Tony Curtis, Oscar-nominated actor and 1950s heartthrob, died on Wednesday evening of cardiac arrest at his home in the Las Vegas-area city of Henderson, Clark County, at age 85. Curtis was probably most remembered for his role as a cross-dressing jazz musician in the comedic gem, Some Like It Hot. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a white racist who escaped from prison handcuffed to a black man, Sidney Poitier, in The Defiant Ones.

Curtis was father to Jamie Lee Curtis from his first marriage to actress Janet Leigh, and he also had five other children. Curtis, who was born in the Bronx in 1925, spoke of surviving childhood: "I was always the new kid on the block, so I got beat up by the other kids. I had to figure a way to avoid getting my nose broken. So I became the crazy new kid on the block." [AP]