Tony Curtis born while Bernard Schwartz was an American actor with a net well worth of $60 million. Curtis offers acted in over 100 films of varied genres from humor to drama. In 1959 he made an appearance in his following film called “Procedure Petticoat”, where he made an appearance with Cary Grant. Curtis was created on 3rd June 1925. In the beginning he got his functions for his visual appearance, but gradually through the mid 1950’s, he had been mentioned by the critics and was appraised for his performances. He started proving himself to become a good dramatic actor, getting the range to take action in various dramatic and comedy functions. In his entire profession and films he has given several bold moments and shirtless moments. The critic David Thomson pointed out that Tony’s acting features possess vastly improved. He was named a significant dramatic actor for the very first time with 1957’s “Nice Smell of Achievement”. Critics recognized his functionality again which gained him a Oscar nomination to find the best Actor category for the 1958 film “The Defiant Types”. Tony Curtis reached his peak profession years in the 50s and the 60s. ~$1,9 per second. The film co-starred Marilyn Monroe. In his free of charge period, he utilized to color, and he was taken up to hospital this year 2010 through the exhibition of his paintings. Curtis proved himself once again with the discharge of “The Boston Strangler”. In 1957 the actor became recognized a lot more when he made an appearance in “Sweet Smell of Achievement” with Burt Lancaster. He previously to play the function of real-lifestyle serial killer Albert DeSalvo. Curtis gained 30 pounds and acquired his look re-built because of this movie. This flexible actor was extremely criticized for his personal lifestyle and approach to life. ? In his old age, Curtis made numerous tv appearances. One year afterwards, Tony Curtis made an appearance in “The Defiant Types” and for his function in it he was nominated for an Oscar for Greatest Actor. Curtis found its way to Hollywood in 1948 when he was 23 years outdated. When he was placed directly under contract at Universal Images, he transformed his name from Bernard Schwartz to Tony Curtis. He previously his greatest reputation as an actor and heartthrob through the 1950s and early 1960s. In his earliest parts he acted in a string of mediocre movies, including swashbucklers, westerns, light comedies, sports movies, and a musical. In his earliest parts he acted in a string of mediocre movies, including swashbucklers westerns, light comedies, sports movies, and a musical. He gained his first critical recognition as an experienced dramatic actor in 1957’s “Lovely Smell of Achievement”. The following season he was nominated for an Oscar for Greatest Actor in another drama, “The Defiant Types”. Curtis then provided what could arguably end up being called his greatest performance: three interrelated functions in the 1959 humor “Some Like It Sizzling”. May his soul rest in peace and lengthy live Curtis family members. Curtis was wedded six instances. He was using Facebook and twitter before his demise but there is no information regarding his Instagram accounts. Tony Curtis earned $60 Million – $60 000 000 this season which computes to be ~$164383,56 each day; ~$5000000 monthly; ~$1153846,15 weekly; ~$6849,32 each hour; or ~$114,16 each and every minute; It proceeded to go on to become classic. Income source : Wikipedia Page : Right here Additional information : Birth Place The Bronx, NY, U.S. NAME : Tony Curtis Height : Excess weight : Date of Birth, Age group : June 3, 1925 Birth Place : The Bronx, NY, U.S. Height 1. However, by enough time he starred in Houdini (1953) along with his wife Janet Leigh, ‘his first clear achievement,’ notes critic David Thomson, his acting experienced progressed immensely. His most crucial dramatic part arrived in 1968 when he starred in the true-existence drama The Boston Strangler, which some consider his last main film part.S was the eldest child of his family members. His dad was a tailor, and his mom used to improve them within the next part of their store. His was influenced by the actions films in his period and became a member of U.S Navy following the assault on Pearl Harbor. In this film, he appeared following to Marilyn Monroe. He became a member of City College of NY for his education and later on joined acting at THE BRAND NEW College where he was found out by Joyce Selznick. Standing up tall along with his 5 ft 9-inch elevation was the handsome and beautiful student in the institution where he 1st participated in a drama. He was after that selected by the maker and was casted for his forthcoming film. In the mean time he was light and energetic person in the units of the film who performed the life span of the sportsman in his films, his excess weight at the start of his profession was 62 Kg. Curtis debut film was Criss Cross that was released on 1949 as a dancer, his second film City Over the