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Catching Up with Tony Danza
Tony Danza. (Photo courtesy PBS)
From "Taxi" to "Who's the Boss" to his own talk show, Tony Danza is an American TV institution. So it's only fitting that this Italian-American actor -- who considers himself the embodiment of the American Dream -- host Wednesday's Capitol Fourth Independence Day celebration, to be broadcast live on PBS tomorrow night starting at 8 p.m. ET.
This year's show will kick off with a Danza-led dance number feting patriotic songs and include performances from Little Richard, Elliott Yamin, "Heroes" co-star Hayden Panettiere and former "Cheers" regular Bebe Neuwirth.
Despite his excitement about the show, Danza admits that the war in Iraq is never far from his mind.
"It's really hard at a time of war, I think, to celebrate," Danza said on the phone from New York last Thursday. "That's my only problem. I have a heavy heart. I can't imagine what it's like to have two soldiers walk up to your door and tell you your 21-year-old son's not coming home."
Danza just completed a six-month run in the role of Max Bialystock in the Broadway production of "The Producers" and is set to reprise his performance when the show opens in Las Vegas in August.
In a surprisingly candid interview, Danza opened up about his thoughts about the war in Iraq and more. Read on to find out why Danza loves Broadway, will never watch CNN again, thinks Paris Hilton doesn't need to try, has refused bizarre reality TV offers (celebrity bull-riding, anyone?) and what "The Sopranos" does, or doesn't do, for Italian-Americans.
(Much more after the jump...)
Have you been involved with "A Capitol Fourth" before?
I did it one other time in '98 or '99 and I've done the Memorial Day concert a number of times. One of my favorite moments in my whole career was I think it was an anniversary of World War I and they had a bunch of vets -- there are only a few left -- and they were there and we did a dance number. You know I'm a tap dancer and we got some girls and put together a patriotic number. Well that one we did I was in a Doughboy uniform and of course it poured and they said we can't do this and I said, "These guys fought in the trenches, so this is the least I can do." It's one of the great memories I have. Just being soaking wet and doing this on the Capitol lawn, so it's great fun to be a part of something like this.
So, can we expect a big dance number this year?
Yes you can.... We use patriotic songs. I've got four tap dancers and we're going to try to put together something pretty good. I just got out of rehearsal. I was there all day. We're rehearsing in New York. I spent seven days with my elderly aunt and uncle. My parents are gone and this is my mother's last sister so I was taking care of them and it was fun. I was home in Malvern, Long Island and it was kind of cool.
Do you have any thoughts about spending the 4th in D.C. while the war's going on in Iraq?
I saw your interview with Joe Mantegna and I know he said this is a time to bring everyone together and it's not about [the war], but it's hard to not be about that. You know on Memorial Day this year 11 guys got killed in Iraq so it's pretty hard not to think about it.
I dunno. Look, the great thing about the 4th is maybe on this day we put aside what divides us and remember that we're all Americans and it's the country's birthday. Look, I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it isn't ever-present on my mind, but my job is to go out there and entertain and be the host and I hope to do that.
So who else can we expect to see in this year's show?
We've got a great cast. Little Richard just joined in. Bebe Neuwirth is going to be there and everybody's favorite new show -- my kids love this show -- "Heroes" -- we've got Hayden Panettiere. And they just signed Dierks Bentley, the country music guy. Also the guy from "American Idol" Elliott Yamin, who I really thought was the best that year, so I'm looking forward to meeting him. And there'll be a symphony and Erich Kunzel and like I said, a huge opening number.
So this isn't the only stage thing you've got coming up. I see in August you'll be reprising your role in "The Producers."
Yep. I'm going to go to Vegas and do it there. The Vegas version.
What's different about it?
It's about 70 minutes shorter. The play is two hours and 40 minutes with the intermission, but in Vegas they do it in 90 minutes with no intermission.
I guess they have to get people back to the slot machines?
Yeah, exactly, back out on the floor. It's one of the great roles to play. Tony Danza playing Max Bialystock, the iconic Jewish guy. By the way, I played Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge" on Broadway and for Italians "A View from the Bridge" is "Streetcar." I played the iconic Italian part; I'm playing the iconic Jewish part. Who says I have no range?
And your character's not named Tony.
That's another thing, yes. You know that is an urban legend that is not completely true. I have played other parts.
You used to host your own TV talk show. Considering all the hype surrounding the Paris Hilton interview and the jockeying to score the first one, would you have gone for a chance to talk to her?
I was in an airport [last Wednesday] when that whole Paris Hilton interview was going down. I was watching "The Situation Room" and they were talking about this interview that hadn't happened yet and then counting down to it. I'll never watch CNN again.
I mean it. I think something's happened to news and entertainment. News has become entertainment. They don't give you what you need, they give you what you want. And entertainment has taken a turn, too. People aren't much interested in virtuosity. They just want to feel better when they watch something and that changes it all. So I don't know, maybe that's why Broadway was so great and I'm going to Vegas.
I have to ask -- were you a "Sopranos" fan?
