Wings article on Tony - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

McFly121 · 03-14-2005, 03:29 AM

A mixture of articles, loaded with irony.

HACKNEYED FATE: A TV CABBIE

SCOFF IF YOU MUST, BUT Tony Shalhoub was destined to play Antonio, the scene-stealing Italian cabdriver on NBC's Wings. Three years ago when the actor read the script for a one-time guest shot on the sitcom, he recalls, "I noticed the main characters' names were Joe and Helen [played] on Wings by Tim Daly and Crystal Bernard. Those happen to be my parents' names. And my father had one brother, and his name was Brian [the character played by Steven Weber]." (Married to actress Brooke Adams, with whom he has two daughters, Shalhoub grew up in Green Bay, Wis., with nine siblings in a close Lebanese-American family.)

The producers of Wings liked Shalhoub's work so much that they decided to make his character permanent, changing Antonio from a waiter to a cabbie.
Ah, destiny. You see, cabs have been something of a talisman is Shalhoub's life. As a student at the Yale School of Drama, he tooled around New Haven in a vivid used car: an old taxi that was "yellow and still had stickers on the side and holes in the dashboard where the meter had been," he says. Then there was Shalhoub's big break as (what else?) a taxi driver with an indecipherable accent in the Bill Murray comedy Quick Change. "Maybe," he ruminates, "I was a ricksha driver in a past life."

It was the second oldest of his six sisters, Susan, now an actress and mother, who sparked his interest in acting. He had a part in her high school production of The King and I, and the director needed young performers to play children of the Siamese court. "She just took me by the hand," says Shalhoub, who was 6 at the time. Graduating from East High in 1972, he went on to major in theater at the University of Maine, then at Yale. After moving to New York City in 1984, he found supporting parts in such plays as the distaff version of The Odd Couple, starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers, and, in 1990, The Heidi Chronicles.

Shalhoub had a crush on Heidi's leading lady, the striking Brooke Adams, from watching her and Richard Gere play migrant farm workers in the film Days of Heaven a dozen years earlier. Adams was attracted too, but Shalhoub was already in a relationship. "I really wanted to go out with him, but he was honorable," says Adams. "Which I thought was a good sign." Their romance didn't kick in until '91, when he moved to L.A., where Adams lived. He proposed after two months, and they married in April 1992.

By then, Shalhoub had found a berth on Wings. He turned up on the NBC sitcom in a one-shot role as a waiter but clicked so well with the cast that producers hired him to stay on as Antonio. He is not, by all accounts, the cast cutup. "Tony doesn't say a word on the set," says star Timothy Daly. "I get the feeling he's got a great private life nobody else knows about--a couple of other families around the state."

(After Wings)

Shaloub's memories of Wings are moreso of the cast than of the work. "We
were such a great family on the set, away from the set. My wife and I became very close to Tim and his wife. We would take couple's trips together when the show was on hiatus.

"But in terms of the work, Antonio was so limited. I remember talking to Thomas (Haden Church, mechanic Lowell) when he left, and I understood it. My character and his always seemed in the background, and were never given much to do." Shalhoub can't help but laugh when he thinks back to days on the set with Church. The two always seemed to be competing over the last donut at the craft service table. "He and I would walk up and go, 'I got about four lines this week, how bout you?' And he'd say 'Bout the same'. So we'd end up snacking or playing cards a lot of the time because we weren't needed in a majority of the scenes."

Table reads were difficult as well. Much of the central action on the show dealt with Tim Daly, Steven Weber, or Crystal Bernard. Shaloub would be relegated to watching them read for forty-five minutes while he waited for his chance. "Once in a while we'd do an emsemble episode, like a bachelor party or my early days, when we did a lot of Helen and Antonio's marriage stuff. But mostly it was unfulfilling." To top it off, Shalhoub's character was maybe the worst lonely-heart of the show. "Antonio's girlfriend's were either married, or off-screen and really ugly which they played a little bit too much for laughs. Everyone else seemed to have a relationship on the show except him."

Asked why he didn't jump plane like Church did: "My contract wasn't up. I signed for six years in 1991, and the last year of my contract was the last year of the show. But I don't think I would've left anyway, even as a supporting character I loved being around those people every week."

barwars · 03-14-2005, 03:55 PM

Antonio could have easily made a good spinoff. Tony Shalhoub was definitely the most capable of doing one.

