Date: 1st October 2010

Tributes paid to Tony Curtis


Tributes are being paid to Hollywood star Tony Curtis who has died at his US home in Nevada aged 85.

The actor, who starred opposite Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot and was Oscar-nominated for his role in 1958's The Defiant Ones, passed away at home in Henderson, NV on September 29.

Curtis's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis praised her father saying he "leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings".

"He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world," she added.

His widow Jill said: "All Tony ever wanted to be was a movie star. He didn't want to be the most dramatic actor."

"He wanted to be a movie star, ever since he was a little kid."

The Oscar-nominated actor, who starred in Some Like it Hot opposite Marilyn Monroe, passed away peacefully in bed, a family spokesman said.

The star received an Oscar nod in 1959 for The Defiant Ones, in which he starred with Sidney Poitier.

His career spanned six decades and he made more than 120 films including Trapeze, Spartacus and The Vikings.

Veteran chatshow host Michael Parkinson, who interviewed Curtis several times, added that the actor was "a great chatshow host", saying: "Curtis was wonderfully indiscreet but he was very bright and did not take himself too seriously."

Curtis, who was hospitalised after an asthma attack in June, is believed to have died from a heart attack. He is survived by his sixth wife Jill Vandenberg and six children.

Source: Press Release