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Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the son of Emanuel and Helen Schwartz, on June 3, 1925 in New York City. Curtis was the son of an impoverished Hungarian-born tailor, and was a member of an infamous area street gang by the age of 11. That was all about to change following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before joining the Navy, Tony Curtis' only knowledge of the U.S. Navy was from the silver screen. Tony grew up on the east side of Manhattan. "As a youth, I remember seeing Cary Grant in "Destination Tokyo" and Tyron Powers in "Crash Dive". I knew right then that I wanted to become a submariner. I used to take broom handles and make submarines out of them. I would stick a nail in the top and a rubber-band to a propeller made from a tin can. Here I was, this little kid down at the park, trying to make my homemade submarine float." But while his teenage idol Cary Grant only "played" a submariner in "Destination Tokyo", at the young age of 17, Tony Curtis (as Bernard Schwartz) would enlist in the U.S. Navy and actually become a submariner. "What I really wanted was the opportunity to see the world", he recalls. "But I knew from the very start that I wanted to be on submarines. There was never a doubt in my mind." So following Basic Recruit Training, Signalman School in Great Lakes, Illinois, and Submarine school in Groton, Conn., Tony Curtis was soon on his way to war. First it was to Mare Island, California, by train, then on to Guam, where he found himself assigned to the submarine tender USS Proteus(AS-19) as part of submarine Relief Crew 202. "Whenever a sub came in after a war patrol, they would tie up alongside the tender and the crew would go on liberty." Curtis said. "We would go aboard then and clean it up and scrape the barnacles off from the sides. It was hard work sure, but it didn't matter. This was great work for those of us waiting to be assigned to a submarine. It was great practice to get those submarines ready to go back out on patrol." Curtis said the only thing he didn't get to do while in the Navy was to actually serve aboard a submarine. He was able to take a short run aboard the USS Dragonet (SS-293) before the war ended. "I wanted to qualify submarines so badly" remembers Curtis. "But I was the only thing I didn't get to do. I wish I could have done it." When the war ended, Bernard was aboard the Proteus when she steamed for the Japanese base at Yokosuka where he witnessed the historic signing of the famous Document of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay from the Proteus' signal bridge through a pair of binoculars. "That was one of the greatest moments in my life", Curtis said. "To be 18 almost 19, standing on the signal bridge and watching the signing of that document. I felt so proud to be part of the service at that time." In September of 1945, Bernard was released from active duty before he could fulfill his dream of actually being "Qualified-in-Submarines", and the right to wear those coveted Dolphins - the very thing that sent him off to war in the first place. It's ironic that once he made it to Hollywood, he became good friends with the very men who had made such an impact on his miliary path - Cary Grant and Tyrone Powers. "It was amazing to me. I had watched Cary Grant wrapped around the periscope in "Destination Tokyo" and wanted to be him. Years later when I did "Operation Petticoat", there I was in a movie with Cary Grant, and there he was, wrapped around a periscope again. What a wonderful thing. Absolutely amazing." He's quick to point out though, that without his time in the Navy he might have had a tougher time reaching his goals. "I can't thank the Navy enough. They were like my Mother, they fed me, they clothed me. They fixed my teeth and gave me a job. They kept me out of trouble and let me see the world. Then the Navy turned out to be a Father to me. I suddenly had the GI Bill to get me started." With the GI Bill Curtis was able to get his high school diploma and with his tuition paid for City College, and later the acting program at the New School for Social Research paid, he was able to pursue the calling that would define the rest of his life - acting! Curtis said it must have been fate that led him through life at that time, because 18 months to the day after he left the Navy, he landed his first starring role and a career that would make him a great success.
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