Tony Ganios

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Tony Ganios (born October 21, 1959) is an American actor. He is probably best known for his roles as heroic tough-guy Perry in the 1979 film The Wanderers, and Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello in the 1981 comedy Porky's and its sequels.

Early life[]

Ganios was born on October 21st, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Greek and Italian ancestry. He has an older half brother Louis Ganios, who died on November 1st, 2014.

Career[]

Ganios was literally forced into the film business at the age of 18, his uncle Pete forced him to quit his powerlifting workout at the Lifting Session in Sheridan Square Gym in Manhattan to audition for director Phillip Kaufman. As a result, 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 1982 cult teen-sex comedy Porky's and its sequels. Ganios's breakout role led to typecasting: "I couldn’t go anywhere without some woman asking to see it in person. I literally became a piece of meat, which sent me into a dark drug-fueled depression."^[1]

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.

Ganios semi-retired from acting after Rising Sun to be an insurance agent in New York City, with brief appearances in three films between 1991 and 1993. where he revisited his matchstick chewing 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).^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, Ganios reunited with some of his Porky's co-stars to launch a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to produce a teen-sex comedy to be called Daddies' Girls.^{[citation needed]} As of 2017 the film has not been produced and its official website (daddiesgirlsthemovie.com) is inactive.

Filmography[]

Personal life[]

An ancient military history and period weapons expert, Ganios is one of Brazilian jiu jitsu pioneer and UFC founder Rorion Gracie's original students. Although retired from acting since 1993, in 2000 Tony and Police Academy veteran Leslie Easterbrook supplied voices for the low budget YouTube animated series "Bad Vlad" under the pseudonyms Nick Fury and Honour Lawrence in what he described as one of the most purely fun performances of his career. The 2014 feature film Daddies' Girls will not only mark Tony Ganios' return to the big screen, but his debut as a producer and screenwriter as well.

References[]

External links[]

• Tony Ganios at IMDb
• Tv guide
• Rottentomatoes
• Allstarbio