Tony Curtis dies at 85

Hollywood movie star Tony Curtis has died of cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas home at the age of 85. Curtis, who changed his name from Bernard Schwartz to a more Hollywood-friendly name, became a matinee idol in the ’50s in costume films like “The Black Shield of Falworth.” After his marriage to actress Janet Leigh, whose good looks were a match for his own, they became one of the most popular couples in gossip magazines. Wanting to stretch himself, Curtis started to take more challenging parts, giving a memorable performance as a seedy agent in the classic film noir “Sweet Smell of Success.” In 1959, he also found a new popularity in romantic comedies with his starring role in “Some Like It Hot” (where he said that kissing co-star Marilyn Monroe was “like kissing Hitler”). He continued to be popular throughout the ’60s, moving into television and character parts in the ’70s. He was married six times and had several children, including his younger daughter with Janet Leigh, actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

New York Times