By Jennifer LoConte, Director of Communications
Recently, ArtsQuest sat down with Emmy-nominated song-and-dance man Tony Danza to talk about his upcoming show, Standards & Stories, at ArtsQuest’s Musikfest Café on Friday, April 5 at 7:30p.m. Tony talked about the show, his early years as a professional boxer and as a high school teacher in Philadelphia, along with his current projects – including a non-profit, The Stars of Tomorrow Project.
As a child of the ’80s, I grew up watching eight seasons of ‘Who’s The Boss’ every Tuesday night and then on Saturdays. When Tony sang a few songs for me like ‘Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue’ on his ukulele, affectionately named Lucy, I was more than a little starstruck.
AQ: As a song-and-dance man, is Standards & Stories something you’ve always wanted to do?
TD: Yes! Back in 1993, I had a bad skiing accident that took me about two years to fully recover from. When I was rehabbing my injuries, I was thinking – what could I do? I wrote an act and have been doing it ever since. It’s great to be out there on stage, it turns me loose. It’s something you can’t just learn how to do from a class, you have to open your mouth and sing and see how it feels. I’ve been doing this for a long time.
I’m working with a new music director, John Otto, who served as Rosemary Clooney’s musical director for the last 20 years of her career. Performing with such talented musicians as these has given me great confidence. The show is very engaging and it’s not just a musical show. It’s a comedy, storytelling- some tap dancing and my secret weapon- my ukulele. (Danza picked up the ukulele after reading his Life’s Little Instruction Book Calendar whose page said- Get a ukulele and chord book and practice every day for 30 days. So, he did).
AQ: You went to college to become a teacher. Then you became a professional boxer and got discovered. Next thing you’re on Taxi. Did you have an interest in performing or becoming an actor as a kid growing up?
TD: As a kid I thought, well maybe I could do that. But in life, you have to pursue these things and as a kid, I wasn’t. I grew up in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn – as youth, we fought every day. But it was also the greatest time in the world to grow up in Brooklyn, about six years after WWII ended. I moved to Long Island when I was 15 and lived a very ‘Happy Days’ life in the ‘burbs. Then I lived in the Midwest for a while and came back to New York City in the early ’70s when the great Chickie Ferrara was there and American bandleader Sammy Kaye. I was in Hollywood in ’78 when Frank Sinatra was still running around. I felt like a lucky guy, and I still do.
After I graduated from college, I just didn’t feel experienced enough to teach school. I worked as a bartender, for a moving company and then I entered the Golden Gloves of America, where I had 15 professional fights. One day, a guy (who couldn’t rub two quarters together) walked into the gym and he was doing research on a pilot which was about a fighter who works out at an old fighter’s gym. He took an interest in me. I was interested in the part about the gym also being rented out to an aerobics instructor. Next thing you know, I’m in James L. Brooks’ office reading for the part of Phil Ryan, a heavyweight boxer, on a show called Taxi. They changed the name to Tony Banta, made him a lightweight and now I’m on Taxi.
AQ: What made you decide to go back and teach high school English in Philadelphia after a successful career?
TD: It bothered me that I never went back to teach, and I had a romantic notion about it. In 1981, I did an interview with Huell Houzer and he was talking about kids today. (That’s when I first got the idea for The Stars of Tomorrow Project). Back when I was about to turn 60, I wanted to see what was going on in inner city public high schools. And what did I see? Thousands of miracles happening every single day. Kids with little to no resources but such determination. I wrote a book about it; I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had. When I went back to teach, it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. I was Mr. D, and the kids didn’t know who I was. I really connected with Northeast High, and I still keep in touch with former students, who are now grown up with their own kids. The school named a stage after me and I’ve gone back from time to time.
AQ: Tell me about The Stars of Tomorrow Project, your non-profit.
TD: My co-founder, Brian Hills, and I have engaged with over 5,000 kids (over 200 of those kids are either currently in or have graduated from college). We started The Stars of Tomorrow Project with this idea of helping kids in New York City and giving them the opportunity to discover the world through acting. Teaching and mentoring them. I’m an old guy who believes in family hour and the concept of learning life skills as a kid. But that’s not how things are today. This year we added a wellness component- how to cook. We took the kids grocery shopping for chicken, broccoli and salad components and we did a cooking segment with them on zoom. (They’re now clamoring for meatloaf.) We also have a component with the Police Athletic League (PAL) and the Cops and Kids Chorus. This past December our group opened for the Rockettes at The Christmas Spectacular.
AQ: When you’re not touring, what are you up to these days?
TD: I’m playing the role of Stefano Marchetti, a bad guy from New York City’s mafia scene on ‘Raising Kanan’ which airs on the Starz network. It’s one of the Power Book shows. Love the show and its many layers.
AQ: At ArtsQuest, our mission is to provide access to the arts for all, paying significant attention to urban areas. We have a capital campaign going to build a state-of-the-art cultural and arts center here in Bethlehem that will be able to expand exponentially on that mission and offer even more visual arts and education programs to our youth. What’s your advice to kids and young people who are trying to make their dreams come true through an art form – like acting?
TD: That’s phenomenal! Study! You have to add that foundation because it’s the most important thing. Be a student of that art form and take in everything you can. Two, if you’re an actor, you gotta believe in your heart that nobody can do what you can do. Truly believe in it- that will help take some of the pressure off. Know your lines, don’t learn it, know it. Don’t get in your way. And lastly take care of yourself health-wise so that you can be there for when the opportunity knocks.
