Career: After being spotted by a talent scout, Curtis was signed by Universal Pictures in 1948. He admits he was interested only in earning money and wooing girls, but he quickly built a hugely successful career. He made his screen debut with walk-on parts in several movies in 1949. By the end of the 1950s, he'd become a major star thanks to films such as The Sweet Smell of Success, The Vikings, The Defiant Ones and Some Like It Hot. More major films followed in the next decade, but in the 1970s he won new fans with TV series The Persuaders! and McCoy. Away from acting, Curtis was an accomplished artist. He suffered from several illnesses in his later years, and underwent heart bypass surgery in 1994. He died from a cardiac arrest on September 29, 2010, at the age of 85.