Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and four

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

. 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). He has also appeared in films such as '' The Hollywood Knights'' (1980), '' Going Ape!'' (1981), ''

She's Out of Control ''She's Out of Control'' is a 1989 American independent coming of age comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti, starring Tony Danza, Ami Dolenz and Catherine Hicks. The original music score was composed by Alan Silvestri. The film was marketed with ...

'' (1989), '' Angels in the Outfield'' (1994), '' Crash'' (2004), and '' Don Jon'' (2013).

Early life

Danza was born on April 21, 1951, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, to parents Anna Mary (née Camisa; 1925–1993) and Matthew Anthony "Matty" Iadanza (1920–1983).Stated on ''

Finding Your Roots ''Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'' is an American documentary television series hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. that premiered on March 25, 2012, on PBS. In each episode, celebrities are presented with a "book of life" that is com ...

'', February 8, 2022 His mother was a bookkeeper and his father worked as a waste collector in Brooklyn. 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 Sicilian province of Trapani. He has a younger brother, Matty Jr. (born 1954), a Los Angeles restaurant owner. He lived in East New York, Brooklyn until he was 14, and his family relocated to Malverne, New York, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Danza attended Malverne Senior High School, graduating in 1968. 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, which he attended on a

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

scholarship. In 1975, 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. During his first year of college, he had the

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

" Keep on Truckin'" character tattooed on his upper right arm. In a 1985 interview in ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...

'' magazine, Danza remarked, "I was playing pool with a guy who had all these tattoos, and I wanted to be friends." 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. In college, Danza met and married his first wife.

Career

Boxing

Danza was a

with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses (8 knockouts, 6 in the first round). He competed from 1976 until 1979 in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division.

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. He then earned a spot on the television show ''

'' (1978-1983), playing a cab driver and part-time boxer Tony Banta, and later starred on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), in which he portrayed Tony Micelli, a former baseball player, housekeeper, and single father. For his contribution to the television industry, in 1988, Danza was honored with a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 7000

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...

. Danza's movie debut was in the comedy '' The Hollywood Knights'' (1980), which was followed by '' Going Ape!'' (1981), '' Cannonball Run II'' (1984), and ''

'' (1989). Later films included the role of Mel Clark, a baseball player, in '' Angels in the Outfield'' (1994), Juror No. 7 in the TV-movie '' 12 Angry Men'' (1997), and Fred in '' Crash'' (2004). 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 Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

'' from 2000 until 2002. He was nominated for an

for a guest-starring 1998 role in the TV series ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

''. He received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

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'' (2004-2006), that was produced each weekday morning in his hometown of New York and was syndicated across the US. On May 9, 2005, during a go-kart race with

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

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, and both were uninjured. Danza returned to go-kart racing on October 20, 2005, to challenge

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

driver

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver and model. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win ...

, 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. He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in '' The Producers'', from December 19, 2006, to March 11, 2007, and reprised his role at the

Paris Las Vegas Paris Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Property features include a casino, 3,672 hotel rooms, a 1,400-seat performance theater, and various restaurants. ...

from August 13, 2007, to February 9, 2008. Danza hosted the 4th season of '' The Contender'' in 2008. A Broadway adaptation of the 1992 film ''

Honeymoon in Vegas ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private eye Jack Singer swore to his mother on her deathbed that h ...

'' 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. Danza was inducted into the Ride of Fame in December 2014, and the double-decker sightseeing bus commemorated his role in the Broadway musical. Danza portrayed Jon Martello Sr. in '' Don Jon'' (2013). He also starred as Tony Caruso Sr. in the 2018 Netflix series '' The Good Cop'' as "a disgraced, former NYPD officer who never followed the rules." It was canceled after one season.

Teaching

During the 2009–2010 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 Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It 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'' (), 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. They have two children, a boy and a girl. Their son Marc appeared with Danza on ''Taxi'' in two episodes as Brian Sims. 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. They have two daughters. In 2008, Danza and his son Marc co-authored a cookbook, ''Don't Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook''. At one point Danza was a partner in Alleva Dairy, promoted as America's oldest cheese shop, on Grand Street in the

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

section of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Professional boxing record

, - , 11 , , Win , , 8–3 , , , , KO , , 3 , , , , , , Phoenix, Arizona, US , , , - , 10 , , Win , , 7–3 , , , , KO , , 1 , , , , , ,

Felt Forum The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a Theater (structure), theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600 people and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is situ ...

, New York City City , , , - , 9 , , Win , , 6–3 , , , , KO , , 1 , , , , , ,

, New York City , , , - , 8 , , Win , , 5–3 , , , , KO , , 1 , , , , , , Roll-a-Rama, Brooklyn, New York City , , , - , 7 , , Loss , , 4–3 , , , , TKO , , 1 , , , , , , Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York City , , , - , 6 , , Win , , 4–2 , , , , TKO , , 1 , , , , , , Nanuet, New York City , , , - , 5 , , Win , , 3–2 , , , , TKO , , 1 , , , , , , Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York City , , , - , 4 , , Win , , 2–2 , , , , KO , , 3 , , , , , , Long Island Arena, Commack, New York City , , , - , 3 , , Loss , , 1–2 , , , , Points , , 4 , , , , , ,

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, New Jersey, USA , , , - , 2 , , Loss , , 1–1 , , , , KO , , 1 , , , , , , Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, New York City , , , - , 1 , , Win , , 1–0 , , , , KO , , 1 , , , , , , New York City , ,

Filmography

Film

Television

Books

* *

Awards and nominations

*Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film for ''

'' (1979) *Nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy for '' Who's the Boss?'' (1986) *Nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy for '' Who's the Boss?'' (1987) *Nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy for '' Who's the Boss?'' (1989) *Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for ''

'' (1989) *Nominated - TV Land Award for Single Dad of the Year for '' Who's the Boss?'' *Won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a Television Series for '' The Tony Danza Show'' (1997) *Nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest st ...

for ''

'' (1998)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danza, Tony 1951 births 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American male actors American male boxers American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent American tap dancers American television talk show hosts Beauty pageant hosts Living people Male actors from Brooklyn Malverne High School alumni Musicians from Brooklyn People from East New York, Brooklyn People from Malverne, New York University of Dubuque alumni