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Born
Bernard Schwartz, on June 3, 1925, in New York City, the
eldest of three sons of a tailor, Manuel, and a shopkeeper,
Helen Schwartz. His brother Julius, born in 1929, was killed
when he was hit by a truck in 1938. Another brother, Robert,
was born in 1940.
Curtis
grew up in an impoverished section of the Bronx, and had
joined a street gang by the age of eleven. He joined the
Navy in 1943, and after the war, attended the City College
of New York and took acting lessons at the Dramatic Workshop.
In 1948 he moved to California and was placed under contract
by Universal Studios, making his screen debut in Criss Cross
(1948). Soon afterward, his good looks made him a matinee
idol, initially under the name James Curtis, and then Anthony
Curtis.
A
versatile actor, Curtis sought work in a variety of genres
in order to avoid being typecast. His first major film was
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957). He was nominated for
an Academy Award for his performance in The Defiant Ones
(1958) with Sidney Poitier. He demonstrated his comedic
talent in Billy Wilder’s classic Some Like It Hot (1959)
with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon. Other important films
include The Vikings (1958), Spartacus (1960), The Great
Imposter (1961) and The Boston Strangler (1968). In the
early 1970s, Curtis appeared in a British TV series called
The Persuaders, and in 1977 he wrote his first novel Kid
Andrew Cody & Julie Sparrow.
Curtis
enjoyed a close friendship with Hollywood’s “Rat
Pack,” a group of entertainers which included Frank
Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop and
Peter Lawford. Some sources even cite Curtis as an “honorary
member.” He appeared in several films with Rat Pack
members, including Pepe (1960) and The List of Adrian Messenger
(1963).
Despite
a cardiac bypass operation in 1994, Curtis is still vibrantly
active and occasionally plays supporting roles in films.
He is enjoying a successful second career as a fine artist.
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