Tony Ganios
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
Article ImagesTony Ganios (October 21, 1959 – February 18, 2024) was an American actor.[1][2] He played the tough guy Perry in the 1979 film The Wanderers, and Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello in the 1981 comedy Porky's and its sequels.
Tony Ganios | |
---|---|
Tony Ganios in Porky's 1981 | |
Born | October 21, 1959 |
Died | February 18, 2024 (aged 64) New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1979–2024 (semi-retired in 1993) |
Life and career
Tony Ganios made his debut appearance as tough guy Perry in The Wanderers. In 1981, he played a former football player turned mountain man in the John Belushi film Continental Divide.
Soon after, Ganios starred in the 1981 cult teen-sex comedy Porky's and its two sequels.
Ganios appeared in five episodes of the 1980s TV series Wiseguy as Mike "Mooch" Cacciatore, and he made a guest appearance in an episode of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. In 1990, Ganios appeared as a mercenary in Die Hard 2, casually murdering a church caretaker and memorably meeting his death when Bruce Willis stabs him in the eye with an icicle.
After brief appearances in three films between 1991 and 1993, Ganios semi-retired from acting. One of those films was Rising Sun, where he revisited his matchstick-chewing The Wanderers hero as an adversary for Sean Connery. He is also known for his recurring comedic role as a muscular mob lawyer on the Emmy Award winning series Wiseguy (1987).
Ganios died of heart failure on February 18, 2024, at the age of 64, after being hospitalized for a spinal cord infection.[1][2][3] His uncle Pete was a great influence on Ganios for staying fit and eating healthy. He is remembered for being a gentle giant and for his movies[3]
Filmography
References
- ^ a b "Tony Ganios Dies: 'Porky's', 'The Wanderers' Actor Was 64". Deadline. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "Tony Ganios, Star of 'Porky's,' Dies at 64". Variety. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "Tony Ganios: The gentle giant who was a renaissance man". NEO. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024. Cite error: The named reference "Neo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
"Tony Ganios:The gentle giant who was a renaissance man" Neo Magazine. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.