LAS VEGAS — Actor Tony Curtis was buried Monday with a melange of his favorite possessions — a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf, driving gloves, an iPhone and a copy of his favorite novel, "Anthony Adverse," a book that inspired his celebrity name and launched a robust film career that spanned decades and genres.
The 85-year-old Oscar-nominated actor who starred in such films as "The Defiant Ones" and "Some Like It Hot" died Wednesday at his home in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, after suffering cardiac arrest.
More than 400 celebrities, fans, friends and family members gathered to say goodbye at a public funeral service Monday in Las Vegas honoring Curtis' life.
The funeral was to be followed by the burial and then a reception for 200 invited guests at the Luxor hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
A montage of Curtis' famous film roles opened the sometimes solemn, sometimes mirthful farewell service attended by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Jamie Lee Curtis, porn star Ron Jeremy and Vera Goulet, widow of Broadway singer Robert Goulet. The crowd laughed as an animated Curtis appeared in a scene from the television series "The Flintstones" and sparred with actor Kirk Douglas in "Spartacus."
Friends and fans lined up outside Palm Mortuary & Cemetery well before the funeral, with more than a dozen photographers and television journalists watching the scene.