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Tony Danza

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Tony Danza
Born
Anthony Salvatore Iadanza
OccupationActor/Television Personality
SpouseRhonda Yeoman Iadanza (1970-1974, 2 children) Tracy Robinson (1986-2007, 2 children)

Tony Danza (born April 21, 1951) is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?. He also hosted his own talk show, The Tony Danza Show, and was considered as a possible host candidate for the hit MTV show Punk'd before being passed up by show host Ashton Kutcher.

Personal life

Danza was born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Anne (1925-1993) and Matty (1920-1983) Iadanza. Anne was born in Sicily and immigrated to the United States with five brothers and sisters in 1929. Danza has one younger brother, Matty Jr. (born 1954), who owns a restaurant in Los Angeles called Matty's on Melrose. When Danza was 14, he and his family relocated to the Long Island community of Malverne, and Danza attended Malverne High School, graduating in 1969 and was said to score a near perfect SAT score (no resource or reference available supporting this information). Danza earned a bachelor's degree in history education from the University of Dubuque[citation needed], which he attended on a wrestling scholarship, graduating in 1973. It was during his first year of college that he got the Robert Crumb Keep on Truckin' tattoo on his upper right arm. In a 1985 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."[1] Danza now also sports a "Keep Punching"/boxing gloves tattoo on his right shoulder.[2] Also while in college, Danza met and married his first wife, Rhonda (Yeoman) Iadanza, and they have two children together.

Shortly after his college graduation, Danza was discovered by a producer at a boxing gymnasium in New York. He then earned a spot on the television show Taxi.

From 1976 to 1979, Danza was a professional boxer with a 9-3 record, with all of his fights, wins and losses, ending by knockout.[3]


In 1986, Danza got married for the second time, to Tracy Robinson. The couple divorced in 2007 and have two daughters, Katherine (born 1987) and Emily (born 1993).

In 2005, Tony Danza became a grandfather when his son Marc and his wife, Julie, had a son, Nicholas. In 2008, Danza and his son Marc published a cookbook Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook.

Acting and show business

Danza is best known for his roles in Taxi (1978-1983), in which he played cab driver and part-time boxer, "Tony Banta," and Who's the Boss? (1984-1992), portraying housekeeper and single father, "Tony Micelli."

Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), not to be confused with his talk show of the same name. He had a role in the TV drama Family Law from 2000 until 2002.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award 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'Neill play The Iceman Cometh.

In 2002, Danza released his debut album The House I Live In as a 1950s-style crooner.

Danza hosted his own TV talk show, The Tony Danza Show, a nationally syndicated program produced each weekday morning in his hometown of New York (where it aired live). 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. Neither he nor Wallace was wearing a helmet at the time. 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. The last episode was celebrated with performers from the Ringling Brothers Traveling Circus.

He starred on Broadway as "Max Bialystock" in The Producers, from December 19, 2006, to March 11, 2007.[4]

As of August 2007, he is continuing his starring role in The Producers at the Paris Las Vegas.[5]

He reprised his role as "Max Bialystock" in The Producers, at the Paris Las Vegas from August 13, 2007,[6] to February 9, 2008.[7]

In May 2008, Danza released, Don't Fill Up On the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook,[8] a cookbook written by him and his son Marc, a chef.

In September 2008, it was reported that Danza will host The Contender Season 4. The full season was recorded in Singapore and will start December 3, 2008, on the Versus TV sports channel.[9]

The mathcore band The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is named after Tony Danza.

Danza is also mentioned in the System of a Down song "Old School Hollywood." The lyric is "Tony Danza cuts in line."

Filmography

TV appearances

References

  1. ^ "Danza, Father and (Finally) Grown-up" by Steve Pond Us Weekly, August 26, 1985.
  2. ^ http://www.maxim.com/tv/guy-tv/70062/tony-danza-president-puncher.html
  3. ^ Rafael, Dan (2008-10-01). "'The Contender' to feature two ex-title challengers; TV star Danza to host". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  4. ^ http://www.producersonbroadway.com/
  5. ^ Paris Las Vegas Events/Entertainment - The Producers
  6. ^ Playbill News: Tony Danza to "Flaunt It" in Las Vegas Producers This Summer
  7. ^ Playbill News: Vegas Production of The Producers Ends Feb. 9
  8. ^ Simon & Schuster: Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook (Hardcover)
  9. ^ http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/the-contender-reveals-fourth-season-cast-tony-danza-host-7804.php
  10. ^ Stealing Christmas (2003) (TV)
Preceded by Host of Miss America
2002 		Succeeded by
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