Tony Curtis
Acting
Born: June 3, 1925 · Bronx, New York, USA
Died: September 29, 2010 (aged 85)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
Rosemary's Baby
1968
Some Like It Hot
1959
Spartacus
1960
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
The Flintstones
1960
Sweet Smell of Success
1957
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993
Operation Petticoat
1959
Winchester '73
1950
Roseanne
1988
The Great Race
1965
The Vikings
1958
Photos (7)
Movies (131)
Sex and the Single Girl
Bob Weston
Rosemary's Baby
Donald Baumgart (voice) (uncredited)
Some Like It Hot
Joe (Josephine)
Spartacus
Antoninus
The Mirror Crack'd
Martin N. Fenn
The Great Race
The Great Leslie
The Vikings
Eric
The Boston Strangler
Albert DeSalvo
Play It to the Bone
Tony Curtis (Ringside Fan)
The Count of Monte-Cristo
Fernand Morcerf Mondego
Sweet Smell of Success
Sidney Falco
The Defiant Ones
John 'Joker' Jackson
Operation Petticoat
Lieutenant Nicholas Holden
The Last Tycoon
Rodriguez
Winchester '73
Doan
Woman in Hiding
Dave Shaw (voice) (uncredited)
Paris When It Sizzles
Actor Portraying Maurice or Philippe (uncredited)
Taras Bulba
Andrei Bulba
You Can't Win 'Em All
Adam Dyer
The Prince Who Was a Thief
Julna
Boeing, Boeing
Bernard Lawrence
The Manitou
Harry Erskine
Houdini
Harry Houdini
The Black Shield of Falworth
Myles Falworth
Criss Cross
Gigolo (uncredited)
Trapeze
Tino Orsini
The Mummy Lives
Aziru / Dr. Mohassid
Son of Ali Baba
Kashma Baba
Naked in New York
Carl Fisher
The List of Adrian Messenger
Organ Grinder
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Marvin Lazar
Murder in Three Acts
Charles Cartwright
Kansas Raiders
Kit Dalton
Captain Newman, M.D.
Cpl. Jackson "Jake" Leibowitz
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...
Guerrando da Montone
The Lady Gambles
Bellboy (as Anthony Curtis)
Insignificance
The Senator
Christmas in Connecticut
Alexander Yardley
Don't Make Waves
Carlo Cofield
The Perfect Furlough
Paul Hodges
Little Miss Marker
Blackie
The Rawhide Years
Ben Matthews
Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration
2003
Not With My Wife, You Don't!
Tom Ferris
The Immortals
Dominic
Kings Go Forth
Caporal Britt Harris
The Midnight Story
Joe Martini
Francis
Captain Jones
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Johnny Steele
The Rat Race
Pete Hammond Jr.
Goodbye Charlie
George Wellington Tracy
Forbidden
Eddie Darrow
Who Was That Lady?
David Wilson
Monte Carlo or Bust!
Chester Schofield
Pepe
Tony Curtis
The Great Impostor
Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. / Martin Donner / Dr. Gilbert / Ben. W. Stone / Dr. Joseph Mornay / Robert Boyd Hammnd
40 Pounds of Trouble
Steve McCluskey
David & Fatima
Mr. Schwartz
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Eric (archive footage) (uncredited)
Club Life
Hector
Chamber of Horrors
Mr. Julian (uncredited)
The Outsider
Ira Hamilton Hayes
Elvis Meets Nixon
Tony Curtis
Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball
Wald
The Last Appointment!
Danny Wilde
Casanova & Co.
Giacomo Casanova / Giacomino
Stargames
King Fendel
Magic with the Stars
Harry Houdini (archive footage) (uncredited)
Flesh and Fury
Paul Callan
The Masqueraders
Danny Wilde
Banter
Charles Foster
Hollywood sul Tevere
2009
The All American
Nick Bonelli
Sextette
Alexei Karansky
Arrivederci, Baby!
Nick Johnson
Sparky's Magic Piano
1987
Mister Cory
Cory
Six Bridges to Cross
Jerry Florea
The Purple Mask
Rene de Traviere / The Purple Mask
Louis & Frank
Lenny Star Springer
The Scarlett O'Hara War
David O. Selznick
So This Is Paris
Joe Maxwell
Beachhead
Burke
Half Nelson
1985
Lepke
Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter
Sierra
Brent Coulter
Tarzan in Manhattan
Archimedes Porter
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
Shannon Gambroni
BrainWaves
Dr. Clavius
Come Back Little Shiksa
1952
Meet Danny Wilson
Nightclub Patron
Midnight
Mr. B
The Million Dollar Face
Chester Masterson
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Joey Hyatt
Wild and Wonderful
Terry Williams
Portrait of a Showgirl
Joey DeLeon
The Persuaders!
