Tony Danza

Actor


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In his two-hour Archive interview, Tony Danza talks about his early life and his career as a professional boxer before getting into acting. He describes being cast in the feature film "The Warriors," which led directly to him auditioning for the role of "Tony Banta" on the critically-acclaimed comedy series Taxi. He discusses his Taxi co-stars, including Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Conaway, and shares Andy Kaufman's antics on the set of the show. Danza outlines ABC canceling Taxi and NBC later picking it up. He details his years as "Tony Micelli" on Who's the Boss?, describes working with co-star Judith Light, and explains the special responsibility he felt on the show as both an on-screen and symbolic father to actors Alyssa Milano and Danny Pintauro. He speaks of his two-year stint as a talk show host on The Tony Danza Show, and recalls his time as an English teacher for the reality show Teach: Tony Danza. He wraps up by talking about then-current projects including charity work and his role in the Broadway musical "Honeymoon in Vegas." Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on December 15, 2014 in New York, NY.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I don't have a lot of awards. My greatest achievement is that I'm still around. Joan Rivers said on 'Louie,' 'The reason we do this is because we love it more than anything else and that it is a calling to make people happy.' And I thought to myself, wow. You know, I've made a few people happy."

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Tony Danza on advice to an aspiring actor
01:03
Tony Danza on his Taxi  character "Tony Banta"
03:31
Tony Danza on hosting The Tony Danza Show
03:31
Tony Danza on his proudest career achievement 
01:27
Tony Danza on the relationship between "Tony Micelli" and "Angela Bower" on Who's the Boss?
03:29
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on his interests growing up; on television he watched as a child
On his early boxing career; on making the transition from boxing to acting
On getting his first acting job on Fast Lane Blues;  on taking acting classes
On being cast on Taxi; on his Taxi character "Tony Banta"; on helping to shape the character of "Tony Banta" and being embraced by the writers
On working with Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi; on working with the cast of Taxi, including Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Conaway and Andy Kaufman

Chapter 2

On his son appearing on Taxi with him; on public reaction to Taxi; on ABC's cancellation of Taxi and its revival on NBC; on the legacy of Taxi
On being cast on Who's the Boss?; on his Who's the Boss? character "Tony Micelli" and his role as a father on the show; on his creative input on Who's the Boss?
On the relationship between "Tony Micelli" and "Angela Bower" on Who's the Boss?; on the legacy of Who's the Boss?; on various guest starring roles and hosting The Tony Danza Show
On Teach: Tony Danza and then-current projects; on his proudest achievements; on advice to an aspiring actor and how he'd like to be remembered
Shows

Family Law

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Tony Danza on guest starring on The Practice and working with Paul Haggis on Family Law
04:18

Practice, The (1997-2004)

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Tony Danza on guest starring on The Practice and working with Paul Haggis on Family Law
04:18

Taxi

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Tony Danza on being cast on Taxi
04:57
Tony Danza on his Taxi character "Tony Banta"
03:31
Tony Danza on helping to shape the character of "Tony Banta" on Taxi and being embraced by the writers
03:15
Tony Danza on working with Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
01:21
Tony Danza on working with Marilu Henner as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
02:15
Tony Danza on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
00:52
Tony Danza on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
01:34
Tony Danza on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravis" on Taxi
06:55
Tony Danza on his son appearing on Taxi with him
06:06
Tony Danza on public reaction to Taxi
02:01
Tony Danza on ABC's cancellation of Taxi  and its revival on NBC by Brandon Tartikoff
02:32
Tony Danza on the end of Taxi's NBC run 
01:03
Tony Danza on the legacy of Taxi
01:35

Who's the Boss?

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Tony Danza on being cast on Who's the Boss? co-starring Judith Light
03:38
Tony Danza on casting Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower" on Who's the Boss?
01:59
Tony Danza on his Who's the Boss? character "Tony Micelli" and his role as a father on the show to Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower"
05:31
Tony Danza on his creative input on Who's the Boss?  
02:54
Tony Danza on the relationship between "Tony Micelli" and "Angela Bower" on Who's the Boss?
01:37
Tony Danza on the legacy of Who's the Boss?
01:52
Topics

Advice

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Tony Danza on advice to an aspiring actor
01:03

First Big Break

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Tony Danza on getting his first acting job on Fast Lane Blues
04:24

Pivotal Career Moments

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Tony Danza on getting his first acting job on Fast Lane Blues
04:24

Television Industry

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Tony Danza on advice to an aspiring actor
01:03
Professions

Actor

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Tony Danza on advice to an aspiring actor
01:03

Performers

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Tony Danza on advice to an aspiring actor
01:03
Genres

Comedy Series

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Tony Danza on playing "Tony Banta" on Taxi  (Part 1)
24:40
Tony Danza on playing "Tony Banta" on Taxi  (Part 2)
13:18
Tony Danza on playing "Tony Micelli" on Who's the Boss?
17:31

Reality TV

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Tony Danza on Teach: Tony Danza
07:08

Talk Shows

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Tony Danza on hosting The Tony Danza Show
03:21
People

Jeff Conaway

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Tony Danza on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
01:34

Marilu Henner

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Tony Danza on working with Marilu Henner as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
02:15

Judd Hirsch

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Tony Danza on working with Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
01:21

Andy Kaufman

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Tony Danza on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravis" on Taxi
06:55

Judith Light

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Tony Danza on being cast on Who's the Boss?  co-starring Judith Light
03:38
Tony Danza on the relationship between "Tony Micelli" and "Angela Bower" played by Judith Light on Who's the Boss?
01:37

Christopher Lloyd (actor)

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Tony Danza on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
00:53

Alyssa Milano

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Tony Danza on casting Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower" on Who's the Boss?
01:59
Tony Danza on his Who's the Boss?  character "Tony Micelli" and his role as a father on the show to Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower"
05:31

Danny Pintauro

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Tony Danza on casting Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower" on Who's the Boss?
01:59
Tony Danza on his Who's the Boss?  character "Tony Micelli" and his role as a father on the show to Alyssa Milano as "Samantha Micelli" and Danny Pintauro as "Jonathan Bower"
05:31

Brandon Tartikoff

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Tony Danza on ABC's cancellation of Taxi  and its revival on NBC by Brandon Tartikoff
02:32

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