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IMDbPro

Tony Danza

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000723
Tony Danza
Tony Danza plays Tony Sr., a disgraced, former NYPD officer who never followed the rules. He lives with his son, Tony Jr., an earnest, obsessively honest NYPD detective who makes a point of always following the rules. This “odd couple” become unofficial partners as Tony Sr. offers his overly-cautious son blunt, street-wise advice on everything from handling suspects to handling women.
Play trailer2:11
The Good Cop (2018)
21 Videos
99+ Photos
Tony Danza is an American actor, perhaps best known for starring on some of television's most beloved and long-running series, including Taxi (1978-1983) and Who's the Boss? (1984-1992).

Danza was born in Brooklyn, New York to Anne (Cammisa), a bookkeeper, and Matty Iadanza, a garbageman. His mother was an Italian immigrant, and his father was also of Italian descent. He grew up in Malverne, Long Island and received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history education. Before finding a teaching job, he earned his living as a professional boxer and envisioned himself as the next Rocky Graziano. Changing his name to "Dangerous" Tony Danza, he entered the New York Golden Gloves in 1975. Shortly afterward, on Aug. 13, 1976, he started his professional boxing career. Fighting as a middleweight, Danza became a crowd favorite for his walk-in slugging style. He compiled a record of 9-3 with nine knockout victories, seven in the first round.

During a gym workout, Tony was discovered for the part of Tony Banta on the ABC TV show Taxi (1978). Danza still hoped to be a world champion and scored knockouts in 1978 and 1979, but when he was unable to secure a title shot, he retired from boxing and totally dedicated himself to his acting career. Taxi was critically acclaimed, earning him a place in television history and making him a household name. He followed Taxi with a starring role in the classic ABC comedy series Who's the Boss? (1984), which ran for eight seasons and broke all syndication records. He became known for his lovable sitcom personae.

Danza received an Emmy nomination for a guest-starring role in The Practice (1997) and acclaim for his performance in the Broadway revival of "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill. He also starred in the comedy series Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), for which he was executive producer. His additional television credits include an acclaimed performance opposite George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon in the remake of the film classic 12 Angry Men (1997) and the television movies The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998), Noah (1998), The Girl Gets Moe (1997), North Shore Fish (1997), and Deadly Whispers (1995).

Among his motion-picture credits are Angels in the Outfield (1994), She's Out of Control (1989), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), Glam (1997), and Illtown (1996). He also wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Mamamia (1995).

Eventually Tony explored his love for the stage, and among his many stage credits is his exciting run on Broadway in Mel Brooks' hit musical The Producers, playing Max Bialystock (2006-2007), and his reprise of the role in the Las Vegas production at Paris Las Vegas (2007).

For his theatrical debut in Wrong Turn at Lungfish (1993), he earned an Outer Critic's Circle Award nomination. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed The Iceman Cometh, opposite Kevin Spacey, Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play A View from the Bridge, and I Remember You Most recently, Tony returned to the stage in the pre-Broadway run of the much-buzzed-about and highly-acclaimed smash hit musical Honeymoon In Vegas, which he starred in at the Paper Mill Playhouse along with Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), and Brynn O'Malley (Annie). With music and lyrics by Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), the musical is written by Andrew Bergman (Fletch, The Freshman, Blazing Saddles, Soap Dish, The In-Laws) and based on his hit Castle Rock/New Line comedy of the same title. Both the show and Tony's performance received amazing reviews, including a love letter from The New York Times that compares Tony's performance to "the cooler-than-cool spirit" of Frank Sinatra.

He garnered accolades performing in his song-and-dance stage show, which debuted in Atlantic City in 1995. He later took it on the road to major venues throughout the country, from Las Vegas to New York.

In 2013, Tony returned to the big screen and received great buzz and fantastic reviews for his performance as Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character's father in Gordon-Levitt's much-buzzed-about and acclaimed directorial debut, Don Jon. The film, which stars Gordon-Levitt, Danza, Julianne Moore, Brie Larson, and Scarlett Johansson, was released in theaters in the fall of 2013.

In 2009-2010, Tony took on his most challenging role yet: teaching tenth-grade English at Philadelphia's Northeast High School. His experience working as a real teacher was taped and aired on A&E last year in the form of the critically-acclaimed seven-part documentary series, Teach.

In September 2012, Crown Publishers (a division of Random House) released Tony's book, I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High, a much-buzzed-about and critically acclaimed reflection of his experience teaching for a year. The book premiered on the New York Times Best Sellers list at number 16 and stayed on the list for two months. The paperback edition hit bookstores in September of 2013. In 2010, AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with more than 35 million readers, presented Tony with their Inspire Award. The Inspire Awards pay tribute to extraordinary people who inspire others to action through their innovative thinking, passion and perseverance. In December of 2012, Tony was among the iconic celebrities who participated in the Weinstein Company's historic concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden. He was featured in the documentary about the concert, released by the Weinstein Company in the fall of 2013, in which Tony reminds people of the forgotten motto of America, "E pluribus unum", or "out of many one", or as Tony's father would say "we're all in this together, pal".

With great belief in the spirit of that motto, Tony participates in many charity efforts. In April 2013, USAToday honored Tony at their annual National Make A Difference Day Awards for his commitment to helping others through his numerous charity efforts.

