Tony Curtis

Born Bernard Schwartz on June 3, 1925, in the Bronx, N.Y., Tony Curtis survived a rough childhood and being wounded in action during World War II. He studied acting at New York City's Dramatic Workshop and later signed with Universal Studios, making his first notable film appearance in 1949's Criss Cross.

A popular leading man in such movies as Houdini (1953) and The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Curtis rose above his pretty boy looks and impressed critics with dramatic turns in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and The Defiant Ones (1958), for which he earned a Best Actor Oscar nod. More memorable parts followed in 1959's Some Like It Hot (doing a dead-on Cary Grant riff), Spartacus (1960) and The Boston Strangler (1968).

Curtis moved into character roles in the 1970s, playing a variety of heavies and gangsters. In later years, he made numerous guest appearances on television. He died of heart failure Sept. 29, 2010.

Spartacus

1960 PG-13

Stanley Kubrick directed this epic saga based on ancient events, chronicling the birth of a vagabond slave-army led by an ex-gladiator named Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) that threatens the sovereignty of all-mighty Rome. This film has everything, including a wonderfully funny (and Oscar-winning) performance from Peter Ustinov as the cowardly owner of a gladiator school. Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis co-star.