Tony Curtis Autographs and His (Not So) Tricky Secretarial

This month will mark one year since Tony Curtis, the beloved actor, passed away. I decided to post this quick thread after searching through past ones and seeing very little discussed about Tony Curtis' signature. There are a lot of through the mail Tony Curtis signatures on eBay with certificates from both PSA/DNA and JSA. I think it's pretty well known that Tony Curtis' through the mail was secretarial but I'd like to post this for anyone who doesn't know or may be fooled by the PSA or JSA seal of approval.

Tony Curtis Secretarial:

The differences between authentic Tony signatures and this secretarial are very distinctive.

Here's a quick rundown of some differences:

1. Tony Curtis didn't stack his signature. See how the Tony is on top of the Curtis in the secretarial above. That isn't present in authentic examples.

2. Tony Curtis would almost always attach the "y" in Tony to the "C" in Curtis.

3. The "C" in Tony Curtis will almost always have a little loop or attachment at the top. It's most often part of the attachment between the "y" and "C" but it is also present in signatures where there is no attachment.

*4. Tony Curtis' authentic signature was much more varied than this secretarial and more sloppy on average.*

Here are some Tony Curtis signatures we know with absolutely certainty to be real. You can compare them with the secretarial and also the characteristics outlined above:

Now here is some side by side comparison of the secretarial signature versus the authentic Tony Curtis signature. The secretarial version is on the left and the authentic signature is on the right:

Tony Curtis was a very willing signer in-person. He signed right up until the end. He just didn't sign through the mail. Where would he find the time with five wives?

Tags: Curtis, Hollywood, Tony, autograph, classic, secretarial

3 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on September 5, 2011 at 11:45pm

I don't know whether PSA and JSA are still passing these secretarial Tony Curtis' or not. All examples used for the side by side comparisons, secretarial or authentic, had PSA or JSA stickers. They were authenticating the genuine stuff. The problem must be bad exemplars. You can probably classify these mistakes as a lack of due diligence.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Grant Davis on September 11, 2011 at 2:45am

Thanks Brick - this is the sort of study and information that we need on this site??!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on September 16, 2011 at 9:02pm

I don't think I've seen a vintage signed Tony Curtis item like that, Louie. It looks very fishy to me. I don't think it's good. He didn't write or sign like that in my experience.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 16, 2011 at 9:22pm

Brick,

What a good study...thanks. I have eight in inventory and only one is stacked...so I'm hopeful! I'll upload them when I have some time. I'm way behind on stuff.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on October 5, 2011 at 2:48pm

Great 8x10 still from the movie Who Was That Lady? listed on eBay with signatures from Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, weighed down completely by a secretarial Dean Martin signature!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Grant Davis on November 2, 2011 at 3:52pm

How bad is this?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on November 2, 2011 at 8:50pm

I caught the image at work a couple hours ago. I don't see it anymore. At any rate, it didn't look good. Some autographs are rougher than others, but only to an extent. The autograph I saw went well beyond that extent. A lot, from my memory, was wrong with it in structure. It's a forgery. I hope no one paid/pays much for it, wherever it's from.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on November 5, 2011 at 1:32pm

2011 Leaf Cuts Tony Curtis... secretarial.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-LEAF-CUT-SIGNATURE-TONY-CURTIS-CUT-AUT...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brick Hunter on November 18, 2011 at 4:06am

Here are the four Tony Curtis secretarials I'm currently aware of. The most common version has a variation that isn't stacked and I've also included that.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 5, 2016 at 3:19pm

Brick,

Been a while. Are you still around these parts?

Thanks for this great discussion. I came across a big 'ol pile of Tony Curtis. Tons of Hollywood cards—most if not all look secretarial to me. I have 8 signed photos, tho, and I think all but one might be genuine.

Opinions from you and others would be greatly appreciated.

Hope you're doing well. It would be great to see you around here again.

Thanks

This one looks secretarial to me.