Tributes paid to "extraordinary" Curtis

Tributes have been paid to screen icon Tony Curtis, who has died aged 85.

The actor, who starred opposite Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot and was Oscar-nominated for his role in 1958's The Defiant Ones, passed away at home in Henderson, NV on September 29.

Roger Moore led the public tributes, calling Curtis "a fine actor".

Speaking of their time working together on '70s TV series The Persuaders!, Moore said: "He was great fun to work with, a great sense of humour and wonderful ad libs."

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, the youngest daughter from Curtis's marriage to first wife Janet Leigh, said that her father had left "a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings".

She added: "He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world."

Veteran chatshow host Michael Parkinson said that Curtis's performance in Some Like It Hot had contributed to "one of the greatest comedies of all time".

"[Director] Billy Wilder did not suffer fools so for Tony Curtis to work with him and make that film show just how good he was. He was an extraordinary man.

"Hollywood tried to make him into a sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s but he was his own man."

Parkinson, who interviewed Curtis several times, added that the actor was "a great chatshow host", saying: "[Curtis] was wonderfully indiscreet but he was very bright and did not take himself too seriously."

Curtis, who was hospitalised after an asthma attack in June, is believed to have died from a heart attack. He is survived by his sixth wife Jill Vandenberg and six children.