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American Prince: A Memoir
"Curtis spares few intimate details about his years as a Hollywood lothario, including his teenage affair with a redheaded, ponytailed Marilyn Monroe."–USA Today
He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame,...more
He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame,...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
October 6th 2009
by Three Rivers Press
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_American Prince: A Memoir_ (2008) by Tony Curtis, Peter Golenbock, Mitch Greenberg (Narrator)
Added 9/23/11
I listened to the audio version of this book.
It's a tell-all book and I enjoyed it very much.
There was something very charming about Tony Curtis.
He died in 2010 at the age of 85. He had a great career at the beginning but it went downhill as he aged. It's sad to think about it. He married 5 times and had 6 children altogether. Of course, the famous...more
Added 9/23/11
I listened to the audio version of this book.
It's a tell-all book and I enjoyed it very much.
There was something very charming about Tony Curtis.
He died in 2010 at the age of 85. He had a great career at the beginning but it went downhill as he aged. It's sad to think about it. He married 5 times and had 6 children altogether. Of course, the famous...more
having now read the book, I can honestly say that it was a hard book to put down. curtis is so brash and bombastic, it's like listening to a favorite uncle regale you with stories from his youth. You suspect that they are somewhat embellished for your benefit, but yet you enjoy them just the same.
Curtis' stories of his early time in Hollywood are a delightful peek into the last days of the studio system. HIs story of returning to NY and meeting Walter Matthou (sp?) is probably the funniest...more
Curtis' stories of his early time in Hollywood are a delightful peek into the last days of the studio system. HIs story of returning to NY and meeting Walter Matthou (sp?) is probably the funniest...more
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This was pretty good. You really get a feel for the person, and can hear his "voice" through the narrative. The pacing is about right, not too overboard with his films, nor his life, a good balance like you're listening to him as a friend.
And the little bits you pick up about other actors he encountered, Janet Leigh, Marilyn Monore, Frank Sinatra, Mae West are priceless bits.
You see how through his rough childhood, it influenced the women he was involved with ...more
And the little bits you pick up about other actors he encountered, Janet Leigh, Marilyn Monore, Frank Sinatra, Mae West are priceless bits.
You see how through his rough childhood, it influenced the women he was involved with ...more
Tony Curtis was never one of my favorites, but the Golden Boy of the Golden Age had a life story that I wanted to read. He truly lived life, regardless of whether we agree with it or not. He started with a multitude of swashbuckling screen roles before expanding into some classics. He always had charm and that trait also comes across in his memoir.
I just couldn't get past his constant whining about not being taken seriously as an act-or. Good grief. Get over it. Cary Grant, Oliver Re...more
I just couldn't get past his constant whining about not being taken seriously as an act-or. Good grief. Get over it. Cary Grant, Oliver Re...more
The perfect companion to Roger Moore's autobiography. Tony Curtis tells the same story about Joan Collins on location for "The Persuader" TV series. He vowed never to work with her again.
Curtis is truthful and at times blunt about his fellow actors including Ray Milland who he avoided at all costs. Being a Jewish actor in Hollywood wasn't always pleasant for Curtis.
Curtis' vivid description of his cocaine addiction as his career stalled is a warning to all who attempt to ...more
Curtis is truthful and at times blunt about his fellow actors including Ray Milland who he avoided at all costs. Being a Jewish actor in Hollywood wasn't always pleasant for Curtis.
Curtis' vivid description of his cocaine addiction as his career stalled is a warning to all who attempt to ...more
I had to find out the difference b/w a memoir and an autobiography. Apparenetly an autobiography should go in sequential order of earliest memory to .... Where a memoir might just touch one topic of the person's life or one aspect and does not read necessarily in order. Both genres are told in the first person. The book itself was a easy read. Tony Curtis a womanizer who cheated on all his wives and went crazy (really came unbalanced) when one of his young wives did the same to him. He was ...more
I'm surprised to find that I haven't seen much of Curtis's screen work, in spite of the fact that I like him as an actor. And man, wasn't he gorgeous? They don't make them like that anymore.
