“In the ’30s and ’40s, I despised the name Schwartz and its German ancestry, even though my family was Austrian-Hungarian,” Tony Curtis bluntly told the Hartford Courant (via Behind The Curtain). “Whenever I went out, I would change my name because I didn’t want to be known as Schwartz.” It’s tragic that the horrifying events unfolding on the world stage during this era caused him to think like this, but it led to his invention of a new name.
“Curtis” is an adapted form of “Kurtz,” the last name of a family member. “`Tony’ came from `Anthony Adverse,’ the first novel I read,” he explained. With that, he had created what he called his “perfect name,” one that would become known all over the world as he conquered Hollywood.
This he achieved in a few short years, per Biography: his first Hollywood movie appearance was a low-profile role in 1949’s “Criss Cross,” and just two years later, he married Janet Leigh, firmly establishing himself as a celebrity to be reckoned with.
