Tony Tarantino
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
Tony Tarantino | |
|---|---|
 Tarantino in 2009 | |
| Born | July 4, 1940 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 2023 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Children | Quentin Tarantino |
Tony Tarantino (/ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/; July 4, 1940 – December 8, 2023) was an American actor. He was the father of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.[1][2]
Life and career
Tarantino was born in New York City, the son of Elizabeth Jean (née Salvaggio) and Dominic James Tarantino, both of Italian ancestry.[3][4][5]
In a 2017 interview, Tony Tarantino spoke of an incident in 1960 when he was 20 years old and talent agent Henry Willson offered him acting opportunities and a lavish lifestyle in exchange for gay sex.[2] Shocked, Tarantino says he punched Willson in the face, knocking Willson to the ground. After Willson got up he told Tarantino he would never work in Hollywood or New York again as an actor. Tarantino stated he was thereafter quickly fired from his role on the western television series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.[2] Tarantino changed his name to Tony Maro and booked several acting jobs with Paramount as an extra, but says he was thrown off the lot within two hours once his true identity was discovered.[2]
Tarantino was the father of film director Quentin Tarantino. During a 2010 interview, the younger Tarantino said: "Well, I never knew my father [...] That's the thing. I never knew him [...] He wanted to be an actor [...] Now he's an actor only because he has my last name. But he was never part of my life. I didn't know him. I've never met him."[6]
Tarantino produced such films as Prism[7] and Underbelly Blues.[8]
Death
Tony Tarantino died in Los Angeles on December 8, 2023, at the age of 83.[9]
Position on police brutality
In October 2015, his son Quentin Tarantino received backlash from police unions after speaking at an anti-police brutality rally in New York, saying: "I have to call the murderers the murderers." The elder Tarantino responded, saying he had relatives in the police and that what Quentin had said was "dead wrong".[7]
Filmography
As producer
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Underbelly Blues |
| 2012 | Mediterranean Blue |
As director
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Blood Money |
As actor
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1999 | It's the Rage |
| Family Tree | |
| Holy Hollywood | |
| 2003 | Blood Money |
| 2008 | Harvest Moon |
| 2011 | Underbelly Blues |
| 2012 | Mediterranean Blue |
References
- ^ "Tony Tarantino". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Sblendorio, Peter (November 11, 2017). "Quentin Tarantino's dad Tony claims Hollywood agent tried to sign him in exchange for sex". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Le origini meridionali di Quentin Tarantino, genio indiscusso del cinema contemporaneo". May 27, 2020.
- ^ "Tarantino Productions". www.tarantinoproductions.com.
- ^ "Quentin Tarantino e le sue origini italiane: Ecco di dov'è la sua famiglia".
- ^ Secher, Benjamin (February 8, 2010). "Quentin Tarantino interview: 'All my movies are achingly personal'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Pulver, Andrew (January 27, 2016). "Tarantino's father to donate to police: 'Quentin's ignorance really upset me'". The Guardian.
- ^ Lanier, Hunter (April 1, 2018). "Underbelly Blues". Film Threat.
- ^ "Tony Tarantino". Legacy.com. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
External links
- 1940 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American composers
- 21st-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male musicians
- American cinematographers
- American male composers
- American film producers
- American male film actors
- American television actors
- English-language film directors
- Male actors from New York City
- People from Queens, New York
- American people of Italian descent
- Quentin Tarantino