R.I.P. Tony Curtis (1925-2010)

Sadly, one of the few remaining classic leading men in cinema passed today. Tony Curtis died of cardiac arrest in Nevada at the age of 85. He left behind a huge body of work of over 100 films, TV credits and his collection of art work.

Tony was born Bernard Schwartz and did time in the navy before embarking on an acting career. He did his time in many forgettable films including some light comedy before landing some serious roles that got the attention of the critics and led to academy award nominations for best actor in The Defiant Ones.
He married his first wife, Vivian Leigh in 1951 and had two children one of them being actress Jamie Lee Curtis. They were a true Hollywood power couple and lasted 11 years before divorcing. He remarried but had some pretty lousy luck going through six wives in total and five divorces.

Tony battled through some hardships including addictions to drugs and alcohol but in the end found peace with his last wife and a new found love in art. He gained respect in the art circles with some of his paintings going for as much as $25,000. His cool factor was never at risk and he always managed to remain relevant.

I first became aware of him growing up in the 70s watching Saturday morning cartoons as guest star Stoney Curtis on the Flintstones. When I went through my Marilyn phase I watched him in drag on Some Like It Hot and later grew to respect him more with his role in classics like Spartacus and The Defiant Ones but he’ll always be Stoney to me.


Flintstones – How much more retro can you get ?

The stone age family from Bedrock celebrated their 50th anniversary today and what’s really amazing about that is how well the cartoons created in the 60s hold up today. Unlike real life sit-coms from that era, the Flintstones seem to transcend time and generate new generations of fans with every passing year.

It first aired in 1960 and ran for six seasons. Many thought it was a rip off or homage to The Honeymooners which was the biggest television show at the time but the creators dismissed any similarities as merely coincidental……..uh huh. When it was eventually cancelled, a movie was made to parody or style the big film character of the day, James Bond. The movie “The Man Called Flintstone” is a classic and is far better than the real life movie version of the Flintstones that came out in 1994 starring John Goodman and Rosie O’Donnell.


Having said that, the real life movie versions did have two redeeming qualities – Haley Berry and loin clothes…………. nuff said.

The Flintstones was never meant to be a kids show, it was the first adult themed animated show that inspired many of today’s adult animated series, most notably the Simpsons and Family Guy. One of their first sponsors back in 1960 was Winston cigarettes so it’s pretty safe to say we’ve evolved a bit in terms of political correctness since the 60s when it comes to advertising. Having said that, our evolution hasn’t prevented us from coming up with stupid ideas like the Flintstones Nike High Tops. Yabba Dabba Do indeed.