He got more ass than the town bicycle seat, which he freely admits in this memoir. I found his complicated relationships with women were the most interesting part, and I'm sure Curtis would agree. Looks like it all starts with his terrible mother abusing him - he has spent the rest of his li...more
He got more ass than the town bicycle seat, which he freely admits in this memoir. I found his complicated relationships with women were the most interesting part, and I'm sure Curtis would agree. Looks like it all starts with his terrible mother abusing him - he has spent the rest of his li...more
I really like Tony Curtis as an actor. Based on this book he was probably pretty fun to be around. But be warned, this is definitely a tell-all book. And he tells it in the gritty language he grew up with on the streets of New York. And story is all Tony, all the time.
Tony covers his childhood and his escape from home into the Navy. Then his discovery of acting and being discovered as an actor and sent to Hollywood. There are the struggles of a new actor who is just a pretty face (wi...more
Tony covers his childhood and his escape from home into the Navy. Then his discovery of acting and being discovered as an actor and sent to Hollywood. There are the struggles of a new actor who is just a pretty face (wi...more
I listened to the audiobook whose narrator was not the author himself but remarkably a man whose voice sounded like the Tony Curtis from years ago. Curtis does not hold back on his interesting revelations of the debauchery and sometimes drugs that made up much of his life as a Hollywood star. Interesting, too, were the descriptions of his life before he was famous (how he did suffer in his youth!) as well as his life after he fell from favor. He does try hard to explain away many of his faults a...more
Delve, that word describes the American Prince. Dedicated-Energetic-Levity-virtuosity-Efficacious. This work isn't the most intelligently written story, or the most linear autobiography, but it is entertaining. There is less insight into his daily personal life as there is much more info on his professional life; the people he loved and hated, his prolific womanizing of celebrities and fans, multiple marriages, including six marriages. Including his filmography in the back of the book was a smar...more
I have always thought that Tony Curtis was one of the most beautiful males ever created. This was a great insight into the man behind the pretty face. He took a lot of things in stride ( such as always being thought of as gay, he was not) I loved the parts when he first broke into Hollywood. Running around town, free and easy. A typical golden boy , he seemed to really love the ladies and presented himself as a true gentleman. Hated that he cheated on his wife constantly, but was all kinds of u...more
It was hard to like this book because Tony Curtis comes across as such a macho pig egotist. He certainly had a tough childhood, but he's way too boastful about his conquests. You sorta wonder if he's all talk but not really that much action. He hardly ever mentions his children, as if they didn't matter. You find out that he had his first daughter only when he describes Janet Leigh's problems having his second, Jamie Lee. Anyway, his current wife may feel he's great, as she notes in her int...more
This book makes Tony Curtis seem very pompous and obnoxious. He made a handful of decent films, most notably Some Like It Hot & The Defiant Ones. He didn't win an Oscar (which of course he seemed to have deserved), but competent. He had great hair and was married to Janet Leigh, who was probably more popular and a better actor. I really found myself laughing out loud several times in his descriptions of wooing women. He was a compulsive philanderer, and then gets defensive when he had to pa...more
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. Curtis' autobiography. I appreciated his candor, and loved all the stories. After reading this book, I had a sense of the actor as a person. As a long time fan of his many fine performances, I read this book in a day--could not put it down. However, while the early part of the book gave me a sense of the man and his life, the latter part felt rushed, as if the author wanted to finish the book and was no longer interested in the project, or had nothing to say. Thi...more
Really a terrific book. Tony tells it like it is, warts and all. If you want the inside story on many of yesterday's Hollywood stars, it's right there. Tony was a womanizer, but he's not proud of it. He also suffered when he was a kid because he was Jewish. It was something he never got over, even when at the top of his stardom, such a when he made Some Like It Hot. I highly recommend this book. You may not like everything Tony has to say, but you'll have to admire his honesty for saying them.
For those of you who like honest, open memoirs written with "no holds barred"....this ought to be very appealing. I prefer when writers write openly about their revelations, confessions, regrets and joys with readers...and I felt Mr. Curtis did this. There is also plenty of info in here that I didn't know before but I can't say for sure if a die hard Curtis fan would already know these facts about his marriages, estrangements from children, resentments about roles that went to other ac...more
I love reading about old hollywood and this memoir delivered. Tony Curtis had a typical rags to riches story, but with a face like that it really doesn't surprise me, not that his career was based solely on his looks. I just rewatched "Sweet Smell of Success" so I really enjoyed reading all the backstage information he gave through his anecdotes and insider info. Also not surprising? The fact that he slept with every single one of his co stars. Like, all of them. RIP Tony, you lived a ...more
I loved reading these stories from Tony Curtis' amazing life and career. He worked, knew and screwed EVERYONE. And the ghostwriting was really well done...I feel like i know a lot more about Tony Curtis now, not just the facts of his life, but also the way he sees the world...one gorgeous broad at a time. It seems like he's never grown up though and never been a father to his six kids from three different moms...so the stories were funny, amazing and sad at the same time.
