Anthony Peter Musante Jr. (June 30, 1936 – November 26, 2013) was an American actor, best known for the TV series '' Toma'' as Detective David Toma, Nino Schibetta in '' Oz'' (1997), and Joe D'Angelo in ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' (2000–2003). In movies, he achieved fame relatively early in his career, starring or having significant roles in such films as '' Once a Thief'' (1965), '' The Incident'' (1967), '' The Detective'' (1968) and ''

The Last Run ''The Last Run'' is a 1971 American action film shot in Portugal, Málaga and elsewhere in Spain directed by Richard Fleischer, starring George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere, and Colleen Dewhurst. Plot Harry Garmes ( George C. Scot ...

'' (1971), and also in a number of Italian productions, including '' The Mercenary'' (1968), '' Metti, una sera a cena'' (1969) and '' The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' (1970).

Life and career

Musante was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, into an Italian-American family, the son of Natalie Anne (''née'' Salerno), a school teacher, and Anthony Peter Musante, an accountant. He attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. Musante acted in numerous feature films, in the United States and elsewhere, including Italy. Among his body of work are the 1973 television series '' Toma'' (predecessor to ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'') and the soap opera ''

'', and the 1975

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

play '' P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!'', for which he was nominated for a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

. ''Toma'' did well in the ratings despite tough opposition, but Musante insisted upon leaving the series after one year, as was permitted by his contract. The series was revised as ''Baretta'', with Robert Blake in the lead role, and it was a success. At the time of his death, ''The New York Times'' referred to ''Toma'' as "the show that got away." But Musante never regretted leaving the series, despite sacrificing money and fame. 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 ...

for his work in a 1975 episode of '' Medical Center'', ''A Quality of Mercy''. Musante also played

Nino Schibetta The characters of '' Oz'', fictional characters on the television series about prison life, are a diverse mixture of inmates from various gangs and prison staff. Cast timeline : Main cast ("Starring" in opening credits) : Secondary cast (" ...

, a feared

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

boss and the Italian gang leader inside of Emerald City during the first season of the HBO television series '' Oz''.

Death

Musante died of a

hemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, ...

following oral surgery on November 26, 2013, aged 77, in

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 ...

Filmography

Film

* '' Once a Thief'' (1965) – Cleveland 'Cleve' Shoenstein * '' The Incident'' (1967) – Joe Ferrone * '' The Detective'' (1968) – Felix * '' The Mercenary'' (Italy, 1968) – Paco Román * '' Metti, una sera a cena'' (Italy, 1969) – Max * '' The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' (Italy, 1970) – Sam Dalmas * '' The Anonymous Venetian'' (Italy, 1970) – Enrico * '' Grissom Gang'' (1971) – Eddie Hagan * ''

'' (1971) – Paul Rickard * '' Il caso Pisciotta'' (The Pisciotta Case) (Italy, 1972) – Francesco Scauri * '' Goodbye & Amen'' (Italy, 1978) – John Dhannay * '' Break Up'' (Italy, 1978) – Paolo Naviase * ' (Italy, 1983) – Jurek Rudinski * ''

The Pope of Greenwich Village ''The Pope of Greenwich Village'' is a 1984 American dramatic crime film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan and Burt Young. Page was nominated for the Academy A ...

'' (1984) – Pete * '' The Trap'' (Italy, 1985) – Michael Parker * ''

The Repenter ''Il pentito'' (internationally released as ''The Repenter'' and ''The Squealer'') is a 1985 Italian crime-drama film directed by Pasquale Squitieri. The film is loosely based on actual events involving, among others, pentito Tommaso Buscetta, ju ...

'' (Italy, 1985) – Vanni Ragusa * '' The Deep End of the Ocean'' (1999) – Angelo Cappadora * '' The Yards'' (2000) – Seymour Korman * '' Life as It Comes'' (Italy, 2003) – Karl, the Professor * ' (Italy, 2004) – Amilcare * '' We Own the Night'' (2007) – Jack Shapiro

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musante, Tony 1936 births 2013 deaths American people of Italian descent American male film actors American male television actors Oberlin College alumni Male actors from Bridgeport, Connecticut Northwestern University School of Communication alumni