Any real actor worth their salt would kill to have the resume actor Tony Curtis has. He was also an accomplished painter and a best-selling author.
Curtis passed away last night at the age of 85.
He received an Oscar nomination for his role in The Defiant Ones but went on to star in Spartacus, The Sweet Smell of Success, Operation Petticoat, Some Like It Hot, and The Boston Strangler. He also provided some BRILLIANT commentary for the documentary The Celluloid Closet and last but not least, was the voice of "Stony Curtis" in an amusing episode of The Flintstones.
I had the pleasure of a brief meeting with Mr. Curtis. After he was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the Mill Valley Film Festival, I was able to get his autograph on both my DVD of Some Like It Hot and on his recently released autobiography, American Prince. He looked me square in the eye, firmly shook my hand and asked if it was OK that he sign his name across Monroe's "Bosom." I laughed and replied "I would be disappointed if you didn't." He laughed, signed his name and thanked me for stopping by.
Now THAT'S a star.
Don't forget "The Great Race", a great, fun film.
ReplyDeleteYou met Stony Curtis?! Hubba! Now THAT'S a STAR!! Total heights of stardom of Hollywood at its best. That's just slightly below meeting someone like Clark Gable or Humphrey Bogart. *envy*
ReplyDeleteWho of course can forget "Some Like It Hot." But I also loved "The Defiant Ones." Great movie. And remember he's the hunk slave-boy that Laurence Olivier comes onto in that famous "My taste includes both snails and oysters" scene. Classic.
^ ....in "Spartacus," that is.
ReplyDeleteyeah, he did a "meet and greet" after a showing of SOME LIKE IT HOT. i didn't have a camera, so i don't have a pic of us but one of the local photogs here in town got a pic of me with a BIG smile as Tony Curtis shook my hand. the pic would just show the back of Tony's head but that's good enough for me. it was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteand yes, THE GREAT RACE is a good one as well, haven't seen it in years!