Danza, Tony 1951–

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DANZA, Tony 1951–

PERSONAL

Original name, Antonio Salvatore Iadanza (some sources cite given name as Anthony or surname as Ladanza); born April 21, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, NY; son of Matty (a garbage collector) and Anne (a bookkeeper) Iadanza; married Rhonda Yeomen (divorced); married Tracy Robinson, June 28, 1986; children: (first marriage) Marc Anthony; (second marriage) Katherine Anne, Emily Lyn. Education: University of Dubuque, B.A., history.Avocational Interests: Softball, running.

Addresses: Office—Katie Face Productions, 13351 Riverside Dr., Suite 610, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. Agent—Jim Wiatt, William Morris Agency, One William Morris Place, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Publicist—PMK/HBH Public Relations, 700 San Vicente Blvd., Suite G910, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (some sources cite 8500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Beverly Hills, CA 90211).

Career: Actor, producer, and director. Katie Face Productions, Sherman Oaks, CA, founder, c. 1991, president, 1991–; Keep Punchin' Music (record company), principal. Cabaret and nightclub performer, including appearances in Las Vegas, NV, Atlantic City, NJ, Chicago, IL, and New York City, beginning c. 1996; host of awards presentations; appeared in commercials; appeared in "The More You Know," a series of televised public service announcements, NBC. Professional boxer, beginning 1976. Worked as a bartender, dishwasher, and in retail.

Member: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Awards, Honors: Golden Globe Award nomination, best television actor in a supporting role, 1980, for Taxi; Golden Globe Award nominations, best performance by an actor in a comedy or musical television series, 1986, 1987, and 1989, all for Who's the Boss?; Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, c. 1993, for Wrong Turn at Lungfish; People's Choice Award, favorite male performer in a new television series, 1998, for The Tony Danza Show; Short Film Award (with John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia), best short film based on a true story, New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, 1998, for Mamamia; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding guest actor in a drama series, 1999, for multiple episodes of The Practice; named the king of Brooklyn, Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival, 1999; Danza's character Tony Micelli from the television series Who's the Boss? was named one of the fifty greatest television dads of all time, TV Guide, 2004; People's Choice Award, favorite talk show host, c. 2006, for The Tony Danza Show; received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; honorary doctorate, University of Dubuque.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Tony Banta, Taxi, ABC, 1978–82, NBC, 1982–83.

Likely Stories, Vol. 4, Cinemax, beginning c. 1983.

Anthony Morton "Tony" Micelli, Who's the Boss?, ABC, 1984–92.

Voice of Mickey Campbell, Baby Talk, ABC, 1991–92.

Voice of Vinnie (the alligator), The Mighty Jungle, ABC Family Channel, 1993–94.

Tony Canetti, Hudson Street, ABC, 1995–96.

Tony DiMeo, The Tony Danza Show, NBC, 1997.

Joe Celano, Family Law, CBS, 2000–2002.

Host, The Tony Danza Show, syndicated, 2004–.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

(In archive footage) Retrosexual: The 80s, VH1, 2004.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Pony Lambretta, Murder Can Hurt You, 1981.

Dennis, Singles Bars, Single Women, ABC, 1984.

Host, "Disney Goes to the Oscars," Disney Sunday Movie, ABC, 1986.

Jerry Rosenberg, Doing Life (also known as Truth or Die), NBC, 1986.

Victor "Vic" Ross, Freedom Fighter (also known as Wall of Tyranny), NBC, 1987.

Gus Farace, Mob Justice (also known as Dead and Alive, Dead and Alive—The Race for Gus Farace, and In the Line of Duty: Mob Justice), ABC, 1991.

Rowdy bar patron, The Whereabouts of Jenny, ABC, 1991.

Tom Acton, Deadly Whispers, CBS, 1995.

Juror number seven, 12 Angry Men, Showtime, 1997.

Sal Matilla, North Shore Fish, Showtime, 1997.

Barney Gorman, "The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon" (also known as "The Philadelphia Phenomenon"), The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1998.

Moe, The Girl Gets Moe (also known as Love to Kill), HBO, 1998.

