Tony Curtis, the Bronx tailor's son who became a 1950s movie heartthrob and then a respected actor with such films as "Sweet Smell of Success," "The Defiant Ones" and "Some Like It Hot," has died. He was 85. The actor died at 9:25 p.m. MDT Wednesday at his Las Vegas area home of a cardiac arrest. His first wife was actress Janet Leigh of "Psycho" fame; actress Jamie Lee Curtis is their daughter.
"My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages," Jamie Lee Curtis said in a statement Thursday. "He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world." -Via MSNBC Here are some shots of the heart throb in his youth...
Some words from Tony-
"That's life. We're all brought up in a world that isn't the best place for us to be in once in a while. There are so many problems and we try to overcome them all. So these movies use these capsules of pain and anger, joy and love, to bring us, the audience, moments of joy and pleasure. And that's what they are. For me to do a movie like The Defiant Ones, I felt very strongly about that. I feel strongly that we, all of us, are brothers and sisters, and nothing interferes with that except our education, our background, where we grew up and how we should do it. If you eliminated all those negatives and gave us an open view of what life would be like, it would be different. Jack [Lemmon] and I dressed up like girls in Some Like It Hot. Nobody wanted to do that; they never made a movie like that before. Two leading men dressed up like women? Do you mind? There was enough of that going on in the streets without having it on the screen. You wouldn't believe the mail I got after that movie. "At last, Tony, at last!" They'd send me limousines, diamond necklaces and bracelets. I didn't realise how many doors it would open. [audience laughs] And everywhere I went I said, "No, I don't wear dresses at home." - From the Guardian,UK interview
