I heard this morning that Tony Curtis passed away, at the age of 85.. I had no idea that he was already that old. He's one of those actors that seemed eternally young..Many years ago,-- I had the idea of casting Tony Curtis in a 50's-style teen romance comic. I did a few model sheet drawings of him. And even got as far as doing some story breakdowns too, before my interest level completely slipped away.
Anyways, I thought it'd be a good excuse for a blog Post..
Tony Curtis was by no means a favorite actor of mine. But he's a personality that I associate with what might be called the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, I guess? The old-school glamour thang..When he married actress Janet Leigh, it was a pretty big deal. And I guess they became one of Filmdom's power couples, for a short time? Later on, he just got kitschy..
It's easy to dismiss a lot of his acting work. Because of his looks, he got offered a lot of lightweight roles. And appeared in straight-out fluff, like: 'Some Like It Hot' or 'Operation Petticoat'..
As early as '53, he self-produced a biopic on Harry Houdini; which is a guilty pleasure of mine. But he made an equal number of other brave choices as an actor, which also deserve mention.. I think 'The Defiant Ones' is certainly a standout. But the role that I will always associate with him the most, is his stellar performance as "Sidney Falco" in 1957's 'The Sweet Smell Of Success'!
He cleverly uses his trademark good-looks to portray a real manipulative slimeball of a P.R. man, continually sucking up to Burt Lancaster's "J.J. Hunsecker" character. That film is completely brilliant, in every way!
Okay,-- not Tony Curtis, granted.. But when I was unearthing the old artwork files, I also found a drawing I'd done of actress: Terry Moore. She was to be my female lead in that 50's-era romance story I mentioned. So I couldn't resist adding her to this Post, as well..See ya!
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