Norman Waters, "Noah," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1998.

Jack Clayton, Stealing Christmas, USA Network, 2003.

Television Appearances; Specials:

ABC team member, Battle of the Network Stars XVII, ABC, 1984.

Unrehearsed Antics of the Stars (also known as Bob Hope's "Unrehearsed Antics of the Stars"), NBC, 1984.

ABC team captain, Battle of the Network Stars XVIII, ABC, 1985.

Cohost, 99 Ways to Attract the Right Man, ABC, 1985.

Member of team two, The Real Trivial Pursuit, ABC, 1985.

The ABC All-Star Spectacular, ABC, 1985.

Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), ABC, 1985.

(Uncredited) Member of audience, Comic Relief, HBO, 1986.

Happy Birthday, Hollywood!, ABC, 1987.

Grand marshal, The Hollywood Christmas Parade, syndicated, 1988.

Host, Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (also known as A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration: 50 Years of Hanna-Barbera), TNT, 1989.

Host, "Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration," The Magical World of Disney, NBC, 1990.

Himself, The Wonderful World of Oz: 50 Years of Magic, CBS, 1990.

Sammy Davis, Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 1990.

Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come (also known as Frank Sinatra: 75th Birthday Celebration), CBS, 1990.

Welcome Home, America!—A USO Salute to America's Sons and Daughters, ABC, 1991.

Back to School '92 (also known as Education First!), CBS, 1992.

Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration, ABC, 1992.

The 61st Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade, syndicated, 1992.

Host, Gettin' Over (series of specials), ABC, 1992, 1993, 1995.

Host, The Road to Hollywood, NBC, 1993.

Kathie Lee Gifford's Celebration of Motherhood, ABC, 1993.

The Best of Taxi (also known as Hey Taxi), CBS, 1994.

Movie News Hot Summer Sneak Preview, CBS, 1994.

Himself, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, ABC, 1995.

Himself, Television's Greatest Performances, ABC, 1995.

Video profile presenter, The Opening Ceremonies of the 1995 Special Olympics World Games, NBC, 1995.

Let's Make Sure Everybody Eats '95, Food Network, 1995.

The NFL at 75: An All-Star Celebration (also known as The NFL 75th Anniversary Special), ABC, 1995.

The Tony Bennett Special: Here's to the Ladies; A Concert of Hope, CBS, 1995.

Cohost, Bob Hope: Laughing with the Presidents, NBC, 1996.

Host, Caesars Palace 30th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 1996.

Voice of a cigarette, Smoke Alarm: The Unfiltered Truth about Cigarettes, HBO, 1996.

The MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon (also known as The 32nd Anniversary MDA Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon), syndicated, 1997.

National Memorial Day Concert, PBS, 1997.

(Uncredited) Sports on the Silver Screen, HBO, 1997.

Host, A Capitol Fourth, PBS, 1998.

The Goodwill Games Opening Celebration, TBS, 1998.

Skitch Henderson at 80, PBS, 1998.

Host, CBS and VH1: Live at the Grammys, VH1, 2001.

Host, Miss America, ABC, 2001.

TV Guide 50 Best Shows of All Time: A 50th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 2002.

Himself, VH1 Goes inside the Miss America Pageant, VH1, 2003.

(In archive footage) TV's Greatest Sidekicks, Lifetime, 2004.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Host, American Video Awards, 1983.

Host, American Video Awards, ABC, 1985.

The 37th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards, ABC, 1985.

Guest, The Stuntman Awards, syndicated, 1986.

The 38th Annual Emmy Awards, NBC, 1986.

The All-Star Pro Sports Awards, ABC, 1990.

The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards, The Disney Channel, 1990.

Presenter, The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards, The Disney Channel, 1992, 1993, 1994.

Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Awards Presented by Footlocker, ABC, 1993.

Presenter, The 48th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1994.

Presenter, The 17th Annual CableACE Awards, TNT, 1995.

Host, The 1996 ESPY Awards, ABC and ESPN, 1996.

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 13th Annual Hall of Fame, Showtime, 1998.