I would say THC too, but, well, he quit.

Brian Hackett · 03-14-2005, 09:35 PM

McFly,

These articles are just a treat, thanks so much for sharing them with all of us. Every time you post one of these I print it out because I love hearing what the cast had to say about the show. Thanks again.

McFly121 · 03-15-2005, 12:54 AM

Heh heh, cool, Brian. Unfortunately I'm just about out now, but hoping to find stuff on David Schramm, Rebecca Schull, and Farrah Forke. So far, no luck.

But you may also enjoy this. The ultimate Wings fan's dream. http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Studio/3586/

spunkygirl · 03-15-2005, 07:12 PM

Great article thanks!

I don't think there's been much about Rebecca, David and Farrah. I don't think David and Rebecca have acted since Wings went off the air, and Farrah last acted on Lois and Clark after she left Wings, haven't heard much about these three since

Chocoholic · 03-15-2005, 09:09 PM

That is a good article. Antonio was so under-used at times. I know the show was mainly about the Hacketts and Helen, but Antonio added a lot of laughs too. He also should have had SOME luck in love.

Quote:

Originally Posted by McFly121

A mixture of articles, loaded with irony.
Shalhoub can't help but laugh when he thinks back to days on the set with Church. The two always seemed to be competing over the last donut at the craft service table.

Reading that part made me think of Insanity Claus!

I hope no one got taken hostage.

McFly121 · 03-16-2005, 03:03 AM

Tell 'em that's Thomas Haden Church's donut and send it on up!

Chocoholic · 03-16-2005, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McFly121

Tell 'em that's Thomas Haden Church's donut and send it on up!

I'll just slide it under the door. I'm not taking any chances!

spunkygirl · 03-17-2005, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeriffic

That is a good article. Antonio was so under-used at times. I know the show was mainly about the Hacketts and Helen, but Antonio added a lot of laughs too. He also should have had SOME luck in love.

Reading that part made me think of Insanity Claus!

I hope no one got taken hostage.

I can just picture them fighting over a donut

Chocoholic · 03-17-2005, 04:12 PM

<assume voice of Carlton Blanchard> Now, what would be more dangerous: eating Bob's jelly donut or eating Homer Simpson's donut? And what if the two of them started fighting over a donut? </Carlton>

Sorry, couldn't resist!

