Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925 â September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama. In his later years, Curtis made numerous television appearances.
Curtis enlisted in the United States Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Inspired by Cary Grant’s role in Destination Tokyo and Tyrone Power’s in Crash Dive (1943), he joined the Pacific submarine force. Curtis served aboard a submarine tender, the USS Proteus, until the end of the Second World War. On September 2, 1945, Curtis witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from his ship’s signal bridge about a mile away. He served in the Navy from September 1943 to December 1945 and was discharged after serving in the Pacific Theatre during World War II as a Signalman 3rd class.
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