By Chuck Darrow
In some ways, actor-entertainer Tony Danza was born too late. While the 74-year-old native of Brooklyn’s East New York section earned fame and fortune in two classic TV sitcoms, Taxi and Who’s The Boss? from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, there’s a large part of him that belongs to earlier generations of show business.
As those who attend his Nov. 13 matinee performance at Tropicana Atlantic City will witness, Danza’s live act is a throwback to the days when many headliners weren’t pigeonholed into specific roles like singer or comic, but instead showcased multiple talents. Among them were legends like Danny Kaye, Donald O’Connor and Sammy Davis Jr. (whose act generally included songs, tap dancing, celebrity impersonations and even an occasional demonstration of his talent as a quick-draw artist).
There may be no firearms in Danza’s act, but there certainly will be plenty else to capture the audience’s attention.
“It’s like the old TV variety shows; you have a host, and then you have a lot of acts,” offered the affable one-time boxer during a recent phone call. “Well, in this show, I’m the host and I’m all the acts. I sing, I dance, I play ukulele, we get laughs. It’s a full show.”
A prominent element, he added, is the inclusion of anecdotes from his life and career. Hence the program’s title, “Standards and Stories.”
If this rings a bell, it’s likely because this is hardly Danza’s first rodeo as it were. He’s been doing the show on-and-off for some 30 years (his first local appearance was at Resorts Atlantic City Casino-Hotel in the mid-1990s).
The ensuing decades have allowed the program to evolve and have provided Danza a chance to hone his non-acting performance skills. That first Resorts presentation, while engaging and entertaining, definitely had a few rough spots, foremost among them the star’s obvious inexperience in the live-presentation realm. Today, his credits include performances throughout the United States and multiple residencies at Café Carlyle, where his Frank Sinatra-focused program has drawn thousands to the legendary Manhattan cabaret.
An ‘accidental’ career turn
Pivotal moments in people’s lives often happen by accident. That was literally the case as it applies to Danza’s non-acting career.
“I had an accident in 1993,” he explained. “I hit a tree while skiing, and I almost killed myself. I broke my back. I was in intensive care for three weeks and they started [giving] me all these dire predictions for what was gonna happen to me, including I might not walk and all that bull.
“Of course, it didn’t work out that way, thankfully, but it took me two years to come back. I had this conversation with myself about what did I wanna do since I was getting a second chance, and I decided I wanted to be a song-and-dance-man. So, I tried it. I wrote an act and we rented [the theater at] Pepperdine University” in Malibu, California. By his own admission, it was a less-than-stellar effort.
“When I got through,” he recalled, “I asked my assistant, ‘What’d you think?’ And she said it was ‘almost not-embarrassing.’
“So, yeah, it’s come a long way,” he added with a chuckle.
For all of his show business success, Danza may be most proud of the Stars of Tomorrow Project, the Manhattan-based nonprofit organization he created to encourage and foster the participation in the performing arts of disadvantaged young people ages 14-22.
“I was at rehearsal,” he said, referring to the group’s recent show, “and I was watching them. They’re doing Grease. And I had the biggest smile on my face as I was watching them. It was like, it’s so charming. And they’re so wonderful.”
His bragging about his youthful charges isn’t just hyperbole; at least one alum has already hit the big time.
“I had a kid who came to the program,” he said. “He didn’t wanna go to college, wasn’t interested in acting. I said, ‘What’d you come here for?’ He said, ‘Well, it was free.’ He was a kid after my own heart.”
The young actor, Danza continued, ultimately left the program, but he was convinced to return. With the group’s help, he enrolled in the State University of New York’s outpost in the town of Purchase. Earlier this year, Daniel Bravo Hernandez made his Broadway debut in the cast of Romeo and Juliet.
But for Danza, that isn’t the best part of the story.
“So, the other night, I go to the [organization’s] headquarters on 39th Street, and he’s there teaching a class for younger kids.
“It’s like a community. It’s really terrific.”
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
Meek Mill sets hometown show
North Philadelphia-born rapper Meek Mill has booked a Dec. 5 concert at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The hip-hop star, whose real name is Robert Williams, is also a leading social-justice advocate. As co-chair of the Reform Alliance, he works to make the nation’s legal system more equitable for those facing charges.
The Dec. 5 concert will be his first hometown gig since he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his signature album, Nightmares & Dreams, at the South Philly arena in November 2022.
Supporting acts are to be announced. For tickets, go to livenation.com. ••
