Tony Danza

Tony Danza (born Antonio Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951)[1] is an American actor and former professional boxer. He is best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards. In 1998, Danza won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series for his work on the 1997 sitcom The Tony Danza Show (not to be confused with his 2004–2006 daytime variety talk show of the same name).
== Biography ==
Danza was born in Brooklyn, New York,[1] to parents Anne Cammisa (1925–1993) and Matty Iadanza (1920–1983) [2] His mother was a bookkeeper and his father worked as a waste collector in Brooklyn.[1][3] Danza's father was of Italian ancestry and Danza's mother was an immigrant from the town of Campobello di Mazara in the Sicilian province of Trapani.[2][4] He has a younger brother, Matty Jr. (born 1954), a Los Angeles restaurant owner.[5] When Danza was 14, he and his family relocated to Malverne, New York, on Long Island. Danza attended Valley Stream North High School, graduating in 1969.[6] In the first episode of his show Teach: Tony Danza, Danza describes himself as a "bad student" in high school. He earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1972 from the University of Dubuque,[7] which he attended on a wrestling scholarship. In 1975, as a joke, Danza's friends entered him in the New York City Golden Gloves. After knocking out his first six opponents all in the first round, Danza was knocked out in the finals.[8]
During his first year of college, he had the Robert Crumb "Keep on Truckin'" character tattooed on his upper right arm. In a 1985 interview in Us Weeklymagazine, Danza remarked, "I was playing pool with a guy who had all these tattoos, and I wanted to be friends."[9] Danza also sports a "Keep Punching" boxing gloves tattoo on his right shoulder as well as "Tracy", his (former) wife's name, on his chest.[10] In college, Danza met and married his first wife.
== Career ==
=== Boxer ===
Danza was a professional boxer with a record of 9–3 (9 knockouts, 7 in the first round), with all but one of his fights, wins and losses, ending in a knockout.[11]
=== Acting and show business ===
Shortly after his college graduation from the University of Dubuque, Danza was discovered by a producer at a boxing gymnasium in New York.[12] He then earned a spot on the television show Taxi, playing a cab driver and part-time boxer Tony Banta, and later starred on Who's the Boss?, in which he portrayed a former baseball player, housekeeper, and single father Tony Micelli. For his contribution to the television industry, in 1988, Danza was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. Danza also plays the role of a baseball player in Angels in the Outfield (1994).
Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), not to be confused with his 2004–2006 talk show, The Tony Danza Show. He had a role in the TV drama Family Law from 2000 until 2002.
He was nominated for an Emmy Award[13] for a guest-starring 1998 role in the TV series The Practice. His movie debut was in the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), which was followed by Going Ape! (1981). He received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neillplay The Iceman Cometh. In 2002, Danza released his debut album The House I Live In as a 1950s-style crooner.[14]
Danza hosted his own TV talk show, The Tony Danza Show, that was produced each weekday morning in his hometown of New York and was syndicatedacross the US. On May 9, 2005, during a go-kart race with NASCAR star Rusty Wallace, who was a guest on the show, Danza's kart flipped after Wallace accidentally bumped him.[15] Neither he nor Wallace was wearing a helmet at the time, but both were uninjured. Danza returned to go-kart racing on October 20, 2005, to challenge IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, but his brakes malfunctioned and he skidded into a wall, unharmed. His daytime talk show ended in May 2006; the last live episode aired on May 26, 2006.[citation needed]
He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers, from December 19, 2006, to March 11, 2007,[16] and reprised his role at the Paris Las Vegas from August 13, 2007,[17] to February 9, 2008.[18]
Danza was to host the 4th season of The Contender in 2008.[19]
A Broadway adaptation of 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas opened on a pre-Broadway run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse on September 26, 2013, co-starring Danza and Tony nominee Rob McClure, with Gary Griffin directing.[20]Danza was inducted into the Ride of Fame in December 2014, and the double-decker sightseeing bus commemorated his role in the Broadway musical.[21]
In June 2017, Netflix announced that Danza would star in a new series, The Good Cop. Danza will portray "a disgraced, former NYPD officer who never followed the rules." [22][23]
=== Teaching ===
In August 2009, it was reported that Danza would appear in a new A&E reality show Teach: Tony Danza, in which he would co-instruct a 10th grade English class at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. The series was filmed during the 2009-2010 school year and premiered on October 1, 2010. The book I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High (ISBN 9780307887863), which was released in 2012, was based on his year of teaching.
