Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis, A Tribute

By Steve Weil

Tony Curtis

June 3, 1925 - September 29, 2010

Tony Curtis came to Denver in 1996 for the Denver International Film Festival. We met at a party. He was interested that I was in the Western wear business.

The next morning the phone rang, it was Tony Curtis asking for me. Thinking it was a joke, I picked up the phone and made an off-handed comment, incredulous "Who is this?"

Undeterred, he said he would like to come by Rockmount and asked "how long would it take to get a cab and drive there from the Warwick Hotel?" I said, "five minutes, I’ll pick you up."

This was before we did retail. The photo was in the old sample room. He bought a hat and a shirt. Dad, Papa and I chatted with him. We had some laughs and he hung around long enough to go to lunch with us at the DAC.

He was quite the charmer, colorful and from the old school, someone who enjoys life. Sure he had a young, blonde, and towering wife, but this was a guy with no pretensions, who seemed to remember his roots.