By Bobbie Katz

The screen legend who lived the very definition of the title of one of his famous movies,”Some Like It Hot,” is gone.

Actor Tony Curtis died last night from cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in his bed at his Henderson, Nevada home, next to his wife, Jill.Vandenberg. Known for his roles in a host of films, including Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones and Spartacus, he suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was hospitalized as recently as mid-July after he had trouble breathing.

The Bronx, New York-born son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants began life as Bernard Schwartz, living in the back of his father’s tailor shop with his family, which included his mother and his two brothers, Robert and Julius. When Curtis was eight, he spent a month in an orphanage with his younger brother, Julius, because his parents couldn’t afford food for them. Julius was hit by a truck and killed four years later. In addition, both his mother and Robert were diagnosed with schizophrenia and Robert was institutionalized, Curtis revealed on a TV show, after he became famous, that his mother had been very abusive to him, which eventually led to her diagnosis.

Curtis went on to become one of Hollywood’s golden boys and to make 100 films, both drama and comedy, although he never won an Oscar (he was nominated for The Defiant Ones). In his personal life, he married six tines and had six children - two with actress Janet Leigh, two with actress Christine Kaufman and two with Leslie Allen. His son (with Allen), Nicholas, died of a heroin overdose at 23 on April 2, 1994, about which Curtis stated was something that as a father, one doesn’t recover from.

Having been an entertainment reporter first in Atlantic City for 7 1/2 years and now in Las Vegas for the past 18 ½ years, I had the opportunity to interview, meet, and talk to Curtis on several occasions as he and Jill attended many of the same events I did. I also attended his 80th birthday bash at the MGM Grand at which his daughters Jaimie Lee Curtis and Kelly, from his marriage to actress Janet Leigh, were present.

The last time I had the chance to chat with him was at Robert Goulet’s funeral in the fall of 2008. At that time, Curtis was already wheelchair-bound but proclaimed to me that the next time I saw him, he would be walking on his own.

The first time I met Curtis was back in 1988 at the Sands in Atlantic City when he did an exhibit of his paintings there. I had interviewed him over the phone and then was invited to the exhibition and party that ensued. Back then, he still looked like a matinee idol, even though his hair was flatteringly silver-white. But 22 years later, I still remember that day.

Curtis had a grin and a twinkle in his eye that let you know that he had a strong appreciation of the female sex and didn’t mind showing it. He was delightful to talk to with a marvelous sense of humor and a charming mannerism that made me think of the term “Peck’s Bad Boy.”

In 1998, Curtis married Jill, a stunning blonde. I have interviewed her as well, having great admiration for her work in saving horses from slaughter. She and Curtis fought side-by-side in Washington D.C. in an attempt to get the horse slaughter bill passed in Congress. Jill has saved hundreds of horses and a couple of years ago, moved her sanctuary from Henderson, which is an environ of Las Vegas, to Sandy Valley, CA, where she had more space.

In a release to the Associated Press, Jamie Lee Curtuis stated, “My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages.” She also talked about the family and fans who respected and loved him and stated that he will be “greatly missed.”

Tony Curtis died having long known the “sweet smell of success.”

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