Thursday 30 September 2010

Tony Curtis 1925-2010

Tony Curtis died today aged 85. One of the most beloved classic Hollywood stars, he was an actor of limited range but who nevertheless gave some landmark performances. He was both a matinee idol and later on a gay culture icon, father of Jamie Lee Curtis and husband to Janet Leigh. My favorite Curtis moments include his turn in THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS:



And of course in Kubrick's SPARTACUS:



He tried to stretch his range by taking on the role of the killer in THE BOSTON STRANGLER (1968) and his only Academy Award nomination came from that quintessential liberal 1950s Stanley Kramer movie THE DEFIANT ONES. But his most remembered, quoted and loved role came from Billy Wilder's SOME LIKE IT HOT, where he parodied one of his early heroes, Cary Grant:

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