Danza is married to Tracy Robinson and has three children.
BornApril 21, 1951
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornApril 21, 1951
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000723
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos212

Alyssa Milano, Tony Danza, Katherine Helmond, and Judith Light in Television (1988)
Joan Cusack and Tony Danza in Saturday Night Live (1975)
Joan Cusack, Tony Danza, and Al Franken in Saturday Night Live (1975)
Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Tony Danza, and Judd Hirsch in Taxi (1978)
Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, and Judd Hirsch in Taxi (1978)
Tony Danza in Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Bette Midler and Tony Danza in Bette (2000)
Tony Danza in Don Jon (2013)
Tony Danza and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Don Jon (2013)
Glenne Headly, Tony Danza, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Brie Larson in Don Jon (2013)
Tony Danza and Josh Groban in The Good Cop (2018)
Tony Danza in The Good Cop (2018)

Known for

Julianne Moore, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (2013)
Don Jon
6.5
  • Jon Sr.
  • 2013
Alyssa Milano, Tony Danza, Katherine Helmond, Danny Pintauro, and Judith Light in Who's the Boss? (1984)
Who's the Boss?
6.6
TV Series
  • Tony Micelli
  • Grandpa Micelli
  • Tommy Toon
Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, and Judd Hirsch in Taxi (1978)
Taxi
7.7
TV Series
  • Tony Banta
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Angels in the Outfield
6.2
  • Mel Clark
  • 1994

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Darby and the Dead (2022)
    Darby and the Dead
  • Omar Epps, Patina Miller, and Mekai Curtis in Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021)
    Power Book III: Raising Kanan
  • Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg, and Will Estes in Blue Bloods (2010)
    Blue Bloods
  • Will Arnett, Terry Crews, Jamal Duff, and Geraldine Viswanathan in Rumble (2021)
    Rumble
    • (voice)
  • Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon in And Just Like That... (2021)
    And Just Like That...
  • Outmatched (2020)
    Outmatched
  • Tony Danza and Josh Groban in The Good Cop (2018)
    The Good Cop
  • Tony Danza, Roger Bart, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, Nate Smith, David Hoffman, Andrew Schulz, Jane Levy, Ian Nelson, Daniel Strauss, and Camrus Johnson in There's... Johnny! (2017)
    There's... Johnny!
  • Sebastian Says
  • Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer in Broad City (2014)
    Broad City
  • Anthony Michael Hall in Aftermath (2013)
    Aftermath
  • Julianne Moore, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (2013)
    Don Jon
  • The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone (2009)
    The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone
  • Rita Rocks (2008)
    Rita Rocks
  • Burt Reynolds, Angie Everhart, and Gabrielle Reece in Cloud 9 (2006)
    Cloud 9

Producer

  • Tony Danza and Josh Groban in The Good Cop (2018)
    The Good Cop
  • Tony Danza in The Tony Danza Show (2004)
    The Tony Danza Show
  • Mel Harris and James McDaniel in Out of Time (2000)
    Out of Time
  • Tony Danza, Majandra Delfino, Maria Canals-Barrera, Ashley Malinger, and Shaun Weiss in The Tony Danza Show (1997)
    The Tony Danza Show
  • Yasmine Bleeth in Crowned and Dangerous (1997)
    Crowned and Dangerous
  • Maria Conchita Alonso in Sudden Terror: The Hijacking of School Bus #17 (1996)
    Sudden Terror: The Hijacking of School Bus #17
  • David Gallagher in Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle (1996)
    Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle
  • Tony Danza and Lori Loughlin in Hudson Street (1995)
    Hudson Street
  • The Jerky Boys (1995)
    The Jerky Boys
  • The Road to Hollywood (1993)
    The Road to Hollywood
  • George (1993)
    George
  • The Whereabouts of Jenny (1991)
    The Whereabouts of Jenny
  • Freedom Fighter (1988)
    Freedom Fighter
  • Tony Danza in Doing Life (1986)
    Doing Life

Director

  • Tony Danza in Mamamia (1995)
    Mamamia
  • Alyssa Milano, Tony Danza, Katherine Helmond, Danny Pintauro, and Judith Light in Who's the Boss? (1984)
    Who's the Boss?
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos22

Aftermath
Clip 0:43
Aftermath
Aftermath
Clip 0:46
Aftermath
Aftermath
Clip 2:36
Aftermath
Aftermath
Clip 1:53
Aftermath
Don Jon
Clip 0:57
Don Jon
Don Jon
Clip 0:53
Don Jon
Don Jon
Clip 1:15
Don Jon
Trailer
Trailer 0:16
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:31
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:11
Official Trailer
TV Spot
Trailer 0:33
TV Spot
Trailer #1
Trailer 2:32
Trailer #1

Personal details

Edit
    • Official Site
    • April 21, 1951
    • Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
    • Tracy RobinsonJune 28, 1986 - February 6, 2013 (divorced, 2 children)
  • Other works
    Made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning play, "A View From the Bridge".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 8 Articles
    • 9 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He was actually behind the wheel of the taxicab that drives across the bridge during the opening credits of every episode of Taxi (1978).
  • Quotes
    I am looking forward to getting to do things I have never done before.
    • Strong Brooklyn accent

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