Fans, celebrities, family and friends crowded the Palm Mortuary Cemetery as they said goodbye to Tony Curtis in a public memorial service of the movie star’s life.
The 85-years old actor who played in films like ‘Some Like it Hot,’ and ‘The Defiant Ones’ passed away last Wednesday after suffering from cardiac arrest.
His friends and followers who wanted to pay tribute lined up outside the Pam Mortuary & Cemetery hours before the 11 A.M. services started while more than a dozen journalists and photographers watched the scene.
Inside, there were three black-and-white drawings and seven colorful paintings by Tony, while a photograph of the actor when he was still young projected on the screen. An American Flag was draped on the coffin.
Jaime Lee Curtis, his daughter from his first marriage with ‘Psycho’ star Janet Leigh and along with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were among those who paid tribute at his funeral.
Jaime Lee Curtis described her father as “a little mashugna,” which is a Yiddish word for crazy but always full of life. The two were estranged for a long time but had reconciled. The actor even took pride with his daughter’s on-screen recognitions like ‘Halloween,’ ‘Perfect,’ ‘You Again’ and ‘True Lies.’
Arnold Schwarzenegger described him as a generous mentor who supported him with his growing film career when others criticized and said that his accent would stop him from succeeding in Hollywood.
The Austrian actor remembered Tony telling him, “Don’t pay any attention to those guys. I heard the same thing when I came here.”
Jill Curtis, widow, praised her husband of twelve years and said, “He was, as one fan put it, a once-in-a-lifetime man.”
After the funeral, the Curtis was buried along with the actor’s favorite possessions – his Armani scarf, Stetson hat, driving gloves, an iPhone and his favorite book, ‘Anthony Adverse,’ which inspired his screen name.
After burial, a reception was held for 200 invited guests at the Luxor hotel-casino on the Las Vegas strip.