Product Description
"Curtis spares few intimate details about his years as a Hollywood lothario, including his teenage affair with a redheaded, ponytailed Marilyn Monroe."–USA Today

He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame, women, and adulation–Elvis copied his look, and the Beatles put him on their Sgt. Pepper album cover. But the Hollywood life of his dreams brought both invincible highs and debilitating lows. Now, in his captivating, no-holds-barred autobiography, Tony Curtis shares the agony and ecstasy of a private life in the public eye.

Curtis revisits his immense body of work–including the classics Houdini, Spartacus, and Some Like It Hot–and regales readers with stories of his associations with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, and director Billy Wilder, as well as paramours Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe, among others. Written with humor and grace, American Prince is a testament to the power of living the life of one’s dreams.
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Customer Reviews (58)

Terrific Memoir
Great book at a great price. It was delivered quickly and in prefect condition. If you are a Tony Curtis fan I highly recommend this book. He speaks freely of his life and being a Hollywood star. If you like the "behind the scenes" glimpse of Hollywood then you will like this book. Tony Curtis was a great actor and personality and he will be missed. He lived an incredible and amazing life.

Not crazy about the book
Book arrived quickly and in very good condition; not crazy about tell all books, but reading for a book club

Fun for a while, then ker-plunk...falls, like a promising cake gone bad.
I enjoyed the first part of this book, about Tony's childhood, the tragic death of his younger brother, his entree into Hollywood, and some of the stories of other actors I admired (as I did Tony) in my younger years.Then, suddenly, I began to realize from Tony's "revelations" that he was actually a cad, a jerk, shallow, and not (contrary to his own calculations) particularly bright.His "confessions" sound like tossed-off sound-bytes.He explains away his daughter Jamie's cool attitude toward him, not to mention her husband Christopher Guest's (a resentful dig we could have lived without) - with a few trite words of mild regret, as he does many other rather shocking incidents in his life, such as his several wives, on whom he cheated ferociously.Much of this he explains away as due to childhood poverty and his abusive, mentally ill mother.Her deathbed scene, which he fled with nothing but self-pitying thoughts for himself, is perhaps the most narcissistic moment in a book filled with them. What was so strange about that particular incident was that until that moment he often referred to his mother's adoration of him. His beatings sort of get tacked on toward the end, so that you are not prepared when Tony refuses to be beside the woman during her last hours.Tony strikes me as a spoiled, "difficult" man (though he likes to see himself as brimming with bonhomie). Some of his most fun moments were spent in bed with Playboy bunnies during visits with his pal Hugh Hefner.He talks abut the circumscribed atmosphere of the Playboy mansion. Words to this effect: "You couldn't take the girls to other places, apartments or outside homes, to make love; everything had to be done right there at the mansion."The implication is that this made it all very "proper."Of course he wasn't allowed to take them elsewhere.The mansion is merely a gilded bordello, and the girls are "on the clock" with celebrities like Tony Curtis.Can't have them wandering around loose, possibly getting extra "perks" from the johns. Can you say icky?All this aside, Tony (and others) have implied that his career never really reached the top tier of Hollywood/acting acknowledgment or accomplishment. "The Defiant Ones"; "Some Like It Hot"; "The Boston Strangler";"Spartacus"; "Trapeze"; "The Great Imposter" (my personal favorite and never mentioned in this book that I recall) - what more could any Hollywood actor want? I would be very proud and happy to have those notches in my belt, and grateful that I got all the bucks and the luxuries that came with the job(s).Of course, to my way of thinking, as a painter myself, I also can't imagine anything more wonderful than being a fulfilled visual artist; and our hero is a semi-talented painter. Finally, the exceedingly lucky Tony Curtis found one woman who could stand his boastful, vain personality and stuck with him. Of course, he's older now...way older. I don't think his "chatting up girls" would bring him much action at this point, so Jillie has little to worry about.He was gorgeous, he was cute, he was a fun-to-watch presence on the big screen.I don't know about his other kids, but if Jamie Lee Curtis is any indication, they are his greatest "achievement."But he can't really boast about Jamie.From what I've heard, Janet Leigh was a great mother, and more than made up for Tony's lack of character. Tony, despite all these flaws, I still love to watch your films, and yes, I do wish someone would put you in another one.

loved it!
I have been pleasantly surprised by Tony Curtis book as I had read reviews that were very negative and demeaning about the fact that everything was about Tony etc., but after all it is an autobiography so what else do people expect.His life growing up was hell and he felt like an outsider and was very insecure.Who can blame him.I dont agree with his sense of morality but many people not so famous act the same way.I picked up a feeling that here is a lot of decency in Tony Curtis and I respect him for being a survivor against the odds.How would any of have acted under such circumstances especially being poor and jewish in those times.I enjoyed your book Tony and wish you well.

American Prince, A Memoir, by Tony Curtis
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tony Curtis's book, "American Prince, A Memoir."Reading about his difficult early years and then what went on behind the scenes in Hollywood, was fascinating.He's certainly had a wild life.I've loved Tony's movies over the years.I hope someday the Academy Awards will give him the recognition he deserves for his acting.He's now in his mid-eighties and was hospitalized recently.Based on his book, he seems like a tough guy who will never give up. I wish him well. ... Read more

Product Description
Founded in 1789, the Curtis Paper Company was in continuous operation for over two hundred years. This book chronicles the intricacies of paper making of fine text and cover papers and affords us a view of an early business enterprise. ... Read more