It's early afternoon in New York City, and actor Tony Danza is reflecting on one of his favorite jobs. Surprisingly, it’s not his enduring career as an actor and singer or his stint as a professional boxer, but rather his role as a father to his three adult children: Marc, 53; Katherine, 37; and Emily, 31.
“I’m enjoying the gift of my children’s happiness,” Danza says. “All three of my kids are doing well, thriving and in love. It’s just incredible.”
At 73, Danza is busier than ever. He’s currently filming the fourth season of the television show “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and touring the country with his “Standards and Stories” cabaret show.
“I just finished 11 shows at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City,” Danza says proudly. “There was standing room only on Saturday night.”
Danza will perform his cabaret show at the Delray Beach Playhouse on April 15 and describes the event as “some of my favorite standards from the Great American Songbook which I particularly love, along with some really incredible arrangements and a fabulous four-piece band that will really amaze audiences.”
Danza also charms fans with a mix of tap dancing, playing the ukulele and storytelling.
“I tell stories from my personal and professional life to connect with the audience and use music to enhance the stories,” Danza explains. “It’s like the variety shows of the early '60s and '70s, where you’d have a host and bunch of acts — the difference in my show is I’m both the host and the acts. It’s a fun show and it’s been well received.”
With a career that spans more than 45 years, Danza has appeared on television (“Who’s the Boss?” and “Taxi”), in movies (“Angels in the Outfield,” “She’s Out of Control,” “A Brooklyn State of Mind”) and on Broadway (“Honeymoon in Vegas,” “The Producers,” “The Iceman Cometh” and “A View from the Bridge”). From 1974 to 1979, Danza was a professional boxer, and he continues to make exercise a priority.
“My son gave me a boxing reflex ball, it’s a headband with a string attached to a ball. It’s the best workout you’ve ever seen. My hands are so good I can hit a fly.”
Photo By David Andrako
The Importance Of Giving Back
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Danza, who currently lives in New York City, believes in giving back to his community.
Danza’s nonprofit, The Stars of Tomorrow Project, teaches New York students who might not otherwise have access to the arts the opportunity to learn acting, voice, dance and movement. In addition to free arts classes, the program provides students with mentoring, confidence and self-expression.
“It’s a life program as opposed to just lessons in acting, voice and dance,” Danza says. “We also have a wellness component, where we take the students grocery shopping and then to a kitchen that we rent on 57th Street, where we teach them how to cook for themselves.”
Danza is also an avid supporter of other charitable organizations, including The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). He was recently one of several actors, including Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton, who performed at IMF’s gala in April. The event raised over $675,000 for the IMF’s Peter Boyle Research Fund, named in honor of the actor and Danza’s friend, who died from the incurable blood cancer in 2006.
Photo Courtesy Of Columbia Pictures
Bossing The Kitchen
Best known as the “manny” on the popular '80s TV sitcom “Who’s the Boss?,” Danza, like his onscreen character, Tony Micelli, knows his way around the kitchen. Danza has demonstrated his culinary skills on his television talk show “The Tony Danza Show,” and in 2008, he and his son Marc co-authored “Don’t Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza’s Father-Son Cookbook.”
“These days, I’m an air fryer aficionado,” Danza shares. “A few years ago, someone in my building was renovating their apartment and their contractor drilled through the gas line. I didn’t have gas for months and I began cooking with an air fryer. I haven’t used a gas oven since.”
His favorite recipe is meatballs in Sunday sauce, an entrée that combines meat (beef, turkey, pork, veal or chicken) with pork spareribs and his famous low-and-slow Sunday sauce.
Forty years after landing the role of Micelli in “Who’s The Boss?,” Danza says there’s talk of a reboot. His co-star, Alyssa Milano, who played his daughter on the show, is working to bring back an updated version so fans can catch up with their favorite characters.
“I saw Alyssa last week when she was in town performing ‘Chicago’ on Broadway,” Danza says of the actress he calls his “forever TV daughter.”
He says Milano came to see his cabaret show and the two spoke about the proposed reboot that would feature Milano’s character, Samantha, as a single mother living in the house she grew up in. Danza’s character lives with her and takes care of her two children.
“I do think there’s a show there and that we have lot to say,” Danza explains. “I think the differences between Alyssa’s generation and my generation would make for a very interesting show considering the times we find ourselves in.”
Tony Danza helps students prepare for a show in the rehearsal studio
Photo By Phil O'Brien
A Life-Changing Accident
In 1993, Danza survived a life-changing skiing accident that nearly cost him his life. An experienced skier, he recalls being momentarily distracted by grief over his mother, Anne, who had died just months earlier, and thinking about how he would be spending his first Christmas without her.
Although he only lost his concentration for seconds, Danza hit a rock and crashed into a tree, breaking his back and eight ribs. During his long recovery, the actor started journaling, a practice he continues to this day.
“I can tell you where I’ve been every day since that accident,” he says. “I write a page a day and I have a box with a bunch of journals on the top shelf. If you were to ask me what I was doing on this day five years ago, I could tell you exactly what I was doing and thinking.”
These days, Danza’s journal might include his future pursuits, including how he’s learning to play the piano.
“I’ve been taking lessons and practicing,” he says. “I also wrote a play I’m trying to generate interest in. Other than that, I’d like to excel in the work I’m doing.”
Another journal passage might recount how he often pays tribute to Frank Sinatra in his cabaret show. Danza idolized the iconic singer as a child, and as an adult, he was lucky enough to meet Sinatra and to convince him to make an appearance on “Who’s the Boss?”
“I recently performed at the Resorts Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, which was incredible,” he says. “It was a venue that Frank Sinatra performed at many times.”
Danza recalls how one of the sound technicians asked if he needed a seat for his performance.
“He asked if I wanted to use the same stool Frank Sinatra used,” Danza says, marveling at how he performed a tribute to his hero, sitting in the same seat Sinatra once occupied.
On an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” he recalled how his mother once told him, “When you introduce me to Frank Sinatra, then you’re a star!”
So, did that moment ever happen?
That information, says Danza, will be revealed in his cabaret show.