Silver screen legend and Hollywood star Tony Curtis has died aged 85. A representative of his daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, confirmed that the actor had passed away peacefully at home.
Curtis, born Bernard Schwartz in 1925, was perhaps best known for his work with Billy Wilder, demonstrating his easy grasp of comedy in Some Like It Hot. But he also commanded darker-hued roles such as that of huckster press agent Sidney Falco in Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell Of Success.
Effortlessly switching genres, he made his mark in two historical epics, The Vikings and Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, where as toga-clad freedom fighter Antoninus, he renewed his partnership with Kirk Douglas.
His finest turn, though, came opposite Sidney Poiter in The Defiant Ones, a role originally earmarked for Robert Mitchum. He embued Joker Jackson, an escaped convict with Klan-like prejudices, with snarly pathos and turned in an immensely physical performance that earned him an Oscar nomination.
Curtis is survived by his wife Jill Vandenberg Curtis. More to follow...