Actor Tony Curtis Dead at 85

Longtime Hollywood star Tony Curtis has died, reports the New York Times. He was 85. The actor died of cardiac arrest at his home in Las Vegas.

Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, New York, in 1925. After serving in World War II he took up acting classes, and fell in love with the craft. He worked in theatre until 1950 when he began working in film, and became a fan favorite, particularly for his good looks. He married MGM contract player Janet Leigh in 1951; their daughter Kelly was born in 1956, followed by daughter Jamie Lee in 1958.

Two of Curtis' most iconic roles came in the 1960s in Some Like it Hot and Spartacus. He transitioned in to television to some extent in the 1970s, and also married six more times and had four more children. In recent years he published a second autobiography, and helped his seventh wife, Jill VandenBerg, operate the non-profit Shiloh Horse Rescue in Nevada.