River produced him more stable in the market. His successful profession went high just on 1950’s and 60’s with back again to back great films. He cast contrary to his wife Janet Leigh in various movies in early 50’s and his images remain found in the web. Revenue & Financial Data: The below economic data is collected and published by TheRichest analysts group to provide you with a better knowledge of Tony Curtis’s net worthy of by wearing down themost relevant monetary events such as for example yearly salaries, contracts, share possession, endorsements, earn outs plus much more. He married 6 situations in his profession and his last partner was Jill Vandenberg Curtis from 1998-2010. He have six kids from his relationship and is recognized as among the worst father based on the mags. His eldest son passed away by the overdose of the cocaine and he was also discovered using this medication when his profession became shaky. In 1953 his acting abilities progressed when he made an appearance in a film called “Houdini” along with his wife Janet Leigh. In 1959, he starred functioning Petticoat with Cary Grant, and in 1960, he acted in “Spartacus”, that was equally effective at the box workplace. His tow child Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis are also an artist in the market and have been focusing on different projects. We are able to easily find the facts about Tony on internet and his biography is situated in different Wiki and IMDb also. He was using the medicines in high quantity and was smoking cigarettes and consuming alcoholic beverages in the late 70’s with the few quantity of movies. His medicines consumption resulted in his loss of life and passed on on September 29, 2010 at age 85. After his demise America lost the many skilled and respected actor with the fantastic legacy. He gave several hit films in his profession, Houdini is also an integral part of it combined with the Persuaders. The bonding with roger moore in the film The Persuaders was great and continues to be watched by the large viewers but he was under no circumstances a gay. His capability to perform atlanta divorce attorneys genre produced his iconic and untouchable among 1950’s and 60’s. But “Houdini” of 1953 was different. Jamie Lee Curtis can be his child. His net well worth was approximated as $60 million. That was accompanied by Blake Edwards’s humor. Some people think that his greatest appearance has been around the film known as “Some ENJOY IT Hot” released in 1959. June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010) was an American film actor whose profession spanned six years, but had his best popularity through the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in a lot more than 100 movies in roles covering an array of genres, from light humor to severe drama. Choose Year Income 1989 Earnings 1982 Income 1978 Earnings 1977 Income 1968 Earnings 1965 Income 1964 Earnings 1959 Income 1958 Earnings 1956 Income 1954 Earnings 1953 Display all income Tony Curtis Net Well worth: Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose profession spanned six years who experienced a net well worth of $60 million dollars. Although his early film functions were partly the consequence of his visual appearance, by the later fifty percent of the 1950s he became a significant and strong screen existence. In the beginning Tony utilized to star in films of genres like westerns, light comedies, musicals and sports films. He acted in a lot more than 100 movies in roles covering an array of genres, from light humor to serious drama.75 m Marital Position Married (Janet Leigh, Christine Kaufmlie Allen, Andrea Savio, Lisa Deutsch, Jill Vandenberg) NAME Tony Curtis Nationality American Date of Birth June 3, 1925 Occupation Actor Education THE TOWN College of NY, The New School Kids Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Curtis, Allegra Curtis, Nicholas Curtis, Alexandra Curtis, Ben Curtis Tony Curtis Bernard Schwartz was probably the most influencing actors in the annals of Hollywood, he provided a lot more than 100 movies in his career and is undoubtedly a versatile actor out there. He won his initial serious recognition as an experienced dramatic actor in Lovely Smell of Success (1957) with co-superstar Burt Lancaster. The next season he was nominated for an Oscar for Greatest Actor in another drama, The Defiant Ones (1958). Curtis after that provided what could arguably end up being called his greatest performance: three interrelated functions in the humor Some Like It Popular (1959). Thomson known as it an ‘outrageous film,’ and a survey completed by the American Film Institute voted it the funniest American film available. The film co-starred Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, and was directed by Billy Wilder. That was accompanied by Blake Edwards’s humor Procedure Petticoat (1959) with Cary Grant. These were both frantic comedies, and shown his impeccable comic timing. He frequently collaborated with Edwards