Tony Musante, a dashing and talented Italian-American actor, was born on June 30, 1936, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to an accountant father and a school teacher mother. He pursued higher education at both Northwestern University and Oberlin College, where he developed a strong foundation for his future endeavors.
Before embarking on his acting career, Tony worked as a school teacher, which gave him a unique perspective on human nature. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1960 and eventually transitioned to film in 1965 with his role in "Once a Thief." His breakthrough performance came in 1967 with his chilling portrayal of Joe Ferrone in the gritty and intense "The Incident," a role he had previously played in the made-for-TV drama "Ride With Terror." For his outstanding performance, Tony won the Best Actor award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival.
Tony's impressive filmography includes a range of notable roles in both American and Italian productions. He played the memorable character of Paco Roman, a brash Mexican revolutionary, in the superior spaghetti Western "The Mercenary" and Sam Dalmas, an imperiled American writer, in Dario Argento's masterful giallo murder mystery thriller "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage." He also had notable roles as a Mafioso, including a genuinely frightening performance as Paul Rickard, a vicious hit man, in "The Last Run" and a spot-on portrayal of Eddie Hagan, a smooth heel, in Robert Aldrich's gritty "The Grissom Gang."
In addition to his film work, Tony had a successful television career, with notable roles in the gritty cable TV prison drama "Oz" and the short-lived TV series "Toma," where he played the lead role of Dave Toma, a real-life chameleon-like New Jersey cop. After leaving "Toma" due to creative differences with the producers, the show was rebranded as "Baretta" with Robert Blake in the lead.
Throughout his career, Tony had guest spots on various TV shows, including "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Fugitive," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "The Rockford Files," "Medical Story," "Police Story," "The Equalizer," "Night Heat," and "Nothing Sacred." He also had a recurring part on the popular daytime soap opera "As The World Turns." On stage, Tony appeared in the Broadway productions of "P.S., Your Cat Is Dead!," "A Memory of Two Mondays/27 Wagons Full of Cotton," and "The Lady from Dubuque."
Tony Musante received numerous award nominations for his outstanding performances, including an Emmy nomination for his work on the episode "The Quality of Mercy" in the TV series "Medical Story." He passed away on November 26, 2013, at the age of 77, leaving behind a legacy of memorable performances in both film and television.
