A local radio station hosted a "Meet and Greet Tony Curtis" day in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Suncoast Hotel in the main showroom. I don't think there was anyone in Las Vegas that wanted to meet Tony more than I did! So I called my sister Lynn, and invited her to join me. Many years ago, she dated a guy that could have been a stand in for Tony in his youth, so she has always been a fan.

Lynn and I arrived early, about 12:05pm. (55 minutes early) Lynn is not a bit shy, for those of you who haven't met her! So, she insisted we walk right down to the main floor and get a table, which was right in front of where Tony would be sitting! We were busy looking over the memorabilia I had brought to be signed, when these two men approached us. (I knew it was too good to be true where we were sitting!) They made a few comments, asked a few questions, then hit us with, "May we sit with you at your table?" We laughed and said why not? So Tom and Don sat with us during the three hours we were there.

Close to 1pm the radio announcer, Duke, said that Tony would be arriving soon, and all of a sudden in he walked...RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!! I screamed with excitement, saying "HI TONY!" and applauding along with a huge room filled with fans. He spoke with us at that time, and looked at the buttons Lynn and I were sporting...(more later)

It was a grand entrance. He was wearing white shorts and a black long sleeve shirt. He looked great in person, better live than in photos! He was gracious, and thanked everyone for coming. Much of the day was live on the radio, which had I known I would have recorded it. Oh well. So a line immediately formed for saying hi to Tony, when I was dumbstruck. Here he was, here I was, and I couldn't even move. As I said, Lynn isn't shy! She went right over to Tony, and said, (get this!) "Hi Tony! I'm Gina's sister Lynn. Gina from moviestarmania.com" And Tony said, "Is she here? Where is she?" And Lynn told him yes, pointing where I was. He told Lynn, "Don't move from this spot till she comes over here!" So Lynn is standing with Tony, and is trying to get my attention to come over. When I finally saw her through the crowd, I swallowed hard! I picked up some of the things I brought to sign and then I was standing right in front of him. He looked at me, HUGGED ME, and when I felt it was time to let go, as there were so many other fans waiting to see him too, he hugged me tighter, and told me "Not yet! Let's make this moment last!" Then he kissed my cheeck! What a moment for me. I was on top of the world and made to feel so very special by Tony. I'll never forget that moment in time! Lynn didn't get her hug at that time. (It comes later!)

Tony then looked at ALL the things I brought, and asked me to wait till the end after the people with single items were finished signing. He said he wanted to spend more time talking and of course we waited. I was on cloud nine the rest of the day, knowing he wanted to spend time with us!

Tony talked about his parents, his childhood and home. He went on to talk about Cary Grant, and how Cary not only is the reason for him getting into acting, but about acting WITH him. He talked about Marilyn Monroe, and gave us some good stories about her. Did you know that when they met, they had a 6 month romance? He is a great story teller, and fun to listen to. I could have sat there all day just listening to him!

All through the 3 hours he signed photos for fans. The line never seemed to end, but within three hours he had signed hundreds of autographs! And then it was my turn! He signed many photos for me and for my Mom and Lynn. On one of Lynn's he actually drew a pot of flowers for her! He seemed to enjoy seeing what I brought, and when he came to a certain magazine from the UK he told RICH LITTLE, (did I forget to say he was there and that we got photos and autographs?) "Look Rich! Jeff Chandler wrote about me in this book!" Then he saw the novel he wrote and pointed it out to Rich. Rich asked him how well it had done and Tony said, "Pretty well!" click here to read Jeff's article 

Now, back to Lynn. She mentioned that she would love to sing for Tony. Remember, this is a live radio broadcast! This being a day of dreams come true, Lynn DID sing for him! And for Rich Little! She sang "Embraceable You" like a lark. Her voice filled that showroom better than the hired singer for the day! People, (especially me!) were in awe. Unless you experience Lynn singing like that, you can't possibly know what I mean. When she sang the part about, "I want your arms about me" Tony came over and hugged her, AND kissed her! WOW!!! What an incredible experience that was!

Well, before Tony left for the day, he turned to Lynn and I and said, (his hands on our shoulders) "Did we exchange phone numbers?" I said, "Well, not yet!" He then wrote his phone number on a piece of paper! I think I'm still in shock over that one! I gave him the photo buttons I made for him and Jill, and he was off.

So what do I think now that I'm met Tony? I think he is one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life! The fact that he gave three hours of his time to meet his fans, and that he sat there hugging, posing and signing hundreds of autographs without so much as a frown, tells me that he is a man that appreciates his fans! He is genuine, thoughtful, and caring too. He's expressive, artistic and can almost tell a story with his expressions alone. I absolutely loved hearing the stories he shared with everyone too! He could have made a living just as a story teller. I've seen many actors that would rather not be bothered with fans. This is not Tony. He had men and women there of nearly every age bracket, and he was gracious to each and every one.

One of the wonderful things, and the reason this web site is named Tony Curtis ~ A Man For All Ages, is because his appeal is ageless. For the senior fans, they were there to enjoy first run movies, and were able to watch Tony grow as an actor. For the next group, which I fall into, I learned an appreciation for classic films early on, and spend much time watching films that others may over look. I am able to appreciate the era of Tony's early fame as much as I am able to appreciate him today. The younger fans are just now learning about Tony. They see his films in re-runs on AMC or TCM. It starts the whole process again once you have seen Tony in a film, it leaves you wanting more! I hope eventually all of Tony's films will be re-released so they may be enjoyed for generations to come!

I am often asked what's new with Tony. Well, he is currently training for an upcoming play that will be in Texas. I have no actual details at this time as to where and when, but I can tell you that it will be a real treat for any fans that are able to see it! Tony is currently taking tap dancing and singing lessons in preparation for the play. If I can learn more about it, I'll share with you!

Tony now lives in Las Vegas with his beautiful wife Jill. I hope someday to have more information about Jill to share with you too, but I can tell you this. She is an avid collector of Tony's memorabilia, and she is happily married to the man of her dreams! She is so nice too, and did I mention beautiful! Tony is a lucky man!