Figure 1.--Here is Tony after his peak of popularity with four of his six children. Tony had wo daughters with his first wife, actress Janet Leigh, Kelly in 1956 and Jamie Lee in 1958. He had ywo more daughters, Alexandra in 1964 and Allegra in 1966 with his second wife, German actress Christine Kaufmann. Then he had two sons, Nicholas in 1970 and Benjamin in 1973 with his third wife, Leslie Allen. The phoyograph here was taken in 1979.

Tony Curtis was a popular American actor with a career that spanned an impressive 6 decades. Tony was born of poor Hungarian Jewish parents and had a hard time as a boy growing up in New York. His real name was Bernard Schwartz. He was eldest of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz's three children. He was teased and bullied at school because he was Jewish. He is described as a wild, hungry kid. His family was so poor that their parents had to put Bernard and his brother in an orphanage for a time because they could not feed them. Tony had very little formal education. His parents promoted it, but he saw no future in it. He learned as he said the 'school of hard knocks'. He said that the only person who ever had his back was himself, so he learned how to take care of both himself and younger brother, Julius. His mother had mental issues and at time beat the children which he says made him ill at ease with women. He was never sure whether she was going to hug or hit him. Just before his Bar Mitzvah, he lost the person he was closest to when his brother, Julius, was hit by a truck and killed. His father, Emanuel, was a tailor and struggled to support his family. There was serious arguing between his parents over money. Bernard often went to the movies to escape from family drama. A reader provides some information about his high school. "This is a small world. My mother was 2years older than Tony Curtis. She knew him as Bernie Schwartz and had a crush on him although as a Freshman she would never date him. She had no idea that Bernie Schwartz was Tony Curtis and my oldest brother saw him on Johnie Carson's 'Tonight Show' where Tony mentioned that he attended a NY Public High School -- Seward Park High School on the lower East side. Somehow my brother remembered the high school and realized that there was a good chance my mother may have known Tony Curtis. My brother slyly brought up if she ever knew someone named Bernard Schwartz and my mother uncharacteristically reverted to a HS girl swooning over someone saying something to the effect of "All the girls in PS whatever were in love with him ... but he was a Freshman and I was a senior..." Then my brother mentioned that Bernie Schwartz was Tony Curtis and my mother responded with "..NO... I would never have guessed that anyone from PS Whatever would make it in Hollywood ...." A lucky break with a relative brought him into Hollywood where he found success because of his talent and his physical appearance. He was especially popular during the 1950s-60s. He appeared in more than 100 movies including a range of genres, both drama and comedy. His most important films were probably 'Some like it hot' and 'Spartacus'. As his Hollywood star dimmed, he turned to television. His personal life was tumultuous including six marriages and countless affairs. He became adduced to drugs, but managed to kick it. His eldest son was not so fortunate. Nicholas died of a heroin overdose at the age of 23 (1994). All of his substantial fortune went to his last wife, leaving his children and ex-wives nothing.

Created: 8:58 PM 12/29/20242
Last updated: 4:29 PM 12/30/2024