| Tony Curtis will help the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable network kick off the third season of its acclaimed interview series with the premiere of Private Screenings: Tony Curtis on Tuesday, January 26, at 8 p.m. (ET), featuring the actor in an hour-long chat with network anchor and series host Robert Osborne. Immediately following the premiere, Curtis will host a web chat on TCM's website (TCM.turner.com) beginning at 9 p.m. (ET).
In the special, Curtis recounts his relationships with famous Hollywood stars including Kirk Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier and his idol, Cary Grant. He also tells his side of the headline-grabbing break-up with actress Janet Leigh, his relationship with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, the real story behind the famous "oyster/snail" scene in SPARTACUS (1960) and why he never really felt part of the Hollywood community. Excerpts from Private Screenings: Tony Curtis: CURTIS ON THE FAMOUS SCENE WITH SIR LAURENCE OLIVIER IN SPARTACUS: "Rubba dub dub, two men in a tub. Everyone frowned on it, but we shot it because Larry and I insisted we shoot it. When the picture was re-released, they put the scene back in. {The movie} needed an explanation of what our relationship was." CURTIS ON HIS BREAK-UP WITH JANET LEIGH: "We had had such profound differences that neither one of us could manage it. I couldn't go on anymore. I just couldn't play that game anymore...be with somebody I couldn't stand anymore and vice versa. And why should I have to? Because of the studio or whoever? {The press} really went after me. ėTony Curtis goes out with teenager and abandons his two children. ė So that's the way it's always been." CURTIS ON HIS ADDICTIONS: "{Drugs} were very important to me. I used to freebase, smoke cocaine, a lot of alcohol. I did some heroin. I couldn't work. I didn't lose jobs; I just didn't get them. I went to Betty Ford and had some success, fell back, but the times I stayed sober became longer and longer and finally, I found myself. I had finally cured an incurable disease, and that was 18 years ago." In addition to the premiere of Private Screenings: Tony Curtis, TCM will spotlight Curtis in seven of his best films, including 1957's searing drama co-starring Burt Lancaster as a Walter Winchell-esque newspaper columnist, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (Jan. 26, 9 p.m.); opposite Sidney Poitier in the prisoners-on-the-run drama THE DEFIANT ONES (Jan. 26, 12 a.m.); co-starring with his idol, Cary Grant, in OPERATION PETTICOAT (Jan. 26, 2 a.m.); and his most famous roles in SPARTACUS (Jan. 27, 8 p.m.) and the 1959 classic SOME LIKE IT HOT (Jan. 27, 11:30 p.m.), co-starring Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon. Private Screenings is TCM's exclusive interview series pairing TCM anchor Osborne with Hollywood legends for intimate discussions on their film careers and other "behind-the-scenes" information. Featured guests have included such legendary stars as Jane Powell, Esther Williams, Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller and Robert Mitchum in his final television interview. In May of 1999, TCM will premiere Private Screenings: Leslie Caron. |