Tony Danza

Tony Danza has been a significant force in TV comedy since the 1980s. His unassuming longrunning sitcom "Who's the Boss?" (ABC, 1984-92) became such a ratings juggernaut that his network routinely used it as a lead-in for prized new shows ("Roseanne" being a particularly successful example). Danza branched out to produce TV-movies, specials and other sitcoms before headlining another success, "Hudson Street", in the 1995-96 season as star and executive producer. Along the way he racked up stage and cabaret experience and made periodic appearances in the tabloids.

The twentysomething Tony Danza was an amiable, good-looking prizefighter with a ready grin and an eager-to-please manner. As an actor, he first gained attention in a supporting role as, appropriately enough, aspiring boxer Tony Banta in the acclaimed sitcom, "Taxi" (1978-83). While looking like an Italian-American character type in the Sylvester Stallone mold, he brought a dimwitted but gentle, rough-diamond appeal to the role. His likeable naivete clashed pleasingly with his tough guy appearance and allowed the untrained actor to hold his own amid a formidable comic ensemble.

The season after "Taxi" was permanently parked, Danza returned as the star of "Who's the Boss?", playing a housekeeper employed by successful businesswoman Judith Light. Now occupying center stage in a sitcom, he seemed to lose some of the appealing modesty he had possessed in "Taxi". The format of his new series was more conventional, but the broadly played antics on the show kept the program's intended audience happy for a very healthy eight-year run.

An extremely prolific TV personality, Danza has also had some success in TV-movies which allowed him to tackle more substantial fare, as in his first major dramatic performance, "Doing Life" (1986), in which he played a real-life convict who became a lawyer behind bars. Danza has subsequently kept busy acting in other TV-movies and hosting a variety of specials, including the reality-based "Gettin' Over" (1992-93) that explored the problems and challenges of urban youth. He has also executive produced fluffy specials including the "Before They Were Stars" series and tried his hand at sitcom with the unsuccessful "George" (1993-94), starring fellow ex-boxer George Foreman. Although his appeal has been most potent on TV, Danza has made the occasional feature film; most of them have been genial if routine comedies, including "Cannonball Run II" (1983), "She's Out of Control" (1989) and "Angels in the Outfield" (1994). The latter only afforded him a supporting role but he received the best notices of his film career playing a washed up baseball pitcher in this mild Disney remake.

"Angels in the Outfield" also marked Danza's first performance after recovering from a serious skiing accident on December 28, 1993 in which he sustained two broken vertebrae, crushed ribs, a collapsed lung, bruised liver and kidney, and had his right leg pulled out of the hip socket. After five screws, three rods, a bone fusion and a year of intensive physical therapy, Danza was back on his feet and on the slopes and ready for his third popular sitcom.

Danza executive produced "Hudson Street" through his own production company, Katie Face Productions (named after one of his daughters). A bit harder edged than previously, his playing a divorced New Jersey police detective who becomes embroiled in a love-hate relationship with a reporter played by Lori Loughlin. This marked the third series in which he played a character named Tony. He attempted a fourth series, "The Tony Danza Show" on NBC in 1997, but it was a victim of poor ratings.