Danny Wilde
The Passenger – Welcome to Germany
Mr. Cornfield
Walter and Carlo in America
WIlly La Rouge
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
1954
Prime Target
Copella
Mission: Monte Carlo
Danny Wilde (archive footage)
The Re-Inforcer
Tony Boffo
I Was a Shoplifter
Pepe
Title Shot
Frank Renzetti
Johnny Dark
Johnny Dark
Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit
Lucky Bergstrom
London Conspiracy
Danny Wilde (archive footage)
No Room for the Groom
Alvah Morrell
The Square Jungle
Eddie Quaid / Packy Glennon
Black Commando
Col. Iago
Reflections of Evil
Host
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
1949
Balboa
Ernie Stoddard
Inmates: A Love Story
Flanagan
The Users
Randy Brent
Mafia Princess
Sam Giancana
City Across the River
Mitch (as Anthony Curtis)
Center of the Web
Stephen Moore
Lobster Man from Mars
J.P. Shelldrake
The Switch
Danny Wilde
Roxanne's Best Christmas Ever
Bernard (voice)
Where Is Parsifal?
Parsifal Katzanella-Boden
The Third Girl from the Left
Joey Jordan
Thanksgiving Day
Max Schloss
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1966
The Jill & Tony Curtis Story
2008
Sporting Chance
Danny Wilde (archive footage)
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
Robert Talbot
The Continued Adventures of Reptile Man
Jack Steele
Amicalement vôtre : Hollywood au service de sa Majesté
Danny Wilde
TV Shows (15)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tony Curtis · 1 eps
The Flintstones
Stony Curtis (voice) · 1 eps
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Dr. Mamba · 1 eps
Hope & Faith
Morris · 1 eps
The Persuaders!
Danny Wilde · 24 eps
Vega$
Roth · 23 eps
Vega$
Roth (uncredited) · 1 eps
Suddenly Susan
Peter DiCaprio · 1 eps
Startime
The Juggler · 1 eps
Roseanne
1 eps
Bracken's World
1 eps
General Electric Theater
Mario Galindo · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
David · 1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Charlie · 1 eps
Dream Girl: The Making of Marilyn Monroe
Tony Curtis · 3 eps
Self / Appearances (60)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 5 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self · 1 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
Sacrée soirée
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 4 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Wetten, dass..?
Self · 1 eps
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · 4 eps
Bambi
Self · 2 eps
People's Choice Awards
Self · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 1 eps
Dinah!
Self · 1 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · 3 eps
The UnXplained
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Recipient · 1 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
This Is Your Life
Self · 1 eps
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited) · 3 eps
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self · 4 eps
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 2 eps
The Late Late Show
Self · 1 eps
The Hollywood Greats
Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
Matin Bonheur
Self · 1 eps
The Mrs Merton Show
Self · 1 eps
The Dame Edna Experience
Self · 1 eps
Shrink Rap
Self · 1 eps
Un film et son époque
Self · 1 eps
This Morning
Self · 1 eps
From Roger Moore with Love
Self (archive footage)
A Century of Cinema
Self
The Celluloid Closet
Self
Jamie Lee Curtis: Hollywood Call of Freedom
Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes
Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
Self (archive)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Allen in Movieland
Self
Pictures of Ghosts
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Self (archive footage)
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
Rescued from the Closet
Self
People, Hopes, Medals
Self
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
Self
Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot
Self
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class
Self
Hugh Hefner: American Playboy
Self
Marilyn at the Movies
Self (archive footage)
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved
Self
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
Self
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Self
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
The World's Most Beautiful Girls
Self
Norman Jewison, Film Maker
Self (uncredited)
Tony Curtis on 'Some Like It Hot'
Self
That's Insignificance
Self
Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box
Narrator (voice) / Self
Producing (7)
Sex and the Single Girl
Executive Producer
Startime
Executive Producer
The Vikings
Executive Producer
Sweet Smell of Success
Executive Producer
Captain Newman, M.D.
Executive Producer
Don't Make Waves
Executive Producer
Not With My Wife, You Don't!
Executive Producer