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Tony 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
editTony Ganios was of Greek ancestry. He 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 Emmy Award-winning 1980s TV series Wiseguy as muscular mob lawyer 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.
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]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Wanderers | Perry LaGuardia | Debut as an actor and his first collaboration with director Philip Kaufman and actor Ken Wahl. |
| 1981 | Back Roads | Bartini | |
| 1981 | Continental Divide | Max Bernbaum | |
| 1981 | Porky's | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | |
| 1983 | Porky's II: The Next Day | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | |
| 1984 | Body Rock | Big Mac | |
| 1985 | Porky's Revenge! | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | |
| 1987 (TV Series) | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Simons | Episode: "Any Number Can Play" |
| 1988 (TV Series) | The Equalizer | Sergio | Episode: "Video Games" |
| 1989-1990 (TV Series) | Wiseguy | Mike "Mooch" Cacciatore | Five episodes. Second collaboration with Ken Wahl. |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Baker | |
| 1991 | The Taking of Beverly Hills | EPA Man | Third collaboration with Ken Wahl. |
| 1992 (TV Movie) | Ring of the Musketeers | Tony | |
| 1993 | Rising Sun | Doorman guard (Perry) | Last appearance as an actor and his second collaboration with director Philip Kaufman. |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Tony Ganios: The gentle giant who was a renaissance man". NEO. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
External links
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