Curtis had Kitchener connection
Posted Sep 30, 2010 03:01:24 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium had a supporting role in a Tony Curtis movie. The Aud was used as the arena for a boxing match in 1979’s “Title Shot,” a movie about fight fixing. And it should come as no surprise that a movie about boxing being shot in Kitchener somehow managed to find the city’s most famous boxing family.
“My dad was the boxer in that movie,” said Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool, when contacted by 570 News. “And there was an old coach, who has since passed, in the movie as well.”
The 43-year old five-time champion remembers being at The Aud and watching his dad in the ring.
“I remember the golden trunks and the golden gloves (my dad was wearing),” Vanderpool reflects. “That’s what really stands out. You don’t see a lot of golden gloves unless you’re at the Golden Gloves tournament.”
William (Bill) Longmire, who founded the Grand River Boxing Club more than 30 years ago, also had a role in the movie. He played a corner man, a role made famous by Burgess Meredith in the Rocky series.
Vanderpool was too young to remember details of the production and the shooting schedule but he fondly looks back on seeing his dad, decked out in gold, standing in the ring as the cameras rolled.
“I was actually sitting right there when this movie was being shot. Dad was right there and he was a part of this thing. And I was thinking, ‘OK, this is cool,” Vanderpool laughs.
Tony Curtis died yesterday at his Las Vegas home. He was 85.
