MUMBAI: Tony Curtis, who entertained us in his films like Some Like It Hot and The Sweet Smell of Success expired Wednesday night in Nevada of cardiac arrest. He was 85.

Cutis, leading man of more than 140 films including Spartacus had received an Academy Award nomination for The Defiant Ones released in 1958.

Born Bernard Schwartz in New York, Curtis got off to a rocky professional start. In one of his first major roles, playing an Arabian in Son of Ali Baba released in 1952.

Two of his most enduring performances came in Some Like It Hot in which he teamed up with Jack Lemmon, playing cross-dressers opposite Marilyn Monroe and The Sweet Smell of Success in which which he played a fawning press agent.

In his Oscar nomination film The Defiant Ones Curtis played a racist prison escapee chained to a black man played by Sidney Poitier.Some of his other notable films include Houdini, Trapeze, Operation Petticoat, The Boston Strangler, The Vikings and The Great Imposter.

When leading roles in film dried up, Curtis struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse. He eventually overcame those problems and transformed from leading man to character actor, taking roles on TV.