on afterwards films. Within the last years of his profession as an actor, Tony Curtis made an appearance in many Television productions, which also elevated the quantity of Tony Curtis net worthy of. His stardom and film profession declined considerably following the early 1960s. Born on June 3, 1925, in Manhattan, NY, U. The component reinforced his status as a significant actor along with his chilling portrayal of serial killer Albert DeSalvo. It’s been estimated that the quantity of Tony Curtis net well worth is really as high as 60 million dollars. He was created in 1925 and passed on this year 2010. His actual birth name is usually Bernard Schwartz. Tony Curtis became acknowledged and famous due to his are a film actor. He was included into acting market for 6 decades, therefore, there is no shock that during so very long a huge component of Tony Curtis net well worth was accumulated. In 1959 he developed “Some ENJOY IT Hot”, where he most likely exerted his greatest acting overall performance ever. It had been also this time around when he earned lots of money and hence during this time period he accumulated the majority of his prosperity. Tony Curtis made an appearance in over 100 films that have also added up too much to the entire size of Tony Curtis net well worth. Tony Curtis starred in a variety of genre films, completing with dramas and beginning with comedies. In 1960, Curtis co-starred in Spartacus, which became another main hit for him. Additionally it is known that initially of his profession as an actor, Tony Curtis got roles just because of his visual appearance and only later on he began to get them due to his talents and stage existence. Tony Curtis became a huge success performing in both dramatic and comedic productions. Originally, he made an appearance in light comedies, sport movies, westerns and musicals. In the last levels of his profession, he focused towards television shows and was showing up on numerous displays as a guest actor. A film critic David Thomson mentioned that it had been his greatest appearance as an actor. Additionally it is regarded as his last main film. Tony Curtis was created Bernard Schwartz on June 3, 1925 in NEW YORK, NY. $60 Million: Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; He offered before end of the globe battle and was relieved from his duty. It had been directed by Billy Wilder. The film itself is undoubtedly the funniest American film available by the American Film Institute. In addition, it added up to the entire quantity of Tony Curtis net well worth. Curtis’s profession spans from 1948 to 2010, enough time he passed away from a cardiac arrest.
Full Name | Tony Curtis |
Net Worth | $60 Million |
Date Of Birth | June 3, 1925 |
Died | September 29, 2010, Henderson, Nevada, United States |
Height | 1.75 m |
Profession | Actor, Painter |
Education | The New School, Seward Park Campus, City College of New York |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Jill Vandenberg Curtis, Lisa Deutsch, Andrea Savio, Leslie Allen, Christine Kaufmann, Janet Leigh |
Children | Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Curtis, Allegra Curtis, Nicholas Curtis, Alexandra Curtis, Ben Curtis |
Parents | Emanuel Schwartz, Helen Schwartz |
Siblings | Robert Schwartz, Julius Schwartz |
Awards | Golden Globe Henrietta Award for World Film Favorites, David di Donatello Special Award |
Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie |
Movies | Some Like It Hot, The Defiant Ones, Sweet Smell of Success, Spartacus, Operation Petticoat, The Vikings, The Great Race, The Boston Strangler, Taras Bulba, Goodbye Charlie, Don't Make Waves, Sex and the Single Girl, The Great Impostor, The Prince Who Was a Thief, Who Was That Lady?, Kings Go Forth, The Black Shield of Falworth, Captain Newman, M.D., Son of Ali Baba, The Rat Race, 40 Pounds of Trouble, Insignificance, The Rawhide Years, Winchester '73, Mister Cory, The Perfect Furlough, The Manitou, Boeing Boeing, The Outsider, The Last Tycoon, The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, The Mirror Crack'd, Sextette, Not with My Wife, You Don't!, The Purple Mask, Lepke, Drop Dead Darling, Monte Carlo or Bust!, Six Bridges to Cross, Beachhead, The Midnight Story, No Room for the Groom, Naked in New York, City Across the River, Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came, David & Fatima, Lobster Man from Mars, So This Is Paris, Play It to the Bone, Center of the Web, Trapeze |
TV Shows | The Persuaders!, McCoy, Hollywood Babylon |
# | Fact |
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1 |
In his 2008 autobiography "American Prince: A Memoir" Curtis accused many people he worked with of holding anti-Semitic views. |
2 |
Although he played Ernest Borgnine's son in The Vikings (1958), he was only eight years his junior in real life. |
3 |
Met Julie Adams and Piper Laurie, when the three were all under contract with Universal in 1949. |
4 |
Lifelong friends of: Julie Adams and Piper Laurie. |
