Artexpo will present its first ever Lifetime Achievement Award to motion picture star and painter Tony Curtis at noon on September 29, during the inaugural Las Vegas show at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The award will be created and presented by none other than fellow motion picture studio artist Tom Zotos to honor Curtis' outstanding contributions to the world of art.
Famous for his thick black wavy hair, handsome good looks, flashing long eyelashes and trademark New York accent, Tony Curtis is an icon who has appeared in over 138 films since 1949, but the actor's most enduring role has been in "Some Like It Hot" with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. Curtis also enjoyed a close friendship with Hollywood's "Rat Pack" -- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Since at least the early 1980s, Curtis has had a second career as a painter, and it is on this that he now focuses rather than movies. "I still make movies, but I'm not that interested anymore," he said. "I paint all the time."
Presenting the award is former colleague Tom Zotos, the unshackled film studio artist behind studios such as Warner Bros., Lucasfilm and The Disney Studios. Zotos will make his debut at Artexpo Las Vegas with Co-Creator C. Christie Craig of C3 Group as part of the Celebrity Art Pavilion. This in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises for a commemorative tribute to Frank Sinatra entitled "Meeting Adjourned ..." in the form of a Special Collector's Edition Lithograph and Limited Edition Giclee'.
Artexpo Las Vegas builds on the success of the world's largest fine and popular art fair, Artexpo New York, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in February, 2008 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Over its storied history, Artexpo has helped propel the careers of some of the finest American artists of the 20th century, including Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Robert Indiana, Leroy Neiman and Robert Rauschenberg.
Tickets for Artexpo Las Vegas are available the day of the show at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, or at http://www.artexpos.com/. The show is open to the public on Friday, September 28 from 12-6pm, Saturday, September 29 from 11am to 6pm, and Sunday, September 30 from 11am to 5pm. Adult tickets for Artexpo Las Vegas are $10 a day; $5 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are free.
