Tony Curtis, esteemed American film actor whose career spanned six decades, died last week on September 29, 2010 due to cardiac arrest. He was 85. Curtis has been hospitalized in Las Vegas since July due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Curtis is a star from the days when Hollywood was still glamorous and is probably best known for his roles in classics like "Some Like It Hot" and "Spartacus." 
He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "The Defiant Ones," and is father to actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis.
Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in Bronx, New York, the son of Emanuel Schwartz and his wife, Helen Klein. His parents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Mátészalka, Hungary, and Hungarian was Curtis' main language until he entered school at the age of 5. Growing up, his family was supremely poor, and at one point his parents had to send him and his brother to live in an orphanage since they could not afford to feed them.
As a young adult, he enisted in the United States Navy after Pearl Harbor was bombed and war was declared, signing on as a submarine tender. After being discharged he began studying acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York, only heading to Hollywood later, at the age 23, where in 1948 he signed with Universal Pictures. At this point, he changed his name to Tony Curtis, taking his first name from the novel Anthony Adverse and his last name from "Kurtz", a surname from his mother's family.
Upon his death, his daughter Jamie Lee Curtis released a statement saying: "My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. 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. He will be greatly missed."