5 |
George Stevens' "Gunga Din" is his favorite film. |
6 |
Release of his book, "American Prince: A Memoir" by Tony with Peter Golenbock. [October 2008] |
7 |
Co-starring as Osgood Fielding III in musical stage version of Some Like It Hot (1959). [June 2002] |
8 |
Release of his book, "Tony Curtis: The Autobiography" by Tony and Barry Paris. [1993] |
9 |
Was a liberal Democrat and attended several of the Democratic National Conventions until his death. He was even a frequent White House guest during the Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy Administrations. |
10 |
Serving with F Troop (1965) actor Larry Storch in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 aboard a submarine tender, he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from a vantage point 300 yards away. He and Storch have had a lifelong friendship. They appeared together in The Great Race (1965). Storch also co-starred as his room mate/asst' in the comedy 'Forty Pounds of Trouble' (1962). |
11 |
From the top of his submarine in Tokyo Bay, using a pair of binoculars, he was able to witness the Japanese surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri, about a mile away. He considered this experience to be one of the highlights of his life. |
12 |
Father of two sons, with Leslie Curtis: Nicholas Curtis (desceased) and Benjamin Curtis. |
13 |
He disinherited all of his children from his will and left the bulk of his estate to his wife Jill Vandenberg Curtis. |
14 |
Following his death, he was buried with some of his favorite possessions - a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf, driving gloves, an iPhone and a copy of his favorite novel, "Anthony Adverse," a book that inspired his celebrity name. |
15 |
Suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in his last years. |
16 |
According to his autobiography, he really desired the lead male role of Paul Varjack in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Director Blake Edwards considered the idea, but the role eventually went to George Peppard. |
17 |
Admits that he is largely estranged from all six of his children, including actress Jamie Lee Curtis, one of his children by first wife Janet Leigh. |
18 |
Like many before and after, he changed his name from Bernard Schwartz to Tony Curtis, partly in response to Hollywood anti-Semitism. |
19 |
Broke a Hollywood taboo in the 1950s by insisting that an African-American actor, Sidney Poitier, have co-starring billing next to him in the movie The Defiant Ones (1958). |
20 |
Claims he probably had a sexual addiction. Among his female conquests boasted of in his 2008 memoir was a pre-star Marilyn Monroe who was a very young, pony-tailed redhead during their teenage affair. |
21 |
His sixth wife, Jill Vandenberg Curtis (since 1998), who is 46 years younger than he, runs a wild-horse refuge. |
22 |
Recovered from a cocaine addiction in the 1980s. |
23 |
Claims that his mother was physically abusive and that his father was impassive. |
24 |
Now in his 80s, he spends most of his time painting. Some of his works are a part of a permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. |
25 |
He enjoys playing the flute for pleasure and relaxation. He is a very accomplished player. |
26 |
His brother Julius died after being hit by a truck (1938). |
27 |
Elvis Presley copied his duck-tail hairstyle after seeing it on screen. |
28 |
His favorite movie star was Cary Grant. |
29 |
Has appeared in tourism advertisements for his ancestral homeland Hungary. |
30 |
Was originally considered for one of the leading roles of Lady L (1965). |
31 |
Nearly died in hospital from pneumonia at Christmas 2006. |
32 |
Along with Ernest Borgnine, Curtis refused to watch, and publicly condemned, Brokeback Mountain (2005). |
33 |
Serving with F Troop (1965) actor Larry Storch in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 aboard a submarine tender, he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from a vantage point 300 yards away. He and Storch have had a lifelong friendship. They appeared together in The Great Race (1965). Storch also co-starred as his room mate/asst' in the comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962). |
34 |
He was a militant anti-smoker, having been a heavy smoker himself for about thirty years. Both Sir Michael Caine and Sir Roger Moore credited Curtis with helping them quit smoking cigarettes in the early 1970s, though not cigars. |
35 |
Appeared in Sugar, a stage musical based on Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959) . He appeared as millionaire Osgood Fielding III, the character played by Joe E. Brown in the film. |
36 |
Since re-dubbing the bath scene in Spartacus (1960) in which he starred with Laurence Olivier, Curtis has said that whenever he encounters Anthony Hopkins (who did the voiceover for Olivier in the re-dubbed version following Olivier's death), he hollers "Oh Tony... it's Antoninus". |
37 |
