Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the eldest of three children to Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz, Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Despite having almost no formal education, Curtis was a self-taught student of the "school of hard knocks," learning from a young age that he was solely responsible for his own well-being and that of his younger brother, Julius.
Growing up in poverty, Curtis's parents struggled to make ends meet, with his father working as a tailor to provide for the family. This led to constant bickering between Curtis's parents over money, and Curtis began to escape the constant worries of poverty by going to movies. The financial strain eventually became too much, and Curtis's parents briefly placed him and his brother in an orphanage.
During this time, Curtis's only companion was his brother Julius, and the two became inseparable as they struggled to adjust to their new circumstances. Weeks later, Curtis's parents returned to reclaim custody of their children, but not before Curtis had learned a valuable lesson: that the only person you can truly count on is yourself.
In 1938, tragedy struck when Curtis's brother Julius was killed in a truck accident. After this, Curtis's parents became convinced that a formal education was the key to avoiding a life of poverty, but Curtis rejected this idea, believing that real-life experience would be more valuable.
Curtis went on to enlist in the navy in 1942, where he spent over two years gaining valuable life experience, working as a crewman on a submarine tender and honing his acting skills in a stage play at the Navy Signalman School in Illinois.
After being honorably discharged from the navy in 1945, Curtis realized that the GI Bill would allow him to attend acting school without incurring any costs. He auditioned for the New York Dramatic Workshop and was accepted, eventually enrolling in early 1947. Curtis then began to pay his dues by appearing in a slew of stage productions, including "Twelfth Night" and "Golden Boy."
Curtis connected with a small theatrical agent named Joyce Selznick, who was the niece of film producer David O. Selznick. After seeing Curtis's potential, Selznick arranged an interview for Curtis to meet with David O. Selznick at Universal Studios, where Curtis was offered a seven-year contract.
Curtis changed his name to Tony Curtis, named after the novel Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen and a cousin of his named Janush Kertiz. He began making a name for himself by appearing in small, offbeat roles in low-budget productions. His first notable performance was a two-minute role in Criss Cross (1949),with Burt Lancaster, in which he makes Lancaster jealous by dancing with Yvonne De Carlo.
Curtis continued to build up a show reel by accepting any paying job, acting in a number of bit-part roles for the next few years. It wasn't until late 1949 that he finally got the chance to demonstrate his acting flair, when he was cast in an important role in the action western Sierra (1950).
