| Tony Franciosa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony George Papaleo October 25, 1928 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 2006 (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1955–2006 |
| Spouse | Beatrice Bakalyar (m. 1952–1957) Shelley Winters (m. 1957–1960) Judy Balaban (m. 1961–1967) Rita Thiel (m. 1970–2006) |
Anthony Franciosa (October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career.
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Born as Anthony George Papaleo to Italian-American parents, and raised by his mother and aunt, he adopted his mother's maiden name (Franciosa) as his professional name.[1]
In 1948 he joined the Cherry Lane Theatre Group off Broadway (at the same time as actress Beatrice Arthur). Before he became successful at acting, he worked a variety of jobs which included being a waiter, dishwasher, day laborer, and messenger boy. Several years later he garnered rave reviews and a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway performance of the play A Hatful of Rain.
When he reprised his role in the film version in 1957, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He followed that with roles in several major films, including A Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal, Career with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, The Long Hot Summer with Paul Newman and Orson Welles, Period of Adjustment with Jane Fonda, The Pleasure Seekers with Ann-Margret and Carol Lynley, Fathom in 1967 with Raquel Welch, The Drowning Pool with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and Rio Conchos with Richard Boone and Stuart Whitman.He also appeared in a prominent co-starring role in the Frank Sinatra film 'Assault on A Queen' (1966) and was later in the seventies film of Jackie Collins book 'The World is Full of Married Men'.
He guest-starred in such television series as Jack Palance's circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth, which aired on ABC from 1963–1964. That same season, he appeared in the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point.
Producer David Dortort was on the verge of casting him as Cameron Mitchell's best friend and brother-in-law, Manolito Montoya, on the western, The High Chaparral, if Henry Darrow did not make it in time. Unfortunately for Franciosa, he lost the part, because Darrow had arrived on the set, right on time, before filming was about to begin, in two weeks.[2]
Eager to act in any medium, he became a series lead in Valentine's Day, The Name of the Game (and its pilot TV-movie Fame Is the Name of the Game), as Lead role of Charismatic but doggedly determined star reporter 'Jeff Dillon', alternating the regular Lead spot with Gene Barry and Robert Stack, plus a further alternating Lead Role (this time alongside Hugh O'Brien and Doug McClure) as agent 'Nick Bianco' in 'Search', and Matt Helm. In the 1980s he starred in the Aaron Spelling-produced series Finder of Lost Loves. Franciosa also made notable guest star appearances as a villian in the western series 'The Virginian' (episode: 'Holocaust' aka 'The Shiloh Years') and later 'The Men From Shiloh', plus was star of the 'Theatre of Stars' episode; 'A Case of Armed Robbery' convincingly playing a man with feelings of alienation from society driven to crime.
He was married four times, and had three children. His most famous wife was Oscar-winning actress Shelley Winters; they were married from May 4, 1957 until their divorce in 1960. They had no children. Her death preceded his by 5 days.
His first wife, Beatrice Bakalyar, was a writer. They were married for five years from 1952 to 1957. The marriage ended in divorce.
His third wife, the former Judith Balaban, is the author of the book The Bridesmaids, about her friend Princess Grace of Monaco, in whose wedding she served as a bridesmaid. This marriage produced Franciosa's only daughter, Nina.
His last wife (from November 27, 1970 until his death in 2006) was Rita Theil, by whom he had two sons, Marco and Christopher. Christopher Franciosa is an actor. Marco Franciosa is an organic farmer.
During his later years, Tony lived in Brentwood, a district in West Los Angeles.
On January 19, 2006, Anthony Franciosa died at age 77 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California after suffering a massive stroke. His death came only five days after that of his ex-wife Shelley Winters (Franciosa suffered the stroke the day Winters died - January 14). He is survived by his wife, Rita, his children, Nina, Christopher and Marco and his grandchildren, Ruby and Cassius Franciosa.
Rita, when asked about Anthony's hair-trigger temper said, "He was never taught how to control his temper ... I changed him a lot ... We still have good fights once in a while, but I can scream back at him."
Source: People Weekly, March 18, 1996 v45 n11 p73
Tony, reflecting about Rita's influence on him, said; "It took years of therapy and simply living through things to finally accept and enjoy myself. My wife Rita's influence has been profound in that process. Her family was a product of The Great Disaster — World War II. She emerged from the flames with a remarkable buoyancy. Each day she rises with an optimism, a serenity toward life that is certainly contagious. Does that sound romantic? If so, so be it."
Source: TV Heaven
Winters won an Academy Award in 1960, and later said "The night I won my first Oscar my husband took one look at it and I knew my marriage was over."
Tony Franciosa is name-dropped on the 1992 Tom Waits album Bone Machine. On the 10th track "Goin' Out West", Waits, in character claims: "Tony Franciosa used to date my mom."
In his auto-biography, "The Garner Files" actor James Garner stated that Tony Franciosa on the set of "A Man Could Get Killed" constantly abused the stunt crew. "He purposely wasn't pulling his punches during fight scenes, and he kept doing it despite my warnings to stop...so I had to pop him one." [3]
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