Saturday, 2 October 2010

Prince of retro filmstar style


I am and will continue to be a huge fan of Tony Curtis. I especially enjoyed watching him in cult 1970s series, The Persuaders. I can highly recommend his autobiography, American Prince, though was suprised this made only passing reference to his role as Danny Wilde.

The Persuaders is a showcase of '70s style, offering the utlimate in retro interiors, alongside fabulously cool and funky fashions. Above all, Tony Curtis seemed to be perfectly cast as the dashing and stylish American playboy, who'd worked his way from the slums of the Bronx to the international jetset.



What I loved most about Curtis was his individuality and flair. Apart from his obvious good looks and curiously charismatic manner, he had cultural and artistic interests that reached far beyond the film industry and Hollywood. His flamboyant personal style was a reflection of his larger than life personality, combined with his uniquely arty taste. Towards the end of his life he was usually pictured wearing a Stetson hat and one of his many cravats.

Amongst the old records I've got stored away is a 45 rpm recording of the original theme tune to The Persuaders by John Barry. I'd love to listen to this again, but am currently without a record player (as I've mentioned over at The Dabbler).

I'm afraid we don't have any for sale at the moment, either... but there's a rather special book about Hollywood stars, with some lovely old photos of Tony coming to ShopCurious very soon.



Keep a look out, or sign up for our monthly Curious Cognoscenti newsletter to be the first to hear of new arrivals to the website.

Will you?

7 comments:

  1. Sadly overlooked series (talk about suave the pair of them) - thanks, enjoyed this trailer!

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  2. Yes handsome.. and suave - and one important thing I forgot to mention - a pretty fine actor too!

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  3. Such a great 70s pastiche! Brilliant programme of its time.

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  4. So sad to hear that he passed on to the great big silver screen in the sky. I just watched Some Like it Hot and was shocked by how funny the guy was. Great comedic timing. I guess i had always thought of him as a 'serious actor' but it was nice to see him goofing around and wearing high heels.

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  5. RIP, Bernie Schwarz.

    PS "Some Like It Hot" is a truly great film!

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