Tony

Good lord, this is turning out to be a brutal week, isn't it? As is customary, David Hudson's perch at The Daily Notebook is the best way to keep up with the tributes, of which Dave Kehr's is, typically, one of the more astute and appreciative.

I had the privilege of doing a phone interview with Mr. Curtis for Premiere a long, or longish, while back, tied into the DVD release of some classic picture of his that I don't recall. And we got on the subject of Cary Grant, as one will, and he talked about how seeing Grant in Destination Tokyo compelled him to both join the Navy and take up acting, or, rather, the idea of Hollywood stardom. And of how he developed this Cary Grant impersonation way back in the day and how it subsequently pretty much blew his mind to be asked to do this very interesting postmodern Cary Grant avant le lettre bit in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, and how that was pretty much the most fun a person could have, except that same year, pretty much, he was cast in Operation Petticoat, which, like Destination Tokyo, was set on a submarine and starred...Cary Grant himself. And how that pretty much blew his mind even further. And I brought up how Elvis Presley had, well before his own film career began, dyed his hair jet black in homage to Curtis, and we both contemplated that for a second or two, and it blew both our minds. And all the while Curtis, then pretty well into his seventies, spoke with the enthusiasm of a teenage kid. 

When I learned of his passing I thought about what I might want to write about him, and considered, not without basis, going the he-was-underrated-and-underappreciated-as-a-film-performer route, and then I thought, "Yeah, but the readers of my blog already know that." Which makes me kind of proud and happy, I must say. In any event: he was an axiom. We may onward see those who fall under his shadow for a good long time, but we won't see his like again. Above, the bit from Some Like It Hot, right before he evokes the immortal image of a telltale roommate strangled with her own brassiere. An imitation, but inimitable. 

Comments

[rotch]

The Rule of the Three...

First time I saw Tony Curtis was as Stony Curtis in The Flintstones. That was one handsome cartoon.

[Stephen Whitty]

I think the best performance Tony Curtis NEVER gave was Ray Liotta's in "Goodfellas." The line between that and Sidney Falco is so sharp you could cut yourself on it.

[MarkVH]

Rotch - Curtis, Penn, Menke, Stuart - I count four.

RIP Tony. Terrific actor, terrific career.

[That Fuzzy Bastard]

One of the things that was so endearing about Curtis was how, like Tarantino, he never became jaded. In every interview, he came off as a super-fan who was thrilled by his own good fortune. RIP

[rotch]

MarkVH

I suddenly forgot about Stuart. What a sad week.

[bill]

Years ago, before DVD, I bought this VHS box-set of Orson Welles movies -- it had MR. ARKADIN, THE TRIAL and...THE STRANGER? I can't remember. Anyway, it felt like some public domain situation, because the set was really cheap, but each film was introduced by Tony Curtis. I could never figure out why. Also, he was wearing gloves.

RIP.

[Steven Hart]

Sidney Falco, now and forever.

http://stevenhartsite.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/sweet-smell-of-success/

[James Keepnews]

Must-mentions: WINCHESTER '73, THE BOSTON STRANGLER, THE LAST TYCOON, INSIGNIFICANCE. Among a couple few others, to be sure. Such a long, varied, superb career. Peaceout, Mr. Curtis.

[Jimmy]

Yeah, I heard the sad news of Tony Curtis passing away, while listening to the radio, in the middle of the night.

I immediately said a little prayer for the man.

A few weeks ago, I showed my wife, 'Captain Newman, M.D.' for the first time. I was happy she enjoyed it as much as I did. One of those little gems of a film, in which Tony Curtis brought his movie star shine, that made you just sit there and smile. Sweet.

No question about the quality of his work in classics such as 'Sweet Smell of Success' 'The Defiant Ones' and 'Some Like It Hot' but it was movies like 'Mister Cory' 'Trapeze' and 'Operation Petticoat' that I saw as a kid, I remember so fondly.

Just a solid entertainer. A good actor. Like Jack Lemmon, one of those guys who could do comedy and drama, so well. You're correct Glenn, we truly won't see his like again.

Rest In Peace Tony Curtis. And thanks for the smiles.

[jbryant]

James: I'm pretty confident that Tony Curtis isn't in WINCHESTER '73--now I'm scratching my head trying to figure out which title you're confusing it with.

The story I'm repeating everywhere today is sitting two rows behind Curtis at a 1999 screening of THE BOSTON STRANGLER (maybe his greatest performance) as part of a Richard Fleischer tribute by the American Cinematheque.

[jbryant]

Almost the second I hit "post" I remembered that Curtis IS in WINCHESTER '73. D'oh!

[James Keepnews]

JB -- You were close: "Tony Curtis" is not in WINCHESTER '73, but "Anthony Curtis" is!

[Jimmy]

For some strange reason, it just popped up in my head...55 years ago today, Jimmy Dean. RIP.

[Unkle Rusty]

I always felt Robert Downey Jr. has been channeling Mr. Curtis his whole career. Even looks a bit like him.

[Chris O.]

Thanks, Mr. Keepnews, for the INSIGNIFICANCE reminder. Wow.

[hamletta]

I feel a sense of dislocation, kinda like I did when Marlon Brando died. Only I don't remember hearing about Tony Curtis. He just always was.

Brando was so enigmatic as to seem other than human, so it just never occurred to me that he could die. Curtis was always there and very much human, full of life and joy.

God rest his soul. I raise my glass to his spirit!