Was the inspiration for and voiced the character Stoney Curtis on an episode of The Flintstones (1960), along with Ann-Margret as Ann Marg-rock. |
38 |
He has two adopted sons. |
39 |
He made a literary cameo in Matt Whyman's debut romantic comedy novel, 'Man or Mouse', in which the main character, Ren, e-mails Curtis with his love-life problems, and finally meets him briefly. |
40 |
Suffers from fear of flying. |
41 |
Appears on the cover of The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". |
42 |
Lives in Henderson, Nevada. |
43 |
Enjoys painting and creating shadow boxes. In late 2005, the Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY) acquired one of his canvasses for its permanent collection. |
44 |
Born to Emanuel Schwartz, a Hungarian tailor who emigrated to the United States, and his wife Helen, he grew up with two brothers, Julius and Robert. |
45 |
His son, Nicholas Curtis, died of seizures due to an overdose of heroin (2 July 1994). |
46 |
Father of Allegra Curtis and Alexandra Curtis (with Christine Kaufmann). |
47 |
Father of Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis (with Janet Leigh). |
# | Quote |
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1 |
(On Don't Make Waves (1967) The plot was utterly ridiculous, but I agreed to appear in the film because I got a percentage of the gross. |
2 |
[on his love scene with Marilyn Monroe on the yacht in Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was like kissing Hitler. She'd gone funny, her mind was all over the place. It was awful. She nearly choked me to death by deliberately sticking her tongue down my throat into my windpipe. |
3 |
[on working with Laurence Olivier on Spartacus (1960)] Olivier taught me a lot about acting. He said to me, "Tony, clothes maketh the man." He taught me that you choose your clothes and you put them on and you finally become that character. He didn't just put on any costume that was given to him. He chose what was best for the character he was playing and he showed me how that helps to take the character into another dimension. I learned that from him and always used it. So he gave me tips on acting and I gave him tips on body-building. I took him behind the set and said, "On your face." Then I showed him how to do press-ups properly and it helped to get him into good shape. |
4 |
God is great, he won't hurt us, 'cause he looks like Tony Curtis. |
5 |
I got a lot of girls while I was at the peak. If I didn't get them, I got their stand-ins. |
6 |
Painting is more meaningful to me than any performance I've ever given. |
7 |
I have met every President of the United States from Kennedy on, except Nixon. |
8 |
I enjoy being Tony. I was the only one who ever knocked Burt Lancaster on his *ss in Trapeze (1956), and I took Kirk Douglas' eye out in The Vikings (1958), and I took two girls away from Jack Lemmon. I also took away Cary Grant's submarine, so I've got these nice moments in my movies. |
9 |
[on Some Like It Hot (1959)] It's one of the most outstanding movies I've made. It was a very complicated role. I played a straight man, I played a comic, I played a woman, I played a saxophone player, I played a millionaire, I played a little bit of Cary Grant as well. When the picture was over, Billy Wilder ran the picture for Cary, and said, 'Well, how did you like Tony's impression?' and Cary said (doing Cary Grant imitation) 'I don't talk like that!' |
10 |
Here in America, you have to die before they say something nice about you. |
11 |
Don't listen to them, when they say don't drink, or drink very little, don't smoke, don't eat too much, don't eat badly, don't get fat, don't get ugly, and p*ssed off that life is passing you by. There's no such animal, my friend. |
12 |
[His advice to George Michael after his 1998 arrest for lewd conduct] Keep smiling. |
13 |
I was resented and hated because I was so good-looking and Jewish. It's true. This is not paranoia. I think that because of the Iraq war, anti-Semitism is on the increase again. |
14 |
They are all dead now; Cary Grant, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, all my Hollywood friends. Sometimes I feel so lonely. Actors today achieve nothing nor do they have any glamour. They seem more interested in adopting babies than films. All the films are terrible, too, because the scripts are so bad and there are no decent film-makers. |
15 |
[on his love for the ladies] Listen, we all do. I tell ya, there isn't a guy a met that wouldn't love to jump on a beautiful woman without knowing her name. And if that's what you call womanizing, then call me the King. |
16 |
When I made Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones, I should have continued in that milieu. It was my own stupidity that I didn't. I just went on blithely from one picture to the next, letting other people guide my destiny, instead of taking hold of it myself. But that's not bad either because I find now that there's no period in my life that I regret. Each had a reason and a purpose. The thing is to learn to accept it and not spend your present and your future looking back and thinking, 'Oh shit, I wish I hadn't done that.' |