03-14-2005, 03:29 AM	#1
McFly121 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: calif Posts: 812	Wings article on Tony A mixture of articles, loaded with irony. HACKNEYED FATE: A TV CABBIE SCOFF IF YOU MUST, BUT Tony Shalhoub was destined to play Antonio, the scene-stealing Italian cabdriver on NBC's Wings. Three years ago when the actor read the script for a one-time guest shot on the sitcom, he recalls, "I noticed the main characters' names were Joe and Helen [played] on Wings by Tim Daly and Crystal Bernard. Those happen to be my parents' names. And my father had one brother, and his name was Brian [the character played by Steven Weber]." (Married to actress Brooke Adams, with whom he has two daughters, Shalhoub grew up in Green Bay, Wis., with nine siblings in a close Lebanese-American family.) The producers of Wings liked Shalhoub's work so much that they decided to make his character permanent, changing Antonio from a waiter to a cabbie. Ah, destiny. You see, cabs have been something of a talisman is Shalhoub's life. As a student at the Yale School of Drama, he tooled around New Haven in a vivid used car: an old taxi that was "yellow and still had stickers on the side and holes in the dashboard where the meter had been," he says. Then there was Shalhoub's big break as (what else?) a taxi driver with an indecipherable accent in the Bill Murray comedy Quick Change. "Maybe," he ruminates, "I was a ricksha driver in a past life." It was the second oldest of his six sisters, Susan, now an actress and mother, who sparked his interest in acting. He had a part in her high school production of The King and I, and the director needed young performers to play children of the Siamese court. "She just took me by the hand," says Shalhoub, who was 6 at the time. Graduating from East High in 1972, he went on to major in theater at the University of Maine, then at Yale. After moving to New York City in 1984, he found supporting parts in such plays as the distaff version of The Odd Couple, starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers, and, in 1990, The Heidi Chronicles. Shalhoub had a crush on Heidi's leading lady, the striking Brooke Adams, from watching her and Richard Gere play migrant farm workers in the film Days of Heaven a dozen years earlier. Adams was attracted too, but Shalhoub was already in a relationship. "I really wanted to go out with him, but he was honorable," says Adams. "Which I thought was a good sign." Their romance didn't kick in until '91, when he moved to L.A., where Adams lived. He proposed after two months, and they married in April 1992. By then, Shalhoub had found a berth on Wings. He turned up on the NBC sitcom in a one-shot role as a waiter but clicked so well with the cast that producers hired him to stay on as Antonio. He is not, by all accounts, the cast cutup. "Tony doesn't say a word on the set," says star Timothy Daly. "I get the feeling he's got a great private life nobody else knows about--a couple of other families around the state." (After Wings) Shaloub's memories of Wings are moreso of the cast than of the work. "We were such a great family on the set, away from the set. My wife and I became very close to Tim and his wife. We would take couple's trips together when the show was on hiatus. "But in terms of the work, Antonio was so limited. I remember talking to Thomas (Haden Church, mechanic Lowell) when he left, and I understood it. My character and his always seemed in the background, and were never given much to do." Shalhoub can't help but laugh when he thinks back to days on the set with Church. The two always seemed to be competing over the last donut at the craft service table. "He and I would walk up and go, 'I got about four lines this week, how bout you?' And he'd say 'Bout the same'. So we'd end up snacking or playing cards a lot of the time because we weren't needed in a majority of the scenes." Table reads were difficult as well. Much of the central action on the show dealt with Tim Daly, Steven Weber, or Crystal Bernard. Shaloub would be relegated to watching them read for forty-five minutes while he waited for his chance. "Once in a while we'd do an emsemble episode, like a bachelor party or my early days, when we did a lot of Helen and Antonio's marriage stuff. But mostly it was unfulfilling." To top it off, Shalhoub's character was maybe the worst lonely-heart of the show. "Antonio's girlfriend's were either married, or off-screen and really ugly which they played a little bit too much for laughs. Everyone else seemed to have a relationship on the show except him." Asked why he didn't jump plane like Church did: "My contract wasn't up. I signed for six years in 1991, and the last year of my contract was the last year of the show. But I don't think I would've left anyway, even as a supporting character I loved being around those people every week."
	__________________ "That was Bob's donut!"

03-15-2005, 12:54 AM	#4
McFly121 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: calif Posts: 812	Heh heh, cool, Brian. Unfortunately I'm just about out now, but hoping to find stuff on David Schramm, Rebecca Schull, and Farrah Forke. So far, no luck. But you may also enjoy this. The ultimate Wings fan's dream. http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Studio/3586/
	Last edited by McFly121; 03-15-2005 at 02:56 AM.

03-14-2005, 03:55 PM	#2
barwars .. Forum Star Join Date: May 04, 2002 Posts: 13,273	Antonio could have easily made a good spinoff. Tony Shalhoub was definitely the most capable of doing one. I would say THC too, but, well, he quit.

03-14-2005, 09:35 PM	#3
Brian Hackett Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 16, 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 83	McFly, These articles are just a treat, thanks so much for sharing them with all of us. Every time you post one of these I print it out because I love hearing what the cast had to say about the show. Thanks again.

03-15-2005, 07:12 PM	#5
spunkygirl Member Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Posts: 21,563	Great article thanks! I don't think there's been much about Rebecca, David and Farrah. I don't think David and Rebecca have acted since Wings went off the air, and Farrah last acted on Lois and Clark after she left Wings, haven't heard much about these three since

03-16-2005, 03:03 AM	#7
McFly121 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: calif Posts: 812	Tell 'em that's Thomas Haden Church's donut and send it on up!

03-17-2005, 04:12 PM	#10
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	<assume voice of Carlton Blanchard> Now, what would be more dangerous: eating Bob's jelly donut or eating Homer Simpson's donut? And what if the two of them started fighting over a donut? </Carlton> Sorry, couldn't resist!