Who wouldn’t remember, even watched in Hungary or around the world this terrific movie
once-or-twice!?!
Tony Curtis was born 100 years ago – June. 3. 1925. and on this occasion the Hungarian Hollywood Council has declared 2025 the Tony Curtis Memorial Year and within this connection the Tony Curtis International Film Festival will be held between 25-27. September @ Szalkai Mozi – Zukor Adolf Movie theater …v enue: 40. Kossuth street in the City of Mátészalka – Hungary.
The City of Mátészalka will once again be at the center of the international film world. It is the memorial year of Tony Curtis, who is distinguished by his Hungarian origin and Hollywood career. The event is organized by the Hungarian Hollywood Council, the city of Mátészalka and the Origo Film Studio with the support of the National Film Institute, which aims to bring together and discover Hungarian and international film talents. The main message of the event is that the Hungarian founders and stars of Hollywood had a significant impact on both American and international film production. The presence and significance of Hungarian talent and creativity across generations is symbolically focused in Tony Curtis’s career. The short film Tony Curtis 100 – The Hungarian Hollywood Heritage presents the international presence of Tony Curtis and other Hungarian-born Hollywood actors, studio founders, and Hungarian filmmakers.
Academy Award-nominated, two-time Golden Globe-winning Hungarian Jewish-born Hollywood actor, producer, writer, and actor legend who has appeared in 130 films. The film star, known worldwide as Tony Curtis, was born Bernard Schwartz in New York on 3 June 1925. His father Manó Schwartz (Emanuel Schwartz) was born in Mátészalka, while his mother Ilona Klein (Helen Schwartz) was born in Nagymihály in what is now Slovakia, but later said to have been born in Vályko. His parents emigrated from there to New York. He already In 1943, at the age of 18, enlisted in the Navy, and after the war he continued his career as an actor in California at Universal Studios, where he was seen as a very imaginative actor. In addition to acting, he was interested in horseback riding and fencing. Early in his career he took the name Tony Curtis.
He typically starred in comedies, but his roles also included more serious ones, such as Antoninus in 1960’s Spartacus and the serial killer in The Boston Strangler. In the golden age of television in the early 1970s, he co-starred with Roger Moore in The Persuaders as a high-profile American businessman who wasn’t afraid to get into fights. The series ran in Hungary under the title “Mindenlébe két kanál”“Two spoons in every pot”. He later appeared in Such a Boxer and Blood Prize 2 – The Big Bang, as well as in TV series such as Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and CSI. Latter on he played himself in a short scene.
Visiting Hungary: Proud of his Hungarian origins, he visited Hungary several times. The first time he visited Hungary was in 1985, when he also visited Mátészalka, and then he came back to his parents’ homeland in 1988. In 1996, by invitation of the government, he took part in the First World Meeting of Hungarian Filmmakers and hosted a film spot promoting Hungary.
He established the Emmanuel Foundation Emmanuel Foundationa in 1991 to support the renovation of the Dohány Street Synagogue and next to the synagogue’s courtyard together with Barbra Streisand financially supported by them. The monument was named the Tree of Life – its leaves are engraved with the names of the victims of the Hungarian Holocaust, around 30,000. The contribution from the memorialists went into the synagogue renovation fund. The area behind the memorial tree was named after the Swedish rescuer Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of lives during the Holocaust. In addition to Wallenberg, there are plaques in the park for other Western diplomats who worked as rescuers, such as Girgo Perlasca and Angelo Rotta. At the memorial Park offical opening Tony Curtis was present and beside others “Q” and “A” … “The statue depicts the Ten Commandments, why are the texts of the commandments blank? … “Because none of them were enforced during the war!”
He also visited Mátészalka, where his parents had emigrated to America. He later changed from filming to painting. His paintings can be seen in famous galleries. His autobiographical book, The Prince of Hollywood, was published in 2009 and signed at the 16th International Book Festival in Budapest, Millenáris Park.
Recommandation by Aggie Reiter
Rolling in Budapest 