Tony Curtis - An American Prince

American Prince by Tony Curtis

Tony gives a very candid description of the events in his life. He starts the book with his brief romance with Marylin Monroe when they both first arrived in Hollywood. He met her before she was blond and spoke with her characteristic breathy voice.  He later relays struggles he and Billy Wilder had working with her and her managers on the set of Some Like It Hot.  His often quoted remark that kissing Marlyn Monroe was like "Kissing Hitler" was meant to be sarcastic.   He describes each of his movies and his co-stars including Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, Roger Moore and others.

His childhood was perfect training for his life in the movies as he spent most of it on the streets of New York developing athletic prowess that he used in his films including Houdini.   He was lucky to avoid being killed by a mob after dropping liquid filled condoms on a parade of Nazi sympathizers in the lead up to WWII. His disfunctional parents did not provide a good role model for his personal relationships.

After a roller coaster life that included a hellish decent into the drug culture of the 80's, he finally found peace with his last wife. He spent this time painting and taking care of former race horses in Las Vegas Nevada.

A tribute to Tony Curtis - 3 minutes

The book, American Prince: A Memoir is available from Amazon.com.