Curtis spent 12 years as a stage manager, beginning in 1949 as an assistant stage manager on a tour of the Martha Graham Dance Company, and later for Katharine Cornell and Dr. Guthrie McClintock.

He received bachelor`s and master`s degrees at the University of Utah, where he was a student actor and cheerleader.

Served three years with the Navy.

Discovered by Orson Welles when Welles directed a college production of `Macbeth`. Welles cast him in the role of Lennox the following year in his 1948 adaptation of the play, which launched his stage career.

Endowed a scholarship to help graduates embark on their own acting careers and donated his Tony Award, theater memorabilia, and personal correspondence to his alma mater, the University of Utah.

Best known for his bald-pated Daddy Warbucks in `Annie` and flamboyant Alban in `La Cage aux Folles` on the musical stage, he later won a bit of notice as a recurring character on TV`s `Cheers` (1982) -- the snippy, calculating upstairs restaurant owner, John Allen Hill.

Won Broadway`s 1971 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for `The Rothschilds.`