Description

“All my life I had one dream and that was to be in the movies.”

He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. A prince of the silver screen. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame, women, and adulation—Elvis copied his look and the Beatles put him on their Sgt. Pepper album cover. But the Hollywood life of his dreams brought both invincible highs and debilitating lows. Now, in his captivating, no-holds-barred autobiography, Tony Curtis shares the agony and ecstasy of a private life in the public eye.

No simple tell-all, American Prince chronicles Hollywood during its heyday. Curtis revisits his immense body of work—including the unforgettable classics Houdini, Spartacus, and Some Like It Hot—and regales readers with stories of his associations with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, director Billy Wilder, and film industry heavyweight Lew Wasserman, as well as paramours Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe, among others.

As forthright as he is enthralling, Tony Curtis offers intimate glimpses into his succession of failed marriages (and the one that has endured), his destructive drug addiction, and his passion as a painter. Written with humor and grace, American Prince is a testament to the power of living the life of one’s dreams.

About the Author

TONY CURTIS is one of Hollywood’s greatest stars. Today, he lives with his wife, Jill, outside of Las Vegas, where he continues to create paintings that have made him newly famous as a visual artist the world over. They are the founders of the Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, a nonprofit foundation that rehabilitates abused and neglected horses for adoption.

PETER GOLENBOCK has written six New York Times bestsellers over a thirty-year career. In 2006 he cowrote the bestselling Idiot with then–Boston Red Sox, now–New York Yankee outfielder Johnny Damon. His book Seven, about Mickey Mantle, was published in 2007.

Praise for American Prince: A Memoir…

“[F]illed with fond recollections of [Curtis’s] friendships with the famous and powerful but punctuated, too, by harsh words for Hollywood legends he says did him wrong….Curtis spares few intimate details about his years as a Hollywood lothario, including his teenage affair with a redheaded, ponytailed Marilyn Monroe.”
—USA Today


Praise for Tony Curtis

“When you’re with Tony Curtis, you’re with somebody very alive. He was—and is—one of the most ‘up’ people I have ever known.”
—Sidney Poitier

“Tony Curtis could have just been the beautiful young leading man, handsome, charming as hell . . . [but] he wanted to be a good actor, and he’s the only guy I know wholearned his craft successfully.”
—Jack Lemmon

“For Some Like It Hot, I wanted a straight leading man and a comedian. I was sure Tony was right for it. Tony is so open and animated. . . . It was a huge, wonderful
plus for the picture.”
—Billy Wilder