TONY DANZA


Cat Cohen Alumni

Tony is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which Danza was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards.  He was born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Anne and Matty Iadanza. When Danza was 14, he and his family relocated to the Long Island community of Malverne. Danza earned a bachelor's degree in history education from the University of Dubuque which he attended on a wrestling scholarship, graduating in 1973. Also while in college, Danza met and married his first wife, Rhonda (Yeoman) Iadanza, and they have two children together.

Shortly after his college graduation, Danza was discovered by a producer at a boxing gymnasium in New York. He then earned a spot on the television show Taxi.  From 1976 to 1979, Danza was a professional boxer with a 9-3 record, with all of his fights, wins and losses, ending by knockout.  In 1986, Danza married for the second time, to Tracy Robinson. The couple divorced in 2007 and have two daughters.

Danza is best known for his roles in Taxi (1978-1983), in which he played cab driver and part-time boxer, "Tony Banta," and Who's the Boss? (1984-1992), portraying housekeeper and single father, "Tony Micelli."  Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), not to be confused with his talk show of the same name. He had a role in the TV drama Family Law from 2000 until 2002.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest-starring 1998 role in the TV series The Practice. His movie debut was in the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), which was followed by Going Ape! (1981). He received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill 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, a nationally syndicated program produced each weekday morning in his hometown of New York (where it aired live).  His daytime talk show ended in May 2006; the last live episode aired on May 26, 2006. The last episode was celebrated with performers from the Ringling Brothers Traveling Circus.

He starred on Broadway as "Max Bialystock" in The Producers, from December 19, 2006, to March 11, 2007.  He continued this starring role at the Paris Las Vegas.

In May 2008, Danza released, Don't Fill Up On the Antipasto: Tony Danza's Father-Son Cookbook a cookbook written by him and his son Marc, a chef.  In September 2008, it was reported that Danza will host The Contender Season 4. The full season was recorded in Singapore and will start December 3, 2008, on the Versus TV sports channel. In August 2009, it was reported that Danza will star in a new A&E reality show "Teach" in which he will co-instruct a 10th Grade English class in Philadelphia(Northeast HighSchool, has been approved by city school board officials. Filming has begun since September 8, 2009 during the school hours.

Danza studied piano with Cat Cohen in the early 1980s.

For more information go to  www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Danza.


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