Tony Curtis defends marriage record

Rex Features

Tony Curtis has blamed his mother for his five failed marriages.

According to the 83-year-old actor, he has been desperate for affection since his childhood as his mother "slapped [him] around" for no reason".

"The one quality that never left me was my joy and love of women since I was a kid," he explained. "My mother shocked me because she just didn't have that loving feeling.

"As I grew up, I began to find a lot of qualities in women that I liked ... I enjoyed living, I enjoyed the ladies I met and that made my life."

Curtis has now been married to sixth wife Jill for over ten years.