Tony danza biography imdb database

American actor (born )

Tony Danza
Danza in
Born	Anthony Salvatore Iadanza () April 21, (age&#;73) New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma&#;mater	University of Dubuque (BA)
Occupation	Actor
Years&#;active	–present
Height	5&#;ft 9&#;in (&#;cm)[1]
Spouses	Rhonda Yeoman &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#; Tracy Robinson &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;
Children	4

Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, )^[2] is an American actor and retired professional boxer.^[1] He is known for co-starring in the television series Taxi (–) and Who's the Boss? (–), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards.

Danza attended Malverne Senior High School, graduating in In the first episode of his show Teach: Tony DanzaDanza describes himself as a "bad student" in high university. He earned a bachelor's degree in history in from the University of Dubuque[ 9 ] which he attended on a wrestling scholarship. After knocking out his first six opponents all in the first round, Danza was knocked out in the finals.

In , Danza won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series for his work on the sitcom The Tony Danza Show (not to be confused with his – daytime variety talk show of the same name). He has also appeared in films such as The Hollywood Knights (), Going Ape! (), She's Out of Control (), Angels in the Outfield (), Crash (), and Don Jon ().

Early life

Danza was born on April 21, , in Brooklyn, Unused York,^[2] to parents Anna Mary (née Camisa; –) and Matthew Anthony "Matty" Iadanza (–).^[3][4] His mother was a bookkeeper and his father worked as a waste collector in Brooklyn.^[2][5] Danza's paternal grandparents were from Pietrelcina, Benevento, Campania, Italy, and his mother was an immigrant from the town of Campobello di Mazara in the Sicilianprovince of Trapani.^[3][4][6] He has a younger brother, Matty Jr.

(born ), a Los Angeles restaurant owner.^[7] He lived in East Modern York, Brooklyn^[8] until he was 14, and his family relocated to Malverne, New York, on Long Island. Danza attended Malverne Senior High School, graduating in In the first episode of his show Teach: Tony Danza, Danza describes himself as a "bad student" in high university.

He earned a bachelor's degree in history in from the University of Dubuque,^[9] which he attended on a wrestling scholarship. In , as a joke, Danza's friends entered him in the New York City Golden Gloves Tournament. After knocking out his first six opponents all in the first round, Danza was knocked out in the finals.^[10]

During his first year of college, he had the Robert Crumb "Keep on Truckin'" traits tattooed on his upper right arm.

In a interview in Us Weekly magazine, Danza remarked, "I was playing pool with a guy who had all these tattoos, and I wanted to be friends."^[11] 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.^[12] In college, Danza met and married his first wife.

Career

Boxing

Danza was a professional boxer with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses (8 knockouts, 6 in the first round). He competed from until in the middleweight division.^[13][1]

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.^[14] He then earned a identify 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 Tony Micelli, a former baseball player, housekeeper, and single father.

For his contribution to the television industry, in , Danza was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Hollywood Boulevard.

Danza's movie debut was in the comedy The Hollywood Knights (), which was followed by Going Ape! (), Cannonball Run II (), and She's Out of Control ().

Later films included the role of Mel Clark, a baseball player, in Angels in the Outfield (), Juror No. 7 in the TV-movie 12 Angry Men (), and Fred in Crash ().

Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street () and The Tony Danza Show (), not to be confused with his – converse show, The Tony Danza Show.

All All. Sign In. He was actually behind the wheel of the taxicab that drives across the bridge during the opening credits of every episode of Taxi Before he starred on Taxihe was a boxer and was still fighting professionally during the first few seasons.

He had a role in the TV drama Family Law from until

He was nominated for an Emmy Award^[15] for a guest-starring role in the TV series The Practice. He received critical acclaim for his performance in the Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill perform The Iceman Cometh.

In , Danza released his debut album The House I Live In as a s-style crooner.^[16]

Danza hosted his own TV talk display, The Tony Danza Show (), that was produced each weekday morning in his hometown of New York and was syndicated across the US.

On May 9, , 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.^[17] Neither he nor Wallace was wearing a helmet at the time, and both were uninjured.

Danza returned to go-kart racing on October 20, , to challenge IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, but his brakes malfunctioned and he skidded into a wall, unharmed. His daytime chat show ended in May ; the last live episode aired on May 26, ^{[citation needed]}

He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers, from December 19, , to Parade 11, ,^[18] and reprised his role at the Paris Las Vegas from August 13, ,^[19] to February 9, ^[20]

Danza hosted the 4th season of The Contender in ^[21]

A Broadway adaptation of the film Honeymoon in Vegas opened on a pre-Broadway run at New Jersey's Document Mill Playhouse on September 26, , co-starring Danza and Tony nominee Rob McClure, with Gary Griffin directing.^[22] Danza was inducted into the Ride of Fame in December , and the double-decker sightseeing bus commemorated his role in the Broadway musical.^[23]

Danza portrayed Jon Martello Sr.

in Don Jon ().

Tony Danza - Wikipedia: Tony Danza is an American actor, perhaps finest known for starring on some of television's most beloved and long-running series, including "Taxi" () and "Who's the Boss?" (). Danza was born in Brooklyn, New York to Anne (Cammisa), a bookkeeper, and Matty Iadanza, a garbageman.

He also starred as Tony Caruso Sr. in the Netflix series The Nice Cop as "a disgraced, former NYPD officer who never followed the rules." It was cancelled after one season.^[24][25]

Teaching

During the – school year Danza filmed A&E reality show Teach: Tony Danza, in which he co-instructed a 10th grade English class at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.

It premiered on October 1, The book I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High (ISBN&#;), which was released in , was based on his year of teaching.

Personal life

Danza's first marriage was to Rhonda Yeoman.

They wed in and divorced in They acquire two children, a boy and a girl. Their son Marc appeared with Danza on Taxi in two episodes as Brian Sims.^[26]

In , Danza married Tracy Robinson. The couple separated in and filed for divorce on March 10, ; the divorce was finalized on February 6, ^[27][28] They have two daughters.^[26]

In , Danza and his son Marc co-authored a cookbook, Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook.^[29]

At one point Danza was a significant other in Alleva Dairy, promoted as America's oldest cheese shop, on Grand Street in the Minute Italy section of Manhattan.^[30]

Boxing record

Filmography

Film

Television

Books

• Danza, Tony and Marc ().

  Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook. Scribner. ISBN&#;.

• Danza, Tony (). I'd Favor to Apologize to Every Lecturer I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High. Crown Archetype.
  If it feels like Tony Danza has been on television forever, it's because it's kind of true. He's made himself very famous and very beloved playing regular, relatable characters on long-running TV sitcom favorites like "Taxi", as cabbie Tony Banta, and "Who's the Boss? The Danza entertainment empire has since expanded to include many other television series, a daytime talk exhibit, musical endeavors, and several runs on Broadway. A big part of Danza's persona is warmth and familiarity — but how much does the general common really know about the guy whose name they sing instead of the title when Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" comes on the radio?

  ISBN&#;.

Awards and nominations

References

External links