Not long ago, I heard that star Tony Curtis would be coming to the Chicagoland area to appear at a special 50th anniversary screening of one of my favorite movies,
Some Like it Hot. He was also planning to do a Q&A and autograph signing/meet & greet.
I knew I had to be there to meet him! He's a legend of Hollywood whose films also include the classics
The Defiant Ones, The Vikings, Sweet Smell of Success, and the Great Race.
I arrived early in greeting line in the theater lobby. A table was set up with some of his artwork and paintings on display. Some people brought books (his autobiography and new book about working with Marilyn Monroe on set) for him to sign.
One guy brought a photo of the cartoon caricature "Stony Curtis" from the animated show
the Flintstones, which was also the first time I had heard of him when I watched the show as a kid.
Tony was a gentleman, and I must say smelled very good; he had on a very nice cologne. I asked if he would sign my DVD of
The Defiant Ones, and he did, and we chatted just for a few seconds about it; he loved making it and said this was one of his favorites. He also signed my DVD of
Some Like It Hot.
During the Q and A, he talked a bit about his humble upbringing, then talked about the making of
Some Like It Hot. He said jokingly, "I'm the only one left" (from the movie). He said Marilyn was very hard to work with on the set, and that there was more to talk about but it's all in the book that he just wrote. Someone asked him if Cary Grant liked the imitation he did of him in the movie, and he said yes, he thought it was funny. Then someone asked him if he was disappointed he didn't win the Oscar for
Defiant Ones. He said he was, but wasn't surprised because of the split between he and his co-star Sidney Poitier, also nominated. (David Niven won that year for
Separate Tables). Someone recalled how he was one of the most dashingly handsome men in Hollywood, and Tony responded: "You're my new best friend". At the end of the session, he said "As I sit here in front of you, I am what I am. I do everything I possible can to bring smiles to your faces.... I'm the happiest man that ever came down the pike".
Then the movie started - it was a theater where you get served food right at your table. And what can I say about the movie itself that hasn't already been said? Well, this was one of first black-and-white movies I ever watched - I think I was maybe 7 or 8 years old when I first saw it on TV. Tony said during the Q and A that this is a movie you can watch over and over and always notice something different - and that's definitely true for me. What always impresses me is the brilliant writing in this film by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder. The scene where George Raft meets the young coin-flipping mobster and says, "Where did you pick up that cheap trick"? is just hilarious to me, especially now that I realize this is a direct homage to Raft and his role in
Scarface.
