A Day At The Beach

Hats off to Bernie

This morning, I called my dad, the one, the only, Mr. Ben Starr, and asked if he had any good Tony Curtis stories.  "Bernie Schwartz was Tony Curtis' real name.  They brought him out to Hollywood and wanted to make him into a big star.  He was very handsome.  I used to go to the beach every week with a group of guys who worked in Hollywood, mostly comedy writers.  We went to Will Rogers State Beach.  I used to see Marlon Brando there all the time, tossing a football around. 
Anyway, I was friends with Hal March, who was a big guy in radio in the '50s, part of a comedy team, Sweeney and March.  I wrote for them.  March went on to host 'The $64,000 Question' on TV.  A couple of times, he brought Tony Curtis to the beach.  It was way at the beginning of his career.  He was still Bernie Schwartz, a poor kid from the Bronx.  I remember he didn't have the kind of bathing suit we all wore.  We had shorts.  He had one of the old-fashioned, full bathing suits for men.  He used to roll it down to his waist.  He was a nice guy." 

I like to remember Tony like this

"Later, they changed his name to Tony Curtis, and in one of his first movies, he was cast as a prince, the son of a king.  It was a period piece.  He's on a horse, riding with other knights, and they come to a cliff and stop riding.  In the distance, you see this beautiful castle. Tony Curtis, still blessed with his New York accent, says, 'Yonda lies da castle of my fadda, da king.'  They made fun of him for years after that.  I met him again at a party, when he was a big star.  He was a regular guy.  A talented artist, too.  Never married a Jewish woman, as far as I know."  Thanks, Dad.   You always come through for me.