Tony 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 is best known, however, for his lovable sitcom personae. Following a five-year run in "Taxi" (1978), he starred in "Who's the Boss?" (1984) for eight seasons. 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) (TV) and the television movies The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998) (TV), Noah (1998) (TV), The Girl Gets Moe (1997), North Shore Fish (1997) (TV) and Deadly Whispers (1995) (TV). Danza's additional stage credits include the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning "A View From the Bridge". His theatrical debut in "Wrong Turn" at Lungfish earned him an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. Among his motion picture credits are Angels in the Outfield (1994), She's Out of Control (1989), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1997), Glam (2001) and Illtown (1996). He also wrote, directed and starred in the short film Mamamia (1998) and continues to garner accolades performing in his song-and-dance stage show, which debuted in Atlantic City in 1995. He has since taken it on the road to major venues throughout the country, from Las Vegas to New York. Danza earned a bachelor's degree in history education from the University of Dubuque, which he attended on a wrestling scholarship. Shortly after graduation, he was discovered by a producer at a boxing gymnasium in New York, and "Taxi" (1978) rolled into his life. Danza was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tracy, and three children.
As a youngster, Antonio Ladanza never dreamed of an acting career. The New Yorker from Brooklyn instead envisioned himself the next Rocky Graziano. Changing his name to "Dangerous" Tony Danza, he entered the New York Golden Gloves in 1975. Shortly afterwards, 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. It was during a gym workout that he was discovered for the part of "Tony Banta" on the TV show, "Taxi" (1978). Danza still had hopes of being a world champion and scored knockouts in 1978 and 1979 but, unable to secure a title shot, retired from boxing to dedicate himself totally to his acting career.
