Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, New York, one of three sons of Helen (née Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz.[8][9] His parents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Mátészalka, Hungary and Curtis didnt learn English until he was five or six, postponing his schooling.[10] His father was a tailor and the family lived in the back of the shop—his parents in one corner and Curtis and his brothers Julius and Robert in another. His mother once made an appearance as a participant on the television show You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx.[11] Curtis said, When I was a child, Mom beat me up and was very aggressive and antagonistic. His mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. His brother Robert was also institutionalized with the same mental illness. When Curtis was eight, he and his brother Julius were placed in an orphanage for a month because their parents could not afford to feed them. Four years later, Julius was struck and killed by a truck. Curtis joined a neighborhood gang whose main crimes were playing hooky from school and minor pilfering at the local dime store. When Curtis was 11, a friendly neighbor saved him from what he felt would have led to a life of delinquency by sending him to a Boy Scout camp, where he was able to work off his energy and settle down. He attended Seward Park High School. At 16, he had his first small acting part in a school stage play.[12]
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:14:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015