Tony Danza Hints at a ‘Who’s the Boss?’ Return

Veteran actor, 73, calls former co-star Judith Light the ‘G.O.A.T.’: ‘I love her’

Gayle Jo Carter,

AARP

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Published December 06, 2024

John Russo

Tony Danza, 73, takes his “responsibility” as the wise elder seriously, whether it’s his own children and grandchildren, the young actors he shares the screen with, or the teen actors in his Stars of Tomorrow Project, a free youth developmental organization.

“It’s important that the older generation gives the younger generation the benefit of their wisdom whether they want it or not,” Danza says. “Because maybe something sticks.”

Danza, who has a long-running touring cabaret show, and who returns to series TV in Starz's Power Book III: Raising Kanan in early 2025, talks with AARP about the challenges of staying in shape as the body ages; how Frank Sinatra made an impact on his life; and the magic behind Who’s the Boss?

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How are you?

I’m thinking about that very famous old saying that “You’re only as happy as your least happy child,” and right now I’m sort of enjoying the gift of my children’s happiness — all three of them [Marc Anthony, 53; Katherine, 37; Emily 32] are in great shape. It’s thrilling.

Amazing. And I heard you were expecting another grandchild?

Yes. I’m getting a new baby girl in January. We’re waiting on that. That’ll be my third grandchild [Marc’s sons: Nicholas, 19; Lucas, 13]. And my first girl and my daughter’s [Katherine] having the baby — I’m very excited.

What’s Tony Danza like as a grandpa?

I’m in their ear a lot. It’s really important. I lost my father when I was 32, and that’s when you are ready to listen to your father — he was gone. I feel this responsibility, especially to my own grandkids, but the kids in general, to warn them, to give them the benefit of the mistakes you’ve made and to let them know what they’re going to be facing. For instance, you know I was a fighter, right? All right, so I was a big puncher, and because of that, I’m suffering with arthritis in my wrists. And what bothers me is that I was surrounded by all these old-timers in the great New York gyms and that not one of them said: “You know, take it easy with those. You don’t have to hit them hard at all. You’ve got to hit them right. You’re going to suffer maybe as you get older.” No one, nobody said anything. And that bothered me.

So you’re the “lessons learned” grandpa?

I just think it’s our responsibility to do that. It’s important that the older generation gives the younger generation the benefit of their wisdom, whether they want it or not. Because maybe something sticks. I got a picture. It’s my favorite picture. It’s me in my grandson’s ear. I’m leaning over and he’s got this look on his face like, “Ah God, again.” And I’m just pouring it on.

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Do they — or did your own kids — have any interest in acting or singing?

Nicky’s mostly sports. He’s a ballplayer. I hold out hope for Luke. He’s very funny. He’s one of those kids that can charm you. He’s got that about him. Emily would have been great; she’s a comedian. When Marc was young, he was with me when I was doing Taxi, and he was about 8 years old. He read for The Bad News Bears, which was a series that came out about that time, and he got the part. I nixed it because I didn’t want him to be an actor at 9, at 8 or 9. Eighteen would sound good, but 8 didn’t sound good to me. I’m a little dubious about kids doing it.

Yet you worked with young kids [Alyssa Milano and Danny Pintauro on Who’s the Boss?] How was that?

I made it my business to make sure … that their grades were important. We put them up on the refrigerator. You can either treat them like kids or you can treat them like other actors. Because that’s what they are. They have to work, they gotta do a job. And so some people have enough of their own problems that they don’t wanna bother, but you have to treat kids like kids when you’re in that situation. That’s why a lot of those kids end up — Who’s the Boss? was right next door to Diff’rent Strokes. And those kids had a very different outcome. So it’s important — it matters who you end up working with, too.

Tony Danza performs "Sinatra & Stories" at the Café Carlyle in New York.

Jesse Bauer

You had your own mentor in Frank Sinatra. How did this come about?

