Tony Danza

Tony Danza has been a significant force in TV comedy since the 1980s. His unassuming longrunning sitcom "Who's the Boss?" (ABC, 1984-92) became such a ratings juggernaut that his network routinely used it as a lead-in for prized new shows ("Roseanne" being a particularly successful example). Danza branched out to produce TV-movies, specials and other sitcoms before headlining another success, "Hudson Street", in the 1995-96 season as star and executive producer. Along the way he racked up stage and cabaret experience and made periodic appearances in the tabloids.

The twentysomething Tony Danza was an amiable, good-looking prizefighter with a ready grin and an eager-to-please manner. As an actor, he first gained attention in a supporting role as, appropriately enough, aspiring boxer Tony Banta in the acclaimed sitcom, "Taxi" (1978-83). While looking like an Italian-American character type in the Sylvester Stallone mold, he brought a dimwitted but gentle, rough-diamond appeal to the role. His likeable naivete clashed pleasingly with his tough guy appearance and allowed the untrained actor to hold his own amid a formidable comic ensemble.

The season after "Taxi" was permanently parked, Danza returned as the star of "Who's the Boss?", playing a housekeeper employed by successful businesswoman Judith Light. Now occupying center stage in a sitcom, he seemed to lose some of the appealing modesty he had possessed in "Taxi". The format of his new series was more conventional, but the broadly played antics on the show kept the program's intended audience happy for a very healthy eight-year run.

An extremely prolific TV personality, Danza has also had some success in TV-movies which allowed him to tackle more substantial fare, as in his first major dramatic performance, "Doing Life" (1986), in which he played a real-life convict who became a lawyer behind bars. Danza has subsequently kept busy acting in other TV-movies and hosting a variety of specials, including the reality-based "Gettin' Over" (1992-93) that explored the problems and challenges of urban youth. He has also executive produced fluffy specials including the "Before They Were Stars" series and tried his hand at sitcom with the unsuccessful "George" (1993-94), starring fellow ex-boxer George Foreman. Although his appeal has been most potent on TV, Danza has made the occasional feature film; most of them have been genial if routine comedies, including "Cannonball Run II" (1983), "She's Out of Control" (1989) and "Angels in the Outfield" (1994). The latter only afforded him a supporting role but he received the best notices of his film career playing a washed up baseball pitcher in this mild Disney remake.

"Angels in the Outfield" also marked Danza's first performance after recovering from a serious skiing accident on December 28, 1993 in which he sustained two broken vertebrae, crushed ribs, a collapsed lung, bruised liver and kidney, and had his right leg pulled out of the hip socket. After five screws, three rods, a bone fusion and a year of intensive physical therapy, Danza was back on his feet and on the slopes and ready for his third popular sitcom.

Danza executive produced "Hudson Street" through his own production company, Katie Face Productions (named after one of his daughters). A bit harder edged than previously, his playing a divorced New Jersey police detective who becomes embroiled in a love-hate relationship with a reporter played by Lori Loughlin. This marked the third series in which he played a character named Tony. He attempted a fourth series, "The Tony Danza Show" on NBC in 1997, but it was a victim of poor ratings.

• Also Credited As:
  Anthony Salvatore Iadanza
• Born:
  Anthony Salvatore Iadanza on April 21, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Producer, TV host, Director, Script consultant, Singer, Bartender, Dishwasher, Jeans salesman, Middleweight boxer

Family

• Brother: Matty Danza. Born c. 1954; operates the Los Angeles restaurant Matty s on Melrose
• Daughter: Emily Lyn Danza. Born c. 1993; mother, Tracy Robinson
• Daughter: Katherine Anne Danza. Born May 8, 1987; mother, Tracy Robinson
• Father: Matty Iadanza. Died c. 1983 at age 62 of lung cancer and a brain tumor
• Grandson: Nicholas David Danza. Born Aug. 27, 2005; parents are Marc and Julie Danza
• Mother: Anne Iadanza. Died of brain cancer in June 1993 at age 67
• Son: Marc Anthony Danza. Born c. 1971; mother, Rhonda Yeomen; published the cookbook Don t Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza s Father-Son Cookbook with his father in 2008

Significant Others

• Companion: Marilu Henner. co-starred together on the ABC sitcom Taxi ; dated briefly during the first season in 1978

Education

• University of Dubuque, Dubuque, IA, history, BA, 1973

Milestones

• 1976 Became a professional boxer; compiled 12-3 record in the ring, with all of his fights, wins and losses, ending by knockout
• 1978 Played Tony Banta on the popular ABC sitcom, Taxi ; series aired on NBC for its last season; nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1980
• 1978 Settled in Los Angeles and briefly considered for a film role in The Warriors
• 1980 Acted in first TV-movie, Murder Can Hurt You! (ABC)
• 1980 Feature acting debut, The Hollywood Knights
• 1981 First lead in a feature film, Going Ape!
• 1984 Played the leading role of Tony Micelli on the hit ABC sitcom, Who s the Boss?; nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actor (1986, 1987, 1989)
• 1986 Co-executive produced first TV-movie, Doing Life (NBC); also starred as a real-life convict
• 1986 TV directorial debut, co-directed (with Gail L. Bergmann) an episode of Who s the Boss? entitled Jr. Executive
• 1989 Played the lead role in the film, She s Out of Control
• 1989 Served as an executive script consultant for the short-lived ABC sitcom, Living Dolls
• 1990 Performed song Candy Man for TV special, Sammy Davis, Jr. s 60th Anniversary Celebration
• 1991 Founded Katie Face Productions; first production was an ABC TV-movie, The Whereabouts of Jenny
• 1991 Guest hosted (for a week) the short-lived ABC latenight talk show, Studio 59
• 1991 Supplied the voice of the baby Mickey Campbell on the ABC sitcom, Baby Talk
• 1992 Acted in the comic short film, The Joke
• 1992 Executive produced and hosted a series of reality-based TV specials, Gettin Over (ABC)
• 1993 Executive produced first regularly scheduled TV series, the short-lived ABC sitcom, George, starring George Foreman
• 1993 Made New York stage debut in Garry Marshall and Lowell Ganz s Off-Broadway play, Wrong Turn at Lungfish
• 1994 Directed first film, a 20 minute short about his mother, Mamma Mia
• 1994 Returned to features for a supporting role in the remake of Angels in the Outfield
• 1994 Supplied the voice of Vinnie the Alligator for the Family Channel series, The Mighty Jungle
• 1995 Returned to series TV as executive producer and star of the ABC sitcom, Hudson Street
• 1997 Returned to series TV as star of the short-lived NBC series, The Tony Danza Show
• 1998 Had a recurring role on the ABC drama series The Practice ; nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor
• 1998 Made Broadway acting debut, succeeding Anthony LaPaglia, in an acclaimed revival of A View From the Bridge
• 1999 Had title role in L.A. Reprise! staging of Fiorello!
• 1999 Returned to Broadway as the bartender in the acclaimed revival of Eugene O Neill s The Iceman Cometh
• 2000 Joined cast of the CBS drama Family Law as Joe Celano
• 2004 Hosted a day time talk show called The Tony Danza Show
• 2006 Starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers
• 2008 Hosted the fourth season of the reality series, The Contender 4, on the Versus cable network
• 2008 Published the cookbook, Don t Fill Up On the Antipasto: Tony Danza s Father-Son Cookbook , with son Marc, a chef
• 2009 Will begin teaching at Northeast High School for a reality TV show, titled Teach, which will air on the cable channel A&E
• Made semi-finals and finals in New York Golden Gloves
• Raised in Brooklyn and on Long Island