Yes and no. Yes, because it's an amazing series and all those guys are friends of mine and no because I don't think I like the way Italians are portrayed. There's a pang that happens in my chest when I see it. Having said that, I watch it and it is brilliant and I enjoyed it. But I sometimes worry about the portrayal and that's just me.
I've been lucky. I'm one of the few Italian-American actors who hasn't had to do a lot of that mob stuff. I did do one movie where I played a wannabe gangster (perhaps 1980's "Murder Can Hurt You"?) and he died in the end, so he got his. It was great dying on camera. But sometimes I would get a pang of concern [from "The Sopranos"].
But it was brilliant. I can't believe people. That last scene was brilliant. It had me on the edge of my seat and nothing was happening. And Gandolfini's brilliant. We worked together in a movie -- a remake of "12 Angry Men"-- years ago before he was famous and he was just a really good actor and he's just a terrific actor. [Tony] Sirico's a longtime pal. And my ex-fight manager is in the show -- Cha Cha, Albie who is Frank Vincent's consigliere. He's my fight manager. So I have a lot of connections with that show.
I saw a Tony Sirico quote the other day. He was annoyed by fans with cameras in the airport and got sick of it. So he got up and said "I hate all of you" and left.
I'm trying to write something about fame. I remember when I did "Taxi" and no one had seen it yet and I was dying for it to be out there and then it was on and people recognized me and took pictures and wanted autographs, but then I realized, uh oh, that's the way it's going to be no matter what. And I think a lot of those guys are waking up to that now -- and it's funny when you have a job and you're famous. When you don't have a job and you're famous it's a little different. So I just think they're going to have to get used to the fact.
And we're worshipping at the altar of Paris Hilton and CNN does what it did. And everybody was after that. It's not just CNN. Anybody on TV for an hour is tough. To be interesting for an hour on TV is not easy. And she has no education. She should've prepared. She had plenty of time to study in jail. She has all those people around her. Certainly good advisers. But see, the problem is she doesn't need to. We don't care. As an audience, we're not demanding anything anymore. It's really frustrating as a performer. Not so much just her -- in general.
So I'm going to guess that a reality show is not in the offing for you anytime soon?
No, I wouldn't do it. I don't want to be a game show host, either. You know I got a call recently -- would I like to be in a celebrity bull-riding show. I mean -- what the...? I don't know what's happening in this world.
Having said that, I've been around a long time and I continue to work and I love it. I was in a rehearsal hall tap dancing all day and it was wonderful.
Do you still keep in touch with any of your "Who's the Boss" co-stars?
Yeah, we still keep in touch. Judith and I are very close friends and, in fact, I owe Katherine a call. I talk to Alyssa every once in a while -- more notes than speaking. But you know, that kind of relationship, you don't have to see them -- they pass through your mind and are part of your life. Those four people were very important to me.
I hope that people will tune in on PBS and the Armed Forces station. It's really going to be a great show. It's wild to be down there with those people.
"A Capitol Fourth" airs on Wednesday, July 4 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).
By Liz |
July 3, 2007; 10:43 AM ET
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Posted by: wats | July 3, 2007 11:38 AM
Is that a typo, in reference to the 50th or 60th anniversary of World War I? Or did TD misspeak? Or does he not know that WWI was 90 years ago?
Posted by: Nitpicker | July 3, 2007 11:40 AM
Yes, typo! Apologies. Fixing now.
Posted by: Liz | July 3, 2007 11:42 AM
sorry, all i can think is "Mone-ah... Anger-la..."
Posted by: not bluto | July 3, 2007 11:43 AM
Ay-ohh, oh-ay!
Posted by: Liz | July 3, 2007 11:47 AM
i don't care that i generally am not a fan of tony danza, i appreciate his being willing to host the capitol fourth. having just returned from visiting my soon to deploy to iraq son living in germany, danza is dead on correct when he says that the celebration should be about who we are as americans, our past and our future. as corny as it sounds, and i know it sounds corny, things like the memorial day concert and a capitol fourth are incredibly important when you're living overseas. i'm an army brat so i know. i get emotional just thinking about it. so thanks, tony danza, and everyone else a-, b-, or c-list celebs who step up to put on a show. we appreciate it.
Posted by: methinks | July 3, 2007 11:59 AM
I think people underestimate actors like Tony Danza and Sylvester Stallone who seem like lunkheads, but they're really not.
Liz, I thought it was funny that he was checking up on your previous work.
Posted by: Straw | July 3, 2007 12:30 PM
I used to be a huge Tony fan until I found out he is a raging Homo-Phobe!. Notice he didn't mention Danny Pintauro from "The Boss". He's probably an Anti-Semite, too. And he's representing our country for "The 4th". Sheesh!
I won't be watching this year. Bring back Jason Alexander or Barry Bostwick. THEY are talents!
Posted by: Not a TD fan, anymore | July 3, 2007 12:53 PM
i don't know about his 'raging homo-phobia' but somehow i don't think an anti-semite wouldn't be playing the part of max bialystock.
Posted by: methinks | July 3, 2007 1:43 PM
Really great interview, Liz -- gave me a wole new perspecive on Tony Danza. Nice work!
