Son of a Guyanese father and a Brazilian mother, at 11 years old Tony ran away from home and ended up in Rio de Janeiro where he became a street kid and made a living selling peanuts and shining shoes.

At 18 he served in the Deodoro School of Parachuting along with the future TV presenter and entrepreneur Silvio Santos.

Back in Brazil in 1969, he worked in Ed Lincoln's group and also sang at night under the pseudonym Johnny Bradfort, the owner of the club forced him to pretend to be a foreigner.

The biggest role of his career on TV was Gregório Fortunato, the "Black Angel", the chief of the security of president and statesman Getúlio Vargas in the 1993 miniseries Agosto, based on the work of Rubem Fonseca.

Another important role of his career was the foreman Rodésio, who worked for Viúva Porcina (Regina Duarte) in Roque Santeiro.