Known as Hollywood’s 1950s heartthrob, Tony Curtis was more than a blue-eyed handsome face. He was a boy with a sad childhood and a man with a successful Hollywood career and the kindness to help others.

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, New York, on June 3, 1925, to Hungarian-Jewish immigrants. His childhood was affected by economic problems and discrimination. Curtis’ father owned a tailor shop that had a small apartment in the back with only two rooms: one for his parents and the other for Curtis and his two brothers, Julius and Robert. According to a 1961 issue of LIFE Magazine, Mrs. Schwartz suffered from schizophrenia and beat her sons, and Robert was institutionalized for the same illness. Curtis said in his memoir that his parents were constantly fighting and screaming, and he went to the movies to escape it all.

During the Great Depression, Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz were unable to financially support Curtis and Julius, so they placed them in an orphanage. There the two brothers were bullied by the other children who were anti-Semitic. At age 12, Julius was hit and killed by a truck, and Curtis was left to handle the tragedy alone. Curtis’ humble and sad childhood encouraged him to seek a better future.

Once he graduated from Seward Park High School, Curtis enlisted in the US Navy and served in World War II aboard the submarine USS Proteus. After serving and receiving an honorable discharge from the military, Curtis enrolled in acting classes with the GI Bill at the New School for Social Research in New York.

“All my life I had one dream, and that was to be in the movies. Maybe it was because I had a pretty rough childhood, or perhaps it was because I was always more than a little insecure, but as a kid I longed to see myself ten feet tall on the big screen.” — Tony Curtis in his 2008 memoir, American Prince.

In 1948, Curtis’ good looks and his performance in a play led him to a contract with Universal Studios. According to his memoir, the actor’s artistic name came from a book he read in the Navy by Anthony Adverse, and Curtis was also inspired by the last name of one of his relatives: Kertiz. Under this artistic name, Curtis made small role appearances in several films, including Criss Cross (1949), Frances (1950), and No Room for the Groom (1952).

It was 1951 when Curtis married Hollywood actress Janet Leigh, now famously known for her star appearances in Psycho (1960) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963). Leigh’s beauty and film work helped her husband’s career take off. Both starred in five films together, including Houdini (1953), The Perfect Furlough (1958), and Who Was That Lady? (1960). Leigh and Curtis had two children together, Jamie Lee and Kelly, who are now actresses themselves.

Having the opportunity to be a part of the Golden Age of Cinema, the success of Tony Curtis continued up to 2008. His most recognized film role is in Some Like It Hot (1959) with co-star Marilyn Monroe. This specific role required Curtis to play a musician who witnessed a mob robbery and had to dress as a woman to escape. The American Film Institute named the film “the funniest movie of the past 100 years.” His career spanned more than 140 films, and he received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his work in The Defiant Ones (1958). Curtis also has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aside from his Hollywood career and his various marriages, Tony Curtis is also known for his humanitarian work. In 1987, Curtis created the Emanuel Foundation of New York in honor of his father. The foundation sponsored the Holocaust Memorial in Budapest, Hungary, which is a weeping willow tree with the names of Hungarian Jews who were killed during the Holocaust on the leaves.

Along with his wife Jill Vandenberg, Curtis founded the Shiloh Horse Rescue, which rescues horses that are abused, neglected, or slaughter-bound. Once the horses are saved, they are taken to the Shiloh ranch in Nevada for rehabilitation, where some live and others are adopted to loving homes.

Tony Curtis died in 2010 of a heart attack. He was 85.

Tony Curtis was a person of self-perseverance who followed his dream, lived out his dream, and helped others with his organizations. From being a poor boy in New York with a rough childhood to being the Prince of Hollywood, Curtis’ success will continue to be seen by generations of movie fanatics.

“I was the best-looking kid in town. It’s not what you have but what you do with it that counts.” — Tony Curtis