17 |
[on Marlon Brando] He was an interesting man, different, a genius in the way he thought. |
18 |
One of the big reasons I started using cocaine was that I was told it was great for sex. It didn't make me superhuman in the longevity department, but it certainly did make my sexual experiences more intense. |
19 |
[on today's actors, starting with Brad Pitt] That Pitt fellow - what's his name? He hasn't got it. Now, Robert Downey Jr. - I think he might have something. |
20 |
[on Cary Grant] The greatest movie actor of all time. |
21 |
[on Marilyn Monroe] You could tell she'd already been battered by life, and I found that she'd been in an orphanage, as I had, and that her mother was also schizophrenic. I loved her. And she loved me, but we both wanted to be in the movies, and that meant everything. |
22 |
I just wanted to be treated like anybody else. There was a lot of opposition to me during the early years of movies. It had an effect on me. I don't feel like I got the movies I should've gotten. I felt I deserved more than that the industry had given me. I felt I should have been considered more, with a little more respect from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy. I don't feel like I contributed what I wanted to contribute in the movies. |
23 |
[on the long-running feud with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] What am I going to do? God bless her, I wish her the best. If she can't forgive me, then get another father. |
24 |
[on his 1951 marriage to first wife Janet Leigh] I even married Janet for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention together. We had the paparazzi wherever we went, we were on the cover of all the movie magazines. It wasn't enough for a man to be cute, he had to be connected to the right woman...What better way to get famous? |
25 |
[on his relationship with his mother] I got nothing from her. I got slapped around is what I got. |
26 |
[on dying] I may have them take my ashes and spread them all over Las Vegas! |
27 |
[on his troubled relationship with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis] I have a feeling she wanted to teach me a lesson for abandoning her mother and her. But I couldn't be with Janet Leigh anymore. She was disappearing into her own madnesses. |
28 |
[on Brokeback Mountain (2005)] This picture is not as important as we make it. It's nothing unique. The only thing unique about it is they put it on the screen. And they make 'em gay cowboys. 'Howard Hughes (I)' and John Wayne wouldn't like it. |
29 |
[in 2008] I'm just wondering how many more years I have. I don't have 20. I don't have 15. How many years do I have? I don't know, but I plan to reinvent myself as an 84-year-old, as an 85-year-old man who can do anything and everything. |
30 |
I realized if I could [have sex with] a girl . . . a woman has accepted me. The main force in me was to be accepted by others. Not education, not money in my pocket, nothing except to be accepted by a girl. |
31 |
On living in the present: So far so good, and I'm ready for more. My art will give me more. There'll be more shows, and this book will open things up for me again. There's still so much to discover. So I have to take good care of myself so you don't find me in the gutter. |
32 |
[on what he misses] I miss a pale-green Buick convertible with Dynaflow drive. I miss a little beach house in Malibu with the waves lapping on the beach. [This was during his first months in Hollywood, when he would bring then-unknown Marilyn Monroe back to his beach house] |
33 |
[on finally forgiving his mother long after she died] We could have all turned out like her. She cleaned houses in Hungary from when she was six or seven. She had no opportunities. |
34 |
[about his sixth wife Jillie] She's the only one who didn't want me to change after I married her. |
35 |
It's rather nice not to be waiting for a script to come through the door, and even if it did, I would turn it down. |
36 |
[about Some Like It Hot (1959)] It was perfect. Great dialogue. Crisp acting. Billy Wilder was brilliant, and Jack Lemmon and I always had a great time together; even though we were from different backgrounds - he was Harvard-educated, very intelligent and urbane. We balanced each other out. |
37 |
A lot of things that would have meant a lot to me were denied me by Hollywood. I didn't speak properly. I spoke with a thick New York accent. Everyone knew my name was Schwartz - and Jews were not welcome. [I suffered resentment from the Hollywood establishment for marrying a "shiksa goddess" in Janet Leigh.] "Debbie Reynolds was the centre of gravity for a glitzy Caucasian crowd, and I could tell they didn't appreciate me. They didn't pick on you, they just ignored you. I couldn't understand it. |
38 |
