and is considered to be one of the best films of all time. It is notable since it is one of the very first movies to feature any element of LGBT references, and included scenes with Curtis crossdressing.
Starring In A Classic
Insulting a Co-Star
In one of the scenes of Some Like It Hot, former lovers Curtis and Monroe were faced with the prospect of sharing a kiss on screen. When Curtis was interviewed about it later, he said that it was “like kissing Hitler,” and as expected, the joke didn’t land well with Monroe and many others were offended as well.
Insulting A Co Star
Trouble In Paradise
Eventually, Curtis and Leigh started to experience marital issues. He shared: “For a while, we were Hollywood’s golden couple. 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
Even though he claimed that he was devoted to his wife, it reality he was quite the ladies man and had been unfaithful to her on multiple occasions. He was also known for spending a lot of time at the Playboy Mansion. Rumors were swirling about his extramarital affairs, including one with Natalie Wood. He would later admit that he had fallen in love with Floria DeHaven while he was still married.
Constant Cheating
His Dark Place
Despite all of his own behavior, Curtis became paranoid that Leigh was cheating on him. He acted in a jealous manner, always suspicious of her and constantly checking in on her. He then started to believe that she was cheating on him with his close friend Frank Sinatra.
His Dark Place
Drove Her to Cheating?
While Curtis was no angel, in the end, Leigh did actually have an affair with Frank Sinatra. A lot of people speculated that had he not exhibited such paranoia and accusations, perhaps it wouldn’t have happened at all. Either way, Curtis and Leigh got divorced in 1962.
Drove Her To Cheating
The Controversial Scene
Another film that Curtis is known for is Spartacus, a historical epic which ended up with six Academy Award nominations, winning four. A certain scene in the film was quite a controversial one, and Curtis was involved in it. The scene involved his and Laurence Olivier’s characters being flirtatious with one another, at a time when same-sex attraction in film was absolutely not a norm.
The Controversial Scene
Fighting the Producers
The film’s producer’s worries that the scene would be censored or even cut, and so they were not even sure whether it was worth filming at all. Despite this, the actors fought hard to keep the scene and they did end up filming the scene in the end. Though the film was filmed, it was eventually cut from the final film. However, a restored version of the film came out in 1991, finally releasing the scene along with it.
Fighting The Producers
Remarkable Rebounder
After divorcing Leigh, Curtis immediately began a new relationship with German actress Christine Kaufmann, who was 18 years old. Curtis was 38 years old, making her 20 years her senior. They co-starred in the movie Taras Bulba. Shortly after divorcing Leigh, Curtis married Kaufmann and they went on to have two children together.
Remarkable Rebounder
Ruining His Reputation
Although his first marriage to Leigh didn’t ruin his reputation, his divorce from her certainly made a negative impact. The main thing fans took issue with was the fact that he married a teenager. Curtis was once half of one of Hollywood’s most beloved “it” couples, and now fans were turned off, thinking that he was a creep for marrying such a young woman.
Ruining His Reputation
No More Laughter
In 1961, Curtis opened a film production company that he named Curtis Enterprises. The company produced many comedies, and though he began to appear in many comedy films, none of them became hits. Curtis was beginning to feel the decline of his career, and he was very frustrated.
No More Laughter
The Disturbing Role
Following the string of failed comedy films, Curtis felt that he had to do something drastic. After firing his agent, he agreed to take a $100,000 pay cut in order to take the titular role in The Boston Strangler. The film was a huge hit, and his role was particularly praised by critics. After the film’s success, he continued to appear in drama films, comedy films, and TV shows, picking up his career from its decline.
The Disturbing Role
Trading His Wife In
By 1968, Curtis’ marriage to his young wife Kaufmann was failing. They decided to divorce, and he continued his pattern and married Leslie Allen, a woman who was 20 years younger than him. Audiences did not miss this fact, and it would certainly not improve his already damaged image. He went on to have two children with Allen.
Trading His Wife In
Breaking the Law
After he divorced Kaufmann, she decided to travel back to Germany with their two daughters, Allegra and Alexandra. Curtis was quite angry when he found out, so he flew to Germany and took his daughters back to the U.S. behind Kaufmann’s back.
Breaking The Law
Giving Up the Kids
Kaufmann decided to let him keep their children for some time, until she found out that the environment the girls were provided by him and his new wife was not safe. Curtis was struggling with drugs, and his new wife was a heavy drinker, not exactly a great environment for children to be raised.
Giving Up The Kids
Falling Far
Once again, Curtis’ career began to decline, and the fact was he was a drug addicted washed up actor. He was now spending his time filming low budget films during the day, and then numbing his pain away with drugs and alcohol. Once Kaufmann realized this was going on, she demanded her daughter be returned to her, and telling him that he needs to take a good look at his life and get it together.
Falling Far
Seeking Help
Losing his daughters had an impact on him, and Curtis decided to make a change. He divorced his third wife and entered the treatment facility Betty Ford, which is known for working with Hollywood stars looking to make a change in their lives. It looked like Curtis was finally serious about getting sober.
Seeking Help
Getting Married Again
Curtis managed to get sober and free himself from his addiction to substances, it seemed he couldn’t resist his addiction to dating much younger women. His next wife was Andrea Savio, who was 21 years old when they married, while he was 59. Savio would go on to play the same role in Bus Stop as his former flame Marilyn Monroe had played.
Getting Married Again
Changing His MO
Curtis was feeling a disconnect from his fans, but that didn’t help him change his behavior. Following his divorce from Savio, he continued dating very young starlets. The change he did try was with his marriage to Lisa Deutch, as she was a lawyer and not an actress. Perhaps he thought marrying a woman outside of show business would make it last, but they were divorced just 18 months after.
Changing His MO
Likes Younger Women
There was truly no stopping Curtis from pursuing women who were much younger than him, and he eventually even referenced this penchant for younger women by joking that he was not able to be with a woman who was old enough to be his wife.
Likes Younger Women
Family Tragedy
During the process of his fifth divorce, Curtis experienced a serious tragedy. His son, Nicholas Allen, passed away at the age of 23 after struggling with substance abuse. Curtis took it very hard, and said that it was absolutely devastating to lose a son.
Family Tragedy
Not a Good Father
Jamie Lee Curtis eventually spoke out about her relationship with her father and its complications. She shared that she herself struggled with addiction and at times even took drugs with her father. She shared that it took her an entire decade to finally get sober.
Not A Good Father
The Final Attempt at Love
Curtis got married a sixth and final time to Jill Vanderberg, who was 46 years younger than him. She is actually eh same exact age as his daughter Jamie Leigh Curtis.
The Final Attempt At Love
His Confession
In 2009, Curtis released The Making of Some Like it Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie, a book in which he shared many details of his career and personal life. He admitted to having an affair with Marilyn Monroe while they were filming Some Like It Hot, while they were both married to other people.
His Confession
Marilyn’s Sadness
Another confession he made in the book was that Monroe told her husband about the affair and that she was pregnant with Curtis’s baby. However, she sadly miscarried, and it was a devastating experience for her, particularly in light of the fact that she would never be able to carry a baby to term.
Marilyn’s Sadness
His Passing
The last film that Curtis appeared in was 2008’s David & Fatima. In 2010, he died at the age of 85 of a cardiac arrest. He left behind a complicated legacy of many failed marriages, several children, and a few legendary films.
His Passing