Posted by: pkc | July 3, 2007 2:25 PM
Re: Danny Pintauro, Tony did say, "Those four people were very important to me" so you could assume that Danny joined Judith, Katherine and Alyssa. Sould more like an unintentional omission than a slur.
Posted by: Toni Tony Tone | July 3, 2007 3:41 PM
Mr. Danza lost his TV Show and that's too bad; plus, he's no longer in the day-to-day TV spotlight. The show was not a ratings winner; however, he's had two past ratings winners to be proud of. Paris Hilton however is all over the news for just being a "Modern Day ZaZa Gabor", who also happens to be her real life Godmother of whom neither has ever contributed anything of substance to mankind. Her coverage trumps anything that Mr. Danza has or ever will have done. Tony certainly has a compelling reason to be frustrated as we all do. However, the truth is that Tony playing Max Bialystock in "The Producers" does not rate the same in the national fascination as does some overly spoiled and self-entitled high school drop out that has parents that taught her to work her way to the top by dressing and acting like a bimbo. Come on, that's news; that she's succeeded where others have failed, is news...like it or not. Not in the traditional sense though; she did though manage to dominate multiple news cycles for weeks through the sheer number of the tens of millions of our fellow Americans that have been drawn into this mess of pop culture that began ala O.J. Simpson. The "real news" is that America's interest is with Miss Hilton, someone who cannot successfully put a noun and a verb together to express her own thoughts, much less those written down on a yellow legal pad for her by her P.R. people and NOT what is really important like the war, terrorism, Iran, North Korea, immigration, Scooter or the rest of us. No wonder that the parents of us "baby boomers" are scratching their collective heads in bewilderment. So Tony, don't fret or blame our friends at CNN, they really are reporting the news; just not the news that we are always perceiving as news. Stay tuned; film at eleven.
Posted by: Daryl-Atlanta | July 3, 2007 5:15 PM
I never knew much about Mr. Danza's views, but now I like him.
Anyone who blows raspberries at CNN and the mainstream media for their witches brew of "info-tainment" is my kind of guy.
Thanks for speaking out about this, Mr. Danza! You rock!
Posted by: Jean V - Seattle | July 3, 2007 6:00 PM
Mr. Danza,
The news does NOT give us what we want. They give us what they want us to view and digest. We actually want Bush and Cheney impeached, but you wont see that on CNN or any other channel.
Lois kain
Posted by: kernahan2@verizon.net | July 3, 2007 6:49 PM
I agree Tony. Today's media is ONE BIG TABLOID. That's it. It's a joke. They only focus on money raised by politicians, and the latest idiotic thing that Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears has done.
The media make me sick. They don't want to inform the public. They want to keep the public in the dark about real happenings in Washington, DC, because the media is establishment. It is comprised of former DC insiders and reporters who want access to the powerful and are willing to toe the line in order to get it.
It's a joke. Screw Paris Hilton and Isaiah Washington. Larry King can't be happy about the direction that his show is heading.
Posted by: ST | July 3, 2007 7:49 PM
RE: The Tony Danza comment about CNN giving us what we want in the way of news/Paris Hilton. I didn't ask for Paris Hilton gossip. Maybe it would be closer to the mark to say CNN and other news media give us what they want us to have. It doesn't matter if we want it or not.
The whole slobbering Hilton saga was more worthy of Jerry Springer than legitimate news.
GrammaRose
Posted by: GrammaRose | July 3, 2007 8:10 PM
Who gives a rats ass what tONY dAnza has to say?. A semi talented homophobe hack actor with nothing to offer. Take some skiing lessons tONy... there is another tree with your name on it.
Posted by: Keith | July 3, 2007 9:14 PM
Good interview. You know how to ask good questions and how to draw people out. I was very impressed with Mr. Tony Danza's views.
Also it seems family is important to him. He mentioned being with his Aunt and Uncle to help them a little. So it seems like he has good values too. Thanks for the write up.
Posted by: Fan | July 3, 2007 10:10 PM
One no talent media hack using the news media to promote his programing complaining about another no talent tool on CNN is beyond pretentious
Posted by: James | July 4, 2007 12:39 PM
Danza has more than proved he's not just another Scott Baio.
Posted by: | July 4, 2007 12:54 PM
Liz,
I went to Catholic school with Tony Danza in Brooklyn NY and loved your interview.
I was especially interested to hear his opinion on the media, reality tv, paris hilton,and the portrayal of italian americans since my views parrell with his.
He's not only talented, but versatile, and always seems to land on his tap dancing feet after shows have been cancelled. I'm glad he manages to stay employed in a very difficult and competitive industry.
Thanks for keeping us entertained, Tony.
Posted by: Michele Romaglino | July 5, 2007 1:24 PM
I won't watch CNN anymore either. Guess we have something in common.
This week's Entertainment Weekly said Larry King's Paris Hilton interview drew 3.2 million viewers. Excuse me, but if that were network numbers the show would have been cancelled years ago.
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Tony Danza is what America is all about. We should have more people like him and bring back America we know and love ! Thank you Tony for Entertaining us all these years !
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The comments to this entry are closed.
wow....tony danza had something to say. whodathunkit?
i agree about cnn. i still watch, but it does tick me off.