I became great friends with all my co-stars. With Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon and Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant . . . Cary Grant. He could have picked anyone, but he allowed me the privilege to be in the movie with him. Jesus. To be in a movie with Cary Grant. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was the reason why I wanted to get into the movies - and that is all I ever wanted. |
39 |
I was the best-looking kid in town. It's not what you have but what you do with it that counts. |
40 |
[on his ambitions] I even married Janet Leigh for my career. I could see the two of us could get more attention together. We had the paparazzi wherever we went, we were on the cover of all the movie magazines. It wasn't enough for a man to be cute, he had to be connected to the right woman. |
41 |
[about first meeting Marilyn Monroe] She was 19 and didn't look anything like what she became. She had reddish-brown hair and her figure was not distinguished yet. Her bosoms weren't what they were later and her legs were a little scrawny, but she was putting it all together. Don't you see? Once she accepted she was a woman, then, look out, world. There was no guy that was safe. If she liked you, there was no man who could resist. |
42 |
[about the starlet system of 1950s Hollywood] These girls of 18 or 20 were fodder. All the guys at the studios, including myself, would feast on them, taking their sweetness. There were a lot of them. I don't remember their names. Then they would go home and get married. Poor darlings. They came and went. |
43 |
[about his schizophrenic mother's influence on his childhood] Yes, yes, that had a lot to do with it. I got nothing from her. I got slapped around is what I got. But I liked to be with women. I never did it with dogs or elephants or men. Only with women. |
44 |
[about his many sexual dalliances] It was love. I was falling in love every day. I am completely in love with women. Every woman. I loved their company and there was always a chance you could kiss them. I found kissing a very appealing experience. I was just always hoping for that conquest, hoping for that physical affection . . . that ejaculation. |
45 |
Early on, I decided I didn't want to be known as a mere actor. I wanted to feel like a star. I wanted to get my footprints in Hollywood on the sidewalk, which I got. I wanted to be on the cover of all the magazines and go to parties in a limousine with a beautiful girl. I did all of that - and more. And I appreciate it. Every day I'm reminded of who I am. People stop me in the street all the time. Women love to see me - and I love to see them. I have an affinity for women, you know. |
46 |
Look. I'm so privileged to be alive in this studio that happens to be mine. I'm 83 years old and I'm still a factor in this world, I still contribute wherever I go. It's astounding. I could have been a politician or a brain surgeon. But I didn't have an education, so there wasn't anything I could do but get into the movies. And, boy, did I ever. To burst into the movies like I did. Isn't that neat? |
47 |
Well, on the one hand you could say I was tremendously blessed, on the other I was definitely cursed. |
48 |
[about Spartacus (1960)] Kirk Douglas is tough, but Stanley Kubrick was tougher! |
49 |
[on Marilyn Monroe on the set of Some Like It Hot (1959)] I knew there was something disturbing her. For some inexplicable reason, she was going down the wrong path and no one knew it. |
50 |
[on Marilyn Monroe] I'm in love with her now. I've loved her all these years. |
51 |
My father was a tailor. I used to deliver for him. I'd have to hold the clothes up high to keep them from dragging on the ground. |
52 |
I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948. I had more action than Mount Vesuvius - men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated where I wanted to and didn't where I didn't. I've always been open about it. |
53 |
Fame is another profession. I feel that I have two professions, I have the profession of being an actor and I have the profession of being famous. |
54 |
Comedy is the most honest way for an actor to earn his living. People would rather laugh than cry. The quickest way to change drama into comedy is simply to speed up the film. |
55 |
Hollywood... the most sensational merry-go-around ever built. |
56 |
I had to be careful where I went because I was a Jew, because I was young and because I was handsome. It made me wiry and erratic and paranoid, which is what I still am. Always on guard. |
57 |
I wouldn't be seen dead with a woman old enough to be my wife. |
58 |
[asked who the most attractive person he ever worked with was] I am. |
59 |
What's the secret to a long and happy life? Young women's saliva! |
60 |
I ran around with a lump in my pants, chased all the girls. This is what I reflected on the screen. There wasn't anything deeper or less deep than that. |
61 |
They gave me away as a prize once - a Win Tony Curtis For A Weekend competition. The woman who won was disappointed. She'd hoped for second prize - a new stove. |