LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Legendary Hollywood actor Tony Curtis died on Wednesday night. He was 85.

The veteran star, who was best known for his role in "Some Like It Hot," died of cardiac arrest at his Las Vegas home, the Los Angeles Times reported.

As one of Hollywood's most durable actors, Curtis, who was born Bernard Schwartz and a son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, made appearances in more than 100 films and was nominated for the best actor Academy Award for his role in "The Defiant Ones," a 1958 convict escape film in which he acted opposite Sidney Poitier.

Curtis was best remembered for his role in "Some Like It Hot," Billy Wilder's classic 1959 comedy in which he and Jack Lemmon played small-time jazz musicians who fled after witnessing Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago and fell in love with a vocalist played by British broadcaster Channel 4 in 2002.

Curtis also appeared at 60 feature and TV films, as well as numerous television sitcoms, dramatic series or as a talk-show guest. He has a star on the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame.