Tony Curtis

The actor was first married to a yesteryear actress named Janet Leigh with whom he had two daughters, namely Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly. Both his children later went on to become renowned actresses.

After parting ways with Janet, he entered the wedlock with Christine Kaufmann, Leslie Allen, Andrea Savio, Lisa Deustch and Jill Vandenburg Curtis.

Curtis tried revamping the historic 'Great Synagouge' monument, along with his daughter and actress Jamie Lee Curtis during the early 1990's.

Tony Curtis was the eldest of the three children born to Emanual Schwartz and Helen, on June 3rd 1925. He was originally named Bernard Schwartz, by his parents.

His father, who was of Hungarian descent made ends meet by running a tailor shop. Curtis had once complained that his mother often punished him in a harsh manner. Tony's parents left him and his siblings at an orphanage for a month since their financial constraint couldn't let them feed the kids.

He was then rescued by a person who stayed in his neighborhood and got him admitted to an institution named 'Seward Park High School'. It was at school, that Curtis experienced his first acting stint, by participating in a play.

The young man became a part of the 'Pacific Submarine Force', a division of the American Navy. The movies 'Crash Dive' and 'Destination Tokyo' inspired him to do so.

After his brief stint with the defense force, Tony continued his education by joining the 'City College of New York'. He then tried fine tuning his acting skills by being a student of 'The New School', where he was mentored by a playwright named Erwin Piscator.

Curtis got an opportunity to work with the renowned banner 'Universal Pictures' when he was 23 years old. He was trained in sports like riding and fencing during his initial days with the banner.

Curtis made his debut through the 1949 flick 'Criss Cross', in a blink-and-miss role of a rumba dancer. The same year, he also appeared in the flick 'City Across the River', where his name in the credits was mentioned as 'Anthony Curtis'.

However, it was his role of Sidney Felco in the 1957 movie 'Sweet Smell of success' which helped him establish a strong foothold in the world of cinema.

His next movie, titled 'The Defiant Ones', which released in 1958, turned out to be a huge success. Curtis' role of Sidney Polter was even nominated for the prestigious academy award.

The very next year saw the release of his comedy, titled 'Some Like it Hot'. Curtis had shared screen space with the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe in this 1959 film.

Although he has won awards for several other films, the actor is famous amongst movie buffs even today for his role in iconic director Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film, titled 'Spartacus'. The actor's portrayal of the slave named Antoninus was well-appreciated by the critics as well as audiences.