Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951)[2] is an American actor and retired professional boxer.

Danza was born on April 21, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York,[2] to parents Anna Mary (née Camisa; 1925–1993) and Matthew Anthony "Matty" Iadanza (1920–1983).

[2][5] Danza's paternal grandparents were from Pietrelcina, Benevento, Campania, Italy, and his mother was an immigrant from the town of Campobello di Mazara in the Sicilian province of Trapani.

In a 1985 interview in Us Weekly magazine, Danza remarked, "I was playing pool with a guy who had all these tattoos, and I wanted to be friends.

[13][1] Shortly after his college graduation from the University of Dubuque, Danza was discovered by a producer at a boxing gymnasium in New York.

[14] He then earned a spot on the television show Taxi (1978-1983), playing a cab driver and part-time boxer Tony Banta, and later starred on Who's the Boss?

He received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill play The Iceman Cometh.

Danza returned to go-kart racing on October 20, 2005, to challenge IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, but his brakes malfunctioned and he skidded into a wall, unharmed.

[citation needed] He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers, from December 19, 2006, to March 11, 2007,[18] and reprised his role at the Paris Las Vegas from August 13, 2007,[19] to February 9, 2008.

[21] A Broadway adaptation of the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas opened on a pre-Broadway run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse on September 26, 2013, co-starring Danza and Tony nominee Rob McClure, with Gary Griffin directing.

[22] Danza was inducted into the Ride of Fame in December 2014, and the double-decker sightseeing bus commemorated his role in the Broadway musical.

[29] At one point Danza was a partner in Alleva Dairy, promoted as America's oldest cheese shop, on Grand Street in the Little Italy section of Manhattan.