Tony Curtis, who played everything from a dramatic lead to a cross-dressing comic, died at his Henderson, Nevada home just northwest of Las Vegas last night from cardiac failure.  He was 85.  He began his career with bit parts in such forgettable fare as the film "Francis", about a talking mule, but quickly moved into the spotlight with roles in "Flesh and Fury" and "Houdini".  He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 1958 for his turn in "The Defiant Ones" opposite Sidney Poitier.  He was a consummate worker and no role was beneath him if it meant he was working.  He even voiced a cartoon version of himself named Stony Curtis on "The Flintstones".  In 2005, for his 80th birthday, he posed nude for Vanity Fair magazine.  During his long career, he fought off depression, drug ,and alcohol abuse, and like his friend Tony Bennett, he became a painter of reknown.