Always entertaining to read about how the actors of my childhood got into the business, which ones hung out, all that silliness. The book centers on Curtis, of course, but gives little insight into the family dynamics--maybe that is in his other autobiography. He does point out the reason behind an interesting Hollywood phenomenon--everybody always wants to direct, he says, not because they really want to direct but so that they can still be in the business when they get older. He missed out on ...more
As with most Hollywood biographies, it contains a lot of bed hopping. It could be titled like most of them: Who I slept With from a Macho Man. However, I feel like he was extremely insecure and he still is even after the great career he has had. Toward the end, he talked about his cocaine habit and problems with his children. I found the book interesting and am delighted that I had a normal boring life!
Okay...I must admit I'm completely biased in my rating of this book. I adore Tony Curtis, his films, and any brutally honest Hollywood memoir. You can hear his voice in your head as you read it, especially since he had one of the most recognizable voices in film history. I love the little anecdotes about people he worked with, who he liked and didn't like, and the personal feelings/details he included.
Very candid. Curtis provides a lot of inside classic Hollywood history, although he himself comes across as being rather shallow. I got the impression that he was ambitious and lucky to be so handsome that women were throwing themselves at him from when he was a teenager. He is certainly very honest about his weaknesses as well as his success.
Interesting stories of Hollywood in the 50's and 60's, unfortunately, Tony's main focus is letting us know how many "girls" he fucked, especially the famous beautiful ones. No mention when any of his 5 kids are born, but he remembers every gal he bedded! Unintentionally hilarious when he finds out about one of his wives having an affair of her own, as he angrily rants about how "every man fears being cuckolded by his wife." Gee, ok for him but not for her? Luckily, the film s...more
A fast, breezy memoir by this actor is a very fast and entertaining read. He covers his early childhood growing up Jewish on the streets of New York, to his military service, and then his acting career. His roles in such inconic films as Some Like It Hot, The Defiant Ones, and Spartacus give some good juicy details. Recommended.
I read this book from the cruise ship library. I really didn't know too much about him, except he was a "big moviestar", back when I was young. This book ,mainly gives you short synopsis's of all the movies he's been in, and about those co-stars. I did enjoy it--he's had a very interesting life.
Easy read bio tells of Curtis's rise from a hardscrabble childhood thro his current marriage to wife no.4. He tells about close encounters with Marilyn among others, fame during the 50's in Hollywood and his Hungarian Jewish roots, including the tragic deaths of his younger brothers.
While reading this book all I could hear is Tony Curtis' voice in my head. A look at a legends life, Tony has had his ups and downs, he is exactly how I have always invisioned him to be; a cad. His outlook and approuch to a lot of decisions he has made in his life was "hey, why not?" whether it be the roles he picked or the ladies he has slept with. He has and still does take his career whether it being acting or painting seriously. A quick, entertaining good read.
The fact that I love Tony Curtis probably adds to the number of stars I've given the book. You can -- if you're familiar with Mr. Curtis' voice -- hear him read the book to you. A must read if you're interested in acting and the Hollywood of the 50's and 60's.
Read this book and you'll find out Tony got laid...alot. However you will find no deep analysis of his film roles, directors, fellow stars or other interesting insights into his Hollywood associations..
Tony Curtis never escaped his roots. The fame and success were not enough. He wanted everyone to love him and bow to him, and his way of demeaning people in his autobiography is indicative of his lack of upbringing, education, refinement and love. A suitable subtitle for this work could have been "It was everybody else's fault."
I'd recommend this book but as an education piece of what success and overindulgence does to a person who likely doesn't deserve the rewards he get...more
I'd recommend this book but as an education piece of what success and overindulgence does to a person who likely doesn't deserve the rewards he get...more
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Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama. In his later years, Curtis made numerous television appearances.
In October 2008, Curtis's autobiography American Prince: A Memoir, was published...more
More about Tony Curtis...
In October 2008, Curtis's autobiography American Prince: A Memoir, was published...more
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