Born in Los Angeles, California, Curtis writes about important figures from the early days of film.
[1] Curtis's publications include biographies of comedian W. C. Fields, director and screenwriter Preston Sturges, director James Whale, production designer William Cameron Menzies,[2] actor Spencer Tracy.
Curtis spent six years researching and writing Spencer Tracy: A Biography (2011).
Film critic Leonard Maltin praised the work, saying in his review, "It represents a high-water mark in this field: a scrupulously researched life story that is also well-written and completely absorbing, through 878 pages of text".
[4] He received the Special Jury Prize of the Theatre Library Association in 2004 for W. C. Fields: A Biography.