TONY CURTIS - CURTIS FIGHTING FOR LIFE AFTER CHRISTMAS HEALTH CRISIS

Hollywood legend TONY CURTIS is lucky to be alive after battling a deadly illness over Christmas (06), which left him hooked up to a ventilator. The SOME LIKE IT HOT star, 81, secretly checked in to the intensive care unit of a hospital near his home in Nevada after spending the five days following Christmas Day (25DEC06) drifting in and out of consciousness, according to US tabloid the National Enquirer. Family members including wife JILL and daughter JAMIE LEE CURTIS reportedly staged a bedside vigil as Curtis fought pneumonia. And though Curtis regained consciousness over the New Year holiday, he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility to help him with breathing troubles - and friends fear the aged actor still faces a health battle. His publicist JULIE MCRAY says, "Say a prayer for him."