Tony Danza made a name for himself in the ’80s in sitcoms like Taxi and Who’s the Boss?. More than four decades on, Tony is still booked and busy and is celebrating his milestone 75th birthday.
While he was climbing through the ranks in Hollywood in his 20s as cab driver Tony Banta, off-screen, the star was also juggling being a father. Tony welcomed his first child, a son named Marc Anthony, when he was 19 years old. But did you know that his son not only followed in his footsteps to become a child actor, but he actually starred alongside his famous dad on Taxi?
Tony has also gone on to welcome daughters Gina, Katherine, and Emily. “There’s an old saying, ‘You’re only as happy as your least happy child.’ And it’s very true,” Tony recently opened up to US Weekly about fatherhood.
Tony has gone on to welcomed daughters Gina, Katherine, and Emily. “There’s an old saying, ‘You’re only as happy as your least happy child.’ And it’s very true,” Tony recently opened up to US Weekly about fatherhood.
“And I’m just really lucky, I’m actually enjoying the gift of the happiness of my children, because they’re hard workers they strive, and that’s what I and everybody who meets me says: ‘Boy, your kids have such good manners. You did something, right.’”
He added: “I feel really good about [that]. It’s really something.” Read on for all you need to know about the actor’s private family life as a dad.
His son was a child actor
© Getty ImagesTony and his ex-wife Rhonda Yeoman welcomed their son Marc in 1971. Tony booked his role on Taxi in 1978, and a year later, his then seven-year-old son joined him on-screen for a small role in the sitcom. Marc guest-starred as Brian Sims for two episodes in the second season.
However, his dad had been reluctant about his son getting into acting at such a young age. Tony once said he was “adamant that he shouldn’t act as a child”.
“I just didn’t think I just don’t think it’s the best thing for kids,” he said in an old interview. However, he later changed his tune. “I look back at that I wonder though because he was so talented,” Tony said, praising his son as “really good”.
“I mean it’s unbelievable the way he gets laughs,” he added.
These days, Marc, now around 55, is all grown up and a dad himself. In 2017, Tony looked back on the time he worked alongside his son on Taxi, and shared a throwback photo of them together on the sitcom set. “Hanging with my son Marc on the set of Taxi. Now he’s got two boys of his own!” he wrote on Instagram.
© Getty Images for AARPHe has 3 grown-up daughters
As well as having a son, Tony is a girl dad. The actor shares a rarely-seen daughter named Gina with his ex Rhonda. He also has two other daughters – Katherine, 38, and Emily, 33 – with his second wife, Tracy Robinson.
© Getty ImagesGina keeps a very low-profile, however, Tony’s younger daughter Katherine has found herself surrounded by Hollywood stars thanks to her work as a freelance celebrity makeup artist and beauty consultant. Katherine has worked with the likes of The O.C actress Rachel Bilson and Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester. Meanwhile, Tony’s other daughter Emily has chosen a different career path as a professional yogi.
Tony previously spoke about how “important” it was to him to be a good father. “Our kids are our legacy and and it’s up to us to groom them for a tough life, and they gotta have character and they got to be responsible, and that’s our responsibility” he said on Good Day!.
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