The 24th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1998.

The 27th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 2001.

Presenter, The 28th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 2002.

Host, The 29th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 2003.

Presenter, The 32nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, CBS, 2005.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

"Pirouette," Supertrain, NBC, 1979.

"When Worlds Collide," The Love Boat, ABC, 1983.

"Fall Preview Party," The Love Boat, ABC, 1984.

"Albert James Myer," An American Portrait, CBS, 1986.

Himself, "Separation," Mr. Belvedere, ABC, 1987.

Himself, "The Final Show" (also cited as "The Last Show"), It's Garry Shandling's Show, Showtime and Fox, 1990.

Tommy Silva, "Love and Honor," The Practice, ABC, 1998.

Tommy Silva, "State of Mind," The Practice, ABC, 1998.

Tommy Silva, "Swearing In," The Practice, ABC, 1998.

(Uncredited) Tommy Silva, "Trench Work," The Practice, ABC, 1998.

Himself, Intimate Portrait: Judith Light, Lifetime, 1998.

Voice of man sitting in woods, "Rainforest, Schmainforest," South Park (animated), Nickelodeon, 1999.

Narrator, Intimate Portrait: Marilu Henner, Lifetime, 1999.

Voice, "Peggy's Fan Fair," King of the Hill (animated), Fox, 2000.

Himself, "Of Men and Meatballs," Bette, CBS, 2001.

Voice of Joe, "Ready, Willing, and Disabled," Family Guy (animated), Fox, 2001.

Himself, Intimate Portrait: Doris Roberts, Lifetime, 2002.

(In archive footage) Celebrities Uncensored, E! Entertainment Television, 2003.

Himself, "Tony Danza," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Tony Danza), Arts and Entertainment, 2004.

"Being Bad behind the Scenes," TV Land Confidential, TV Land, 2005.

"Characters You Love to Hate," TV Land's Top Ten, TV Land, 2005.

"Small Screen, Big Stars," TV Land's Top Ten, TV Land, 2005.

(Uncredited) "Survival of the Fittest," The Contender, NBC, 2005.

"Perfect 10s the Women," TV Land's Top Ten, TV Land, 2005.

"When Real Life and Screen Life Collide," TV Land Confidential, TV Land, 2005.

Erica Kane's wedding planner, All My Children, ABC, 2005.

Television Guest Appearances; Episodic:

(Uncredited) Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1982.

Just Men!, NBC, 1983.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1983, 1984, 1986.

Late Night with David Letterman, NBC, 1984.

Guest host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1986, 1989.

(In archive footage) "Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Andy Kaufman), Arts and Entertainment, 1999.

Guest host, Studio 59 (also known as Into the Night), ABC, multiple episodes in 1991.

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.

Mad TV, Fox, 2001.

"Alyssa Milano," Revealed with Jules Asner, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

Howard Stern, E! Entertainment Television, 2004.

Inside Dish with Rachael Ray, Food Network, 2004.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 2004.

The Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show), CBS, 2004.

Today (also known as NBC News Today and The Today Show), NBC, 2004.

Guest cohost, Life with Regis and Kelly, syndicated, 2004, 2005.

Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC, 2004, 2005.

The View, ABC, 2004, 2005.

Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2005.

Appeared as a host, Friday Comedy Videos, NBC; also appeared as guest in A Conversation with Dinah, The Nashville Network.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Anthony Morton "Tony" Micelli, Who's the Boss?, ABC, 1984.

Tony Micelli, Living Dolls, ABC, 1989.

Tony Canetti, Hudson Street, ABC, 1995.

Tony DiMeo, The Tony Danza Show, NBC, 1997.

Appeared as Joe Crane in the unaired pilot Homewood P.I., CBS; appeared in the unaired pilot Fast Lane Blues.

Television Executive Producer; Series:

George, ABC, 1993–94.

(With others) Hudson Street, ABC, 1995–96.

(With others) Before They Were Stars, ABC, beginning 1996.

The Tony Danza Show, NBC, 1997.

(With others) The Tony Danza Show, syndicated, 2004–.

