Thursday, September 30, 2010

Arrivederci, Baby! - Rest in Peace Tony Curtis


Today I heard that one of my all-time favorite actors has passed.
Tony Curtis

(yup, that's my autographed 8x10)

He starred in many of my favorite movies -
Houdini
The Great Race
Some Like It Hot


See his Bio HERE @ IMDb

Tony Curtis on Wikipedia





As his career developed, Curtis wanted to act in movies that had some kind of social relevance, movies that would challenge audiences, so he began to appear in movies such as Spartacus (1960) and The Defiant Ones (1958). Tony was advised against appearing as the subordinate sidekick in Spartacus (1960), playing second fiddle to the equally famous Kirk Douglas. However, Curtis saw no problem with this as the had recently acted together in dual leading roles in The Vikings (1958). Off-screen, Curtis also became famous for his romantic escapades, as he had relationships with a number of famous actresses, including Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe and, of course, Janet Leigh.

Despite having worked in movies for sixty years, Curtis' performances continue to resonate with the same spark they had when he was just starting out. It's been said that the closest thing America has to royalty are genuine movie stars, and Curtis is a prime example of one. Despite having an extremely tough childhood full of tragedy, much like many of the characters he has portrayed, Curtis refused to do what was expected of him and follow his father's footsteps, and all of his experiences, whether it be the death of his brother or living in an orphanage, contributed to Curtis' driving ambition that would not sway.





One of the greatest cartoons ever was loosely
based on The Great Race ..
Hanna Barbera's Wacky Races





Rest in Peace Tony

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