Thursday, September 30, 2010

God Speed Tony Curtis (1925-2010)



Oh Tony, you shall be missed. Thank you so much for all of your performances ranging from serious to all-out kooky (more kooky than serious!). I will never forget you donning a skimpy toga in Spartacus (1960), dressing in drag in Some Like it Hot (1959), toting around a big salami in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), jumping off a pier with Natalie Wood in Sex and the Single Girl (1964) and distracting Audrey Hepburn in Paris, When it Sizzles (1964).

And you know why else I admire you Tony? Because you took on that role of John "Joker" Jackson in The Defiant Ones (1958). You had to be shackled to Sidney Poitier the entire picture. You took on that role when others like Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas turned it down because it was either unrealistic to be shackled to a black man in terms of the story (former) or because of personal racial prejudice (latter). Not only that, you insisted that Sidney Poitier take top billing. Kudos to you Mr. Tony Curtis! Kudos to you and God Speed.




4 comments:

  1. Nice tribute. I hadn't known the background on Curtis & The Defiant Ones. That was definitely worth mentioning, especially when some types of intolerance again seem to be on the rise.

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  2. Love the tribute. Great photo selections.

    I would love to read more about Douglas' objections to playing opposite Poitier. Is there anywhere you can point me to that will have more on this. I hadn't heard of it before.

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  3. Thanks for the post Raquelle. Yes he was something else.Roger Moore was remembering the fun they had on The Persuaders series. Curtis was usually VERY stoned during takes..

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  4. Thank you so much for your post. Thank you for honoring Mr. Tony Curtis. He will be greatly missed.

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