Anthony F. Verna (November 26, 1933January 18, 2015) was a producer of television sports and entertainment blockbusters.

Biography

Verna was born 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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He died in Palm Desert, California at the age of 81.

Broadcast hallmarks

Verna's broadcast hallmark was an ability to continually come up with advances in the use of cameras, program content and creative interplay. It was this skill that prompted him to use a trick left over from radio days in order to outwit the technology of the times and allow for a play on the field to be re-broadcast "instantly." Verna's varied career includes creating, producing and directing

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's billion-viewer television special "A Prayer for World Peace" and the historic music spectacular "

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

." As President of Caesar's Palace Productions, Verna was involved in all their spectacular entertainment projects.

Notables who collaborated with Verna

Verna worked with and or and was friends with such notables as Presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, Grace Kelly,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

, Edward R. Murrow,

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

, Dizzy Dean, Milton Berle,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, Christopher Reeve, Tom Selleck,

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

, Rocky Marciano,

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

Major television events

Tony Verna produced and/or directed the following major television events: 1955 – Major League Baseball Game of the Week with Dizzy Dean
1960 – Rome

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

1962 –

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

----ski jumping---

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

1963 – (Dec-7) Invented the

instant replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live TV, live. After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened. Spo ...

first used for the Army–Navy Game
1964 – Directed

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

(first of 12)
1967 – Las Vegas – Liberace Special
1967 –

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Nicknamed "J ...

– Instant Quarterback
1968 – Rocky Marciano, Jonathan Winters Jogging
1968 – Directed Super Bowl#2 (first of 5)
1968 –

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

– Soupy Sales
1968 –

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

, Dale Evans Special
1969 – Rocky Marciano Tribute
1970 – Created The Battle of the NFL Cheerleaders CBS
1970 – Created Instant Quarterback- John Unitas
1970 – Produced and directed Pro Bowlers Tour
1972 – Directed Mike Douglas Show- Moscow
1974 – Directed Canadian

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

1974 – Directed 12th

1974 – Directed bios Jesse Owen,

and

1975 – Mexican soccer championships
1975 – Directed Le Mans Grand Prix, France
1976 – Hired by Saudi Arabia for Montreal Olympics
1977 – Created $50,000 Challenge Winner Take All – Telly Savalas
1978 – Soupy Sales –

1978 – London World Circus --- Karl Wallenda
1978 – Celebrity Daredevils, Christopher Reeve
1978 – Battle of the NFL Cheerleaders
1978 – NBC Rock n Roll Classic –

1978 – Created Pete Rose Roast with Milton Berle--
1979 – Billiards Mosconi- Minnesota Fats- Omar Sharif
1979 – Peoples Choice Award-- Tom Selleck -Hawaii
1979 –

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

--30 interviews with Roy Firestone
1979 – Created Weekend Heroes – Las Vegas
1979 – Directed ABC primetime All American Woman
1979 – President of Caesars Palace Productions
1980 –

Network Interview
1982 –

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

Debate- ABC
1984 – ABC

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

1985 –

1985 – Christmas Special-

1985 – Christmas Celebration-

1986 – Sport-Aid
1986 – Prayer For World Peace,

1987 – Omni 14 Great Minds Predict the Future
1989 – Our Common Future Special—Global
1990 – Earth 90 – Japan –

1990 –

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

–

1990 –

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

1991 –

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

- Japan-

1994 – Created Superstitions Around The World – London
1996 – 2006 Consultant—Vatican and World Broadcasters

Books

Tony Verna is the author of:
1970 – ''Playback''
1987 – ''Live TV'' (commissioned by the DGA)
1993 – ''Global Television''
2006 – ''Algebra 1 Murder II''
2008 – ''Instant Replay: the Day That Changed Sports Forever''

Patents

Verna held U.S. Patents on the following: * 2006 – Instant Footballer * 2008 – Talking Replays

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verna, Tony 1933 births 2015 deaths American television directors Television personalities from Philadelphia Television producers from Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania alumni Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from leukemia in California