Hollywood legend Curtis dies aged 85
Source: Agencies |
October 1, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TONY Curtis, whose good looks made him a Hollywood star well before he became an accomplished actor in movies such as "The Sweet Smell of Success" and "Some Like It Hot," has died. He was 85.
Curtis, one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and one of Hollywood's busiest playboys, died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday at his home in Henderson, Nevada.
Curtis had a memorable role in the classic gladiator movie "Spartacus" in 1960 and two of his most enduring performances came in "Some Like It Hot" where he teamed up with Jack Lemmon - playing cross-dressers opposite Marilyn Monroe - and "The Sweet Smell of Success," in which he played a fawning press agent.
He received an Oscar nomination for the 1958 film "The Defiant Ones," in which he played a racist escaped con chained to Sidney Poitier. Other notable films included "Houdini," "Trapeze," "Operation Petticoat," "The Boston Strangler," "The Vikings" and "The Great Impostor."
Curtis made more than 140 films, mixing comedies with dramas, but part of his life was plagued by poor movies and struggles with cocaine and alcohol.
Curtis was married six times and his first wife was actress Janet Leigh, with whom he fathered the actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who was estranged from him for much of his life.
As his acting career waned, Curtis concentrated on painting and in 1989, he sold more than US$1 million worth of his art in the first day of a Los Angeles exhibition.
In more recent years he operated the Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, a refuge for abused or abandoned horses with sixth wife Jill.
Curtis, one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and one of Hollywood's busiest playboys, died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday at his home in Henderson, Nevada.
Curtis had a memorable role in the classic gladiator movie "Spartacus" in 1960 and two of his most enduring performances came in "Some Like It Hot" where he teamed up with Jack Lemmon - playing cross-dressers opposite Marilyn Monroe - and "The Sweet Smell of Success," in which he played a fawning press agent.
He received an Oscar nomination for the 1958 film "The Defiant Ones," in which he played a racist escaped con chained to Sidney Poitier. Other notable films included "Houdini," "Trapeze," "Operation Petticoat," "The Boston Strangler," "The Vikings" and "The Great Impostor."
Curtis made more than 140 films, mixing comedies with dramas, but part of his life was plagued by poor movies and struggles with cocaine and alcohol.
Curtis was married six times and his first wife was actress Janet Leigh, with whom he fathered the actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who was estranged from him for much of his life.
As his acting career waned, Curtis concentrated on painting and in 1989, he sold more than US$1 million worth of his art in the first day of a Los Angeles exhibition.
In more recent years he operated the Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, a refuge for abused or abandoned horses with sixth wife Jill.
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