Tony Danza on "Finding Your Roots"

[TMC]

I can't help by think of that episode from one of the later seasons of Who's the Boss, where the man that Tony Micelli believes is his maternal grandfather, Anthony Romano, biologically isn't.

https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-you...sts/tony-danza

Perhaps best known for starring on some of television's most beloved and long-running series, including "Taxi" (1978-1983) and "Who's the Boss" (1984-1992), Tony Danza has also established himself as a stage and screen star, New York Times Best-Selling Author, and is indisputably one of America's most iconic performers. This February, Danza can be heard as a voice over in Paramount Animation’s monster wrestling film “Rumble.” It was recently announced that Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano are developing a sequel to Who’s The Boss, which they will star in, produced by the legendary Norman Lear.

For the last four years, Danza and his four-piece band have been touring the country with their hit show, “Tony Danza: Standards & Stories,” a cabaret act that combines timeless music with wit, charm, storytelling, as well as a dash of soft shot and ukulele performances. The New York Times raved, “Tony’s a live wire who tap-dances, plays the ukulele, tells stories and radiates irresistible charm… He exudes the kind of charisma that can’t be taught.”

In 2018, Tony co-starred in the Netflix original series The Good Cop, a comedic crime procedural from the creators of the Emmy award winning show Monk. Tony's previous television experience is his role as attorney Joe Celano on the CBS dramatic series "Family Law" (2000-2002), his Emmy nominated performance on David E. Kelley's award-winning series "The Practice" (1998), and ABC's "The Tony Danza Show," a talk show that was broadcast live in New York from 2004-2006. He also starred in and executive produced the ABC comedy series "Hudson Street," NBC's "The Tony Danza Show," and hosted numerous award shows, including the 2001 "Miss America Pageant," and the 2003 "People's Choice Awards."

In 2015, Tony was seen on Broadway in the hit musical “Honeymoon in Vegas.”, and received rave reviews for his on-stage performance, including from The New York Times which boasted his performance as “sly genius,” and a “career high”.

In September 2013, Danza starred on the big screen, playing Joseph Gordon Levitt’s father in “Don Jon.” The film also starred Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. Tony’s additional film credits include Walt Disney's "Angels in the Outfield," "She's Out Of Control," "The Hollywood Knights," and "A Brooklyn State of Mind."

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Danza received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in History Education. Discovered at a boxing gymnasium in New York, Danza was ultimately cast in the critically acclaimed ABC series "Taxi," earning him a place in television history. He followed “Taxi” with a starring role in the classic ABC comedy series "Who's the Boss?," which ran for eight seasons.

Eventually Tony explored his love for the stage, and amongst his many stage credits is his exciting run on Broadway in Mel Brooks hit musical "The Producers" playing 'Max Bialystock' (2006-2007), and his reprise of the role in the Las Vegas production at Paris Las Vegas (2007). For his theatrical debut in "Wrong Turn at Lungfish" (1993), he earned an Outer Critic's Circle Award nomination. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed "The Iceman Cometh," opposite Kevin Spacey, Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play "A View From The Bridge," and "I Remember You."

In 2009, Tony took on his most challenging and rewarding role yet - teaching 10th grade English at Philadelphia's Northeast High School. His amazing experience working as a real teacher was featured as a documentary series on A&E, titled TEACH. The teaching experience led to Tony being named one of 2011’s ten most inspirational people over 50 by the AARP. In September of 2012, Crown Publishing (a division of Random House) published Tony’s book about his experience, entitled "I'd Like To Apologize To Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year As a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High.” The critically acclaimed book spent 5 weeks on the New York Times Best-Sellers List.