Television Executive Script Consultant; Series:

Living Dolls, ABC, 1989.

Television Executive Producer; Movies:

(With others) "Disney Goes to the Oscars," Disney Sunday Movie, ABC, 1986.

(With others) Doing Life (also known as Truth or Die), NBC, 1986.

(With others) Freedom Fighter (also known as Wall of Tyranny), NBC, 1987.

(With Steve Sauer) The Whereabouts of Jenny, ABC, 1991.

(With Stephen McPherson and Elizabeth Bradley) Bermuda Triangle (also known as Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle), ABC, 1996.

(With Michael Greenfield) Sudden Terror: The Hijacking of School Bus Number 17 (also known as The Miami School Bus Hijacking), ABC, 1996.

Crowned and Dangerous, ABC, 1997.

Out of Time, Showtime, 2000.

Television Executive Producer; Specials:

(With others) Gettin' Over (series of specials), ABC, 1992, 1993, 1995.

(With Steve Sauer and Scott Sternberg) The Road to Hollywood, NBC, 1993.

An All-New Before They Were Stars, ABC, 1994.

Before They Were Stars, ABC, 1994.

(With others) Before They Were Stars III, ABC, 1995.

(With others) Before They Were Stars IV, ABC, 1995.

(With others) A Special Half-Hour Edition of Before They Were Stars, ABC, 1995.

Television Director; Episodic:

"Jr. Executive," Who's the Boss?, ABC, 1986.

Television Executive Producer; Pilots:

Executive producer of the unaired pilot Homewood P.I., CBS.

Film Appearances:

Duke, The Hollywood Knights, Columbia, 1980.

Foster, Going Ape!, Paramount, 1981.

Terry, Cannonball Run II, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983.

Doug Simpson, She's Out of Control, Columbia, 1989.

Peter Barth, The Joke (short film), 1992.

Himself, I'm from Hollywood (documentary), Koch Vision, 1992.

Mel Clark, Angels in the Outfield (also known as Angels), Buena Vista, 1994.

D'Avalon, illtown (also known as Cocaine Kids and Wrecking Crew), Shooting Gallery, 1996.

Himself, Dear God, Paramount, 1996.

Louis "Louie" Crisci, A Brooklyn State of Mind, Miramax, 1997.

Tony "Boom Boom" Banta, Meet Wally Sparks, Trimark Pictures, 1997.

Sid Dalgren, Glam, Storm Entertainment, 2001.

Simon, The Whisper, 2004.

Goodnight, We Love You (documentary), Mansfield Avenue Productions, 2004.

Fred, Crash, Lions Gate Films, 2005.

Voice of Rocko, Firedog (animated), c. 2005.

King, Aftermath, Ronin Films, 2006.

Film Work:

Executive producer, The Jerky Boys, Buena Vista, 1995.

(With John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia) Director, Mamamia (short film; also known as Mamma Mia), 1998.

Stage Appearances:

Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 1985.

Dominic De Caesar, Wrong Turn at Lungfish, Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1993.

Eddie, A View from the Bridge, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, 1998.

Rocky Pioggi, The Iceman Cometh, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1999.

Fiorello LaGuardia (title role), Fiorello!, (musical), Broadway's Best series, Reprise!, University of California, Los Angeles, Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall, Los Angeles, 1999.

Radio Appearances; Episodic:

The Howard Stern Radio Show, 2004.

RECORDINGS

Albums:

The House I Live In, Sin-Drome Music, 2002.

Videos:

(In archive footage) Christmas from Hollywood, Koch Vision, 2003.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Lovece, Frank, and Jules Franco, Hailing Taxi, Prentice-Hall, 1988.

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, February 7, 1997, p. 16.

People Weekly, October 30, 1995, p. 63; June 26, 2000, p. 101; September 20, 2004, p. 211; September 19, 2005, p. 210.

Woman's Day, November 6, 2005, p. 128.

Woman's World, January 11, 2005, p. 20.

Electronic:

Theatermania, http://www.theatermania.com, April 24, 2000.

About this article

Danza, Tony 1951–

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