== Personal life ==
Danza's first marriage was to Rhonda Yeoman. They wed in 1970 and divorced in 1974. Their son Marc appeared with Tony on Taxi in two episodes as Brian Sims. Tony and Rhonda reconciled in 1983 and had a daughter.[24]
In 1986, Danza married Tracy Robinson. The couple separated in 2006 and filed for divorce on March 10, 2011; the divorce was finalized on February 6, 2013.[25][26] They have two daughters.[24]
In 2008, Danza and his son Marc published a cookbook, Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook.[27]
== Boxing record ==
Source:[28]
Result	Record	Opponent 	Type 	Round 	Time	Date 	Location 	Notes
Win 	9–3 	Johnny Heard 	KO 	3 (8) 	0:45	May 14, 1979 	Phoenix, Arizona, USA 	
Win 	8–3 	Max Hord 	KO 	1 (10)	 	April 27, 1979 	Felt Forum, New York City, New York, USA 	
Win 	7–3 	Billy Perez 	KO 	1 (8) 	0:44	May 26, 1978 	Brooklyn, New York, USA 	
Win 	6–3 	Tony Rodriguez  	KO 	1 (6) 	 	April 9, 1978 	Brooklyn, New York, USA 	
Win 	5–3 	Ray Bryant 	KO 	1 (8) 	 	  December 21, 1977  	Roll-a-Rama, Brooklyn, New York, USA 	
Loss 	4–3 	Morris Watkins 	TKO 	1 (8) 	 	November 9, 1977 	  Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, USA  	
Win 	4–2 	Ralph Garcia 	TKO 	1 (8) 	 	September 9, 1977 	Nanuet, New York, USA 	
Win 	3–2 	Joey Mascetti 	TKO 	1 (6) 	 	May 24, 1977 	  Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, USA  	
Win 	2–2 	Tom Molloy 	KO 	3 (6) 	1:24	May 6, 1977 	Long Island Arena, Commack, New York, USA 	
Loss 	1–2 	Barry Hill 	Points	4 	 	April 21, 1977 	Dover, New Jersey, USA 	
Loss 	1–1 	John LoCicero 	KO 	1 (4) 	 	October 1, 1976 	Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, New York, USA 	
Win 	1–0 	Earl Harris 	KO 	1 (4) 	 	August 13, 1976 	New York City, New York, USA 	
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1980	The Hollywood Knights 	Tony 	
1981	Going Ape! 	Tony 	
1984	Cannonball Run II 	Tony 	
1988	Mr. Thompson and His Bananas 	Tony Thompson 	
1988	Wall of Tyranny (a.k.a. Freedom Fighter)	Tony Ross 	
1989	She's Out of Control 	Tony Simpson 	Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
1989	I'm from Hollywood 	Himself 	
1994	Angels in the Outfield 	Mel Clark 	
1996	Illtown 	Tony D'Avalon 	
1996	Dear God 	Himself 	Uncredited
1997	Glam 	Tony 	
1997	The Girl Gets Moe 	Mony 	
1997	A Brooklyn State of Mind 	Tony Crisci 	
1997	Meet Wally Sparks 	New York Cab Driver/Tony Banta	
2004	The Whisper 	Simon 	
2004	Crash 	Fred 	
2006	Cloud 9 	Himself 	Uncredited
2009	The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone 	Chickie 	
2010	Firedog 	Rocky 	
2013	Don Jon 	Jon Martello, Sr. 	
2013	Aftermath 	King 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1978–1983	Taxi 	Tony Banta 	114 episodes
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1980 	Murder Can Hurt You 	Pony Lambretta 	Television film
1983 	The Love Boat 	Bud O'Hara 	2 episodes
1984 	Single Bars, Single Women 	Dennis 	Television film
1984–1992	Who's the Boss? 	Tony Micelli 	196 episodes
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy (1986–1987, 1989)
Nominated—TV Land Award for Single Dad of the Year
1986 	Doing Life 	Jerry Rosenberg 	Television film
1988 	1988 Kids' Choice Awards 	Host 	
1988 	Freedom Fighter 	Vic Ross 	Television film
1991 	The Whereabouts of Jenny 	Rowdy Patron 	Television film
1991 	Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus Farace 	Constabile «Gus» Farace 	Television film
1991–1992	Baby Talk 	Baby Mickey Campbell (voice) 	35 episodes
1994 	The Mighty Jungle 	Vinnie, the Alligator (voice)	Unknown episodes
1994 	The Mighty Jungle 	Vinnie, the Alligator (voice)	Television film
1995 	Deadly Whispers 	Tom Acton 	Television film
1995–1996	Hudson Street 	Tony Canetti 	22 episodes
1996 	North Shore Fish 	Sal 	Television film
1997 	12 Angry Men 	Juror #7 	Television film
1997–1998	The Tony Danza Show 	Tony DiMeo 	14 episodes
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a Television Series
1998 	The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon	Barney Gorman 	Television film
1998 	The Practice 	Tommy Silva 	4 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
1998 	Noah 	Norman Waters 	Television film
1998 	A Capitol Fourth 	Himself (host) 	
2000–2002	Family Law 	Joe Celano 	25 episodes
2000 	King of the Hill 	Himself (voice) 	Episode: "Peggy's Fan Fair"
2001 	Family Guy 	Himself (voice) 	Episode: "Ready, Willing and Disabled"
2003 	Stealing Christmas 	Jack Clayton / Santa 	Television film
2004–2006	The Tony Danza Show 	Himself 	Host; 330 episodes
2005 	All My Children 	Hotel Manager 	Episode: "May 18, 2005"
2007 	A Capitol Fourth 	Himself (host) 	
2008 	Rita Rocks 	Matt Morelli 	Episode: "The Crying Game"
2010 	Teach: Tony Danza 	Himself 	7 episodes
2016 	Broad City 	Mr. Abrams 	Episode: "Philadelphia"
2016 	Sebastian Says 	Salvo 	Television film
2017 	There's... Johnny! 	Fred de Cordova 	6 episodes
2018 	The Good Cop 	Tony Caruso Sr. 	10 episodes