Actor Tony Curtis, known for his role alongside Sidney Poitier in “The Defiant Ones”, has died at the age of 85.
A representative for Curtis’ daughter Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed the news and says the actor died of cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas home.
Curtis was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “The Defiant Ones” where he played a prison escapee chained to Poitier’s character by handcuffs.
He is also praised for insisting that Poitier receive double billing for his role in the film, a breakthrough in Hollywood for Black actors.
Poitier and Curtis In “The Defiant Ones”
The veteran actor is best known however for his role in Billy Wilder’s “1959 film Some Like It Hot” where he played Marilyn Monroe’s cross dressing lover.
He is survived by his sixth wife Jill who he married in 1998 when he was 73 and she was 30, and his formerly estranged daughter Jamie.