He has informed my life. I met him in 1981. It was in Cannonball Run II, the movie. He was doing the movie and I was in that movie.… He did Who’s the Boss? He took me with him on things. He had me around him. He just treated me like a million — he was unbelievable. And then, I got to introduce him to my mother. What else can you do?

You wrote your second show, Sinatra & Stories (Dec. 10-15 at the Café Carlyle in New York City) with Sinatra as your inspiration. How do you prepare?

Yeah, especially at this AARP stage of my life! I’m somebody that stays in shape. I believe in that. And especially if you’re singing, you have to take care of your body, because your voice is connected to it and you really do need sleep and you need to work out and … you got to vocalize. You have to keep yourself in tune. It’s like tuning your instrument basically, and I do a lot of that. So I’m always training and you still like to live, but you just try to take care of yourself a little bit.

Have you had to give up anything in your routine as you’ve gotten older?

I don’t do crazy physical stuff too much anymore. I wouldn’t box anymore. I wouldn’t do that anymore. I don’t skate anymore. I’m a little bit more careful with my physical situation. I turned 73 and I was doing an interview, and a guy said to me “How does it feel to turn 73?” I was like, “You dirty …” and then I said, “It feels like I live in a bad neighborhood and anything can happen.” It’s actually kind of true. And so you just gotta be a little bit careful, especially when you’re getting close to the engagement. Last week we were in Detroit, the week before we were in Ohio. We travel and do these shows all over the country.

Your December show, Sinatra & Stories, sold out, and they extended the run. What’s the secret to its success?

I got a great band, and we work very hard to be ready. The most exciting part is that I wrote [Sinatra & Stories], and it works. My first show — Standards & Stories — I’ve been doing since 2015, and it works every time. The most important thing about cabaret is not how great you sing, not how funny it is, it’s about the connection you make with the audience. And that takes work. That’s where the work comes in. And you get it to a point where they really don’t get a chance to think. They just have a chance to just enjoy themselves for the 75 or 80 minutes, whatever it is.

Tony Danza and Judith Light in "Who's the Boss?"

Craig Sjodin/Columbia Pictures Television/Courtesy Everett Collection

I chatted with Judith Light just a few weeks ago, and she couldn't stop talking about you and Who's the Boss? How do you look back on it?

She’s the greatest of all time. She’s the G.O.A.T. It’s always about who you end up with. That’s the greatest luck. I’ve said this a million times that the biggest star in the world — put them in a show — if you don’t have the right partner, it’s over. And so she was the right partner. She could cry out of one eye and wink at you with the other. I love her.

Would you want to go back and revisit any of your old characters?

There is still talk about them bringing Who’s the Boss? back. And I think in some kind of a wacky way it could be an interesting show, because I have a feeling Tony is by this time a little set in his ways, and Alyssa would probably be set in her ways, so that might be an interesting dichotomy. But no — I want to do something else. I’m playing a bad guy in Power Book III: Raising Kanan [Starz]. I can’t wait for people to see it.

Tony Danza with Patina Miller in "Power Book III: Raising Kanan."

Cara Howe/Starz/Courtesy Everett Collection

Is there anyone you still want to work with?

I’d love to work with Danny DeVito again. That’s the great thing about the business … you do end up working with incredible people. The people on Kanan, I can’t believe some of the actors. I’m working with Wendell Pierce. Everybody from him to Joey Bada$$, who is unbelievable. It’s just wonderful, really exciting and fast-paced. It’s like a movie. I hope people will see it, because I really like it.

And you’re playing a bad guy, and you're notoriously a good guy. What’s it like?

I know the territory, so it’s not that different. I come from East New York and Brooklyn. My name’s Danza.

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Gayle Jo Carter is a former entertainment editor at USA WEEKEND, who during her 30-year reporting and editing career, has worked at USA TODAY, Voice of America and Feature Story News. When not interviewing high-profile people, she’s teaching reformer Pilates classes and doing her best to raise two empathetic, curious, healthy young people to adulthood.