Tony Curtis - American Prince

AMERICAN
PRINCE

Contents

1
New Kid in Town

2
A Battered Childhood

3
Fuck Em and Feed Em Fish

4
Ensign Schwartz

5
The Dramatic Workshop

6
Dancing with Yvonne De Carlo

7
Getting Shot by Audie Murphy

8
Janet and Piper

9
The Hollywood Scene

10
Getting the Girls to Scream

11
The Cats in the Bag, and the Bags in the River

12
The Defiant One

13
Some Like It Hot

14
The End of a Marriage

15
My Teenage Bride

16
Top of the World

17
Downward Spiral

18
What Time Is the Enema?

19
Cocaine

20
Maybe Ill Live Forever

To my wife, Jill Ann VandenBerg Curtis

Bring your visions to me clearly
Let me hear the sight of you
Reach out and know the wind is trembling,
Sighing silently your shade of blue.

T ruly, Tony Curtis has led an extraordinary life. He and I have been together for almost fifteen years now, and even for me it has been an amazing experience to read these pages. Of course weve always shared the most intimate stories of our lives, and yet Tony never talked much about the tragic deaths of his siblings, or what it truly was like to grow up in poverty, or in fear of being beaten up for being Jewish. I see more clearly now how Tony became such a fighterthere was no other way to survive, much less to make his amazing journey from living in an abandoned tenement building to becoming one of Hollywoods biggest stars, a member of Americas royalty. And now I know that so much of what is special about Tonyhis generosity, his grace, his charm, his kindness, his enthusiasm for life, and his instinct for making every moment somehow grandhe taught himself by going to the movies and immersing himself in the cinematic lives of actors like Gene Kelly and Cary Grant, whom he so admired. I have never known anyone more romantic, more poetic, or more alive than Tony.

Tony may not have dwelled on the hardships he faced growing up, but he certainly never lost sight of what its like to have to work hard just to get by. From time to time we travel to New York City, where we sometimes stay at the St. Regis Hotel. When Tony was a boy, he shined shoes outside this very hotel, wistfully watching all the rich and famous people coming and going. Nowadays, when Tony pulls up in a chauffeured sedan and is warmly greeted by the doorman, he greets him graciously in return before pausing and looking at the spot near the sidewalk grate where he stood as a little boy, shoeshine box in hand. I have always loved that about Tony, his appreciation for just how far he has come.

Tony Curtis loves people, whether they are doormen or billionaires, and he is supremely comfortable in his own skin, which inspires me to live the same way. Shortly after he and I started dating, he said, Come on, we are going to my friend Franks house for dinner. Starting to learn that I always needed to be on my toes with Tony, I asked him the usual barrage of questions, so at least I would have some sense of what to wear. Tonys response was simple, Its just my friend, Frank Sinatra. Just like that. For Tony, the most important word in that sentence was friend. Not long after that dinner, Franks health declined, and Tony and I would go over to visit and play poker so that Frank could have a little company and remember the good times. At some point in the evening Tony would always sneak off to Franks bedroom, just to sit and be with his friend. From the living room Barbara and I could hear laughing, and sometimes a few tears. Tony and Frank were like brothers, and I think a little piece of Tony died the day Frank passed away.

After Tony and I were married in 1998, we moved to Las Vegas, where we live now. Vegas is a wonderful town. We have some great friends here and Tony really enjoys his life. People who live here somehow seem less judgmental than anywhere else Ive ever lived. I guess you have to have a sense of humor to live in a city with an Egyptian pyramid that shoots the most powerful light in the world out its top.

One day after we moved to Vegas the telephone rang, and Tony was offered a job performing in the stage musical of Some Like It Hot. He had not done theater work since he was very young, and he thought it would be an interesting challenge. Little did he know! For months, he trained, practiced lines, and rehearsed; there was Tony, seventy-seven years old, tap dancing and singing with his coach out in his art studio overlooking the Vegas strip. I was amazed at how hard Tony worked. After months of lessons at home, it was off to New York for rehearsals, and then to a year of touring and living out of suitcases. At age seventy-eight, Tony performed in all 237 shows in thirty-seven cities across the United States. People loved the show, and he was hilarious in it. What an experience!

The worst day of my life came in December 2006. That morning started much like any other. I woke early, spent some time with Tony, and left the house to tend to the horses at our ranch. A few hours later, I received a call that Tony had been taken by ambulance to the emergency room at St. Rose Hospital in Henderson, Nevada. Our housekeeper, Luz, had been at the grocery store, and Tonys assistant had not yet arrived at work, so to this day none of us knows exactly what happened. We do know that Tony called 911 and told the dispatcher he was having difficulty breathing. Paramedics arrived within minutes, and placed a breathing tube down his throat, which is standard procedure. It was all downhill from there.

By the time I arrived at the E.R., Tony was already on a ventilator. The situation got worse when fluid began to accumulate in his lungs and he developed pneumonia. It was truly a horrific cycle: as Tonys lungs filled with fluid they grew weaker, so the doctors couldnt take out the breathing tube that was causing the fluid buildup. Worst of all, Tony was so confused that he fought the tube down his throat, forcing the doctors to keep him heavily sedated, and then to put him into a drug-induced coma. He stayed that way in the intensive care unit for thirty days.

It was the longest month of my life. Family and close friends came to town to help me with my bedside vigil, but all of us felt terribly helpless. Finally, the doctors came to me and said, Weve done everything we can. Hes either going to turn the corner or hes not. Now its up to Tony.

Christmas and the New Year came and went, and still Tony showed no signs of coming out of his coma. Finally, two weeks later, the clouds parted: he regained consciousness and came off the ventilator. But our happiness was short-lived. Now that Tony was conscious, we discovered that he was almost completely unable to move. All he could do was blink. It took everything I had not to break down completely when the doctors told me they didnt know if his condition would ever improve.

But in a manner nothing short of miraculous, Tony slowly began to grow stronger. There have been poems written about the beauty of a nightingales song, or the joy in a babys laugh. I will tell you, though, that the sweetest sound I have ever heard was in a Nevada hospital room. I was sitting by Tonys bed, passing the time watching a movie on my DVD player, when all of a sudden I heard that unmistakable gravelly voice: What movie are you watching? I turned to Tony, hugged him, and wept for joy.