ANTHONY FRANCIOSA BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Anthony Franciosa was an American actor, commonly known as Tony Franciosa, who occupied a spot in Hollywood during its Golden Age. While his potential was regarded as high by those around him in his early debut of talent, he never fully lived up to his grandeur expectations because of his red hot temper and inability to handle so much fame. The actor was born October 25, 1928 in New York City as Anthony George Papaleo to Italian-American parents. His parents divorced when he was a year old, and he subsequently resided with just his mother and aunt. Upon graduation of high school, he visited a local YMCA to attend a dancing class. While there, he came across a posting for a play audition, and decided to give it a go. He adopted his mother’s maiden name (Franciosa) as his stage name, and began appearing in a number of theater productions.
He went professional, eventually reaching Broadway after having performed in over thirty shows. While in New York, he attended classes at the Actors Studio, and in 1955 was finally noticed for one of the workshop’s productions, a drug-addiction play called “A Hatful of Rain”. It was so successful that it moved to Broadway, and earned Franciosa an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nod. Hollywood also detected the young star, and beckoned for him to appear in his first motion picture, “This Could Be the Night” (1957), in which he starred as a nightclub owner. “A Face in the Crowd” (1957) came next, about a homeless man who becomes an overnight sensation. He reprised his role of Polo Pope, the brother of a heroin addict, in the film version of “A Hatful of Rain” (1957), and did so well that he was nominated as Best Actor for an Academy Award.
The actor followed up his superb acting job with a bunch of A-list features, including George Cukor’s “Wild is the Wind” (1957), Martin Ritt’s “The Long, Hot Summer” (1958), the Henry Koster drama “The Naked Maja” (1958), and Joseph Anthony’s “Career” (1959). He also worked with a lot of big names, like Rita Hayworth in the courtroom drama “Story On Page One” (1960), Jane Fonda in the comedy “Period of Adjustment” (1962), Richard Boone and Stuart Whitman in the popular westerner “Rio Conchos” (1964), and Ann-Margaret and Carol Lynley in the musical romance “The Pleasure Seekers” (1964).
Around this time he also began making regular television appearances on various shows such as “The Dick Powell Theatre” (1963), “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1963), “Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre” (1964), and others. From 1964-1965 he had his first reoccurring part as Valentine Farrow in the sitcom “Valentine’s Day”. After appearing in a few movies, “A Man Could Get Killed” (1966), “Assault on a Queen” (1966) also starring Frank Sinatra, and “The Swinger” (1966), the actor starred in a TV film called “Fame Is the Name of the Game” (1966). It was later picked up as a show, “The Name of the Game” (1968), but Franciosa was fired only two seasons in because of his temper, which he later contributed to his immaturity and incapability of handling his new stardom. Looking back at his career in a 1996 interview, he stated “It was an incredible amount of attention, and I wasn’t quite mature enough psychologically and emotionally for it.”
The actor continued to perform in various series, as well as a great number of films, after NBC released him from the show. He made appearances on a fair amount of television programs, as well as starred in the Aaron Spelling produced drama series, “Finder of Lost Loves” (1984-85). Such movies he acted in during later years include the horror “Tenebre” (1982), thriller “Fashion Crimes” (1989), drama “Backstreet Dreams” (1990) with Brooke Shields, Spanish “El caçador furtiu” (1995), and his final picture, the drama “City Hall” (1996), which boasted actors John Cusack and Al Pacino. His last onscreen appearance was on an episode of the drama series “Della Ventura” (1997).
Days after suffering a massive stroke, on January 19, 2006, Franciosa died at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
1997 Dellaventura
1996 City Hall
1995 El caçador furtiu
1993 Double Threat
1990 Backstreet Dreams
1989 Ghost Writer
1989 The Twilight Zone
1989 Fashion Crimes
1988 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1988 Jake and the Fatman
1987 Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife
1987 Death House
1986 The Love Boat
1986 Hotel
1986 Stagecoach
1984 Finder of Lost Loves
1984 Masquerade
1983 Julie Darling
1982 Tenebre
1982 Death Wish II
1982 Kiss My Grits
1981 Side Show
1981 Tales of the Unexpected
1981 Aiutami a sognare
1980 La cicala
1979 The World Is Full of Married Men
1979 Firepower
1978 Wheels
1977 Aspen
1977 Curse of the Black Widow
1975 Matt Helm
1975 The Drowning Pool
1974 This Is the West That Was
1973 Ghost in the Noonday Sun
1972 Search
1972 Across 110th Street
1972 The Catcher
1971 Earth II
1971 The Deadly Hunt
1971 Web of the Spider
1970 The Virginian
1968 The Name of the Game
1968 In Enemy Country
1968 The Sweet Ride
1968 A Man Called Gannon
1967 Fathom
1966 Fame Is the Name of the Game
1966 The Swinger
1966 Assault on a Queen
1966 A Man Could Get Killed
1964 Valentine's Day
1964 The Pleasure Seekers
1964 Rio Conchos
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963 The Greatest Show on Earth
1963 Breaking Point
1963 Arrest and Trial
1963 Naked City
1963 The DuPont Show of the Week
1963 The Dick Powell Theatre
1962 Period of Adjustment
1962 Careless
1961 Go Naked in the World
1960 The DuPont Show of the Month
1960 Hallmark Hall of Fame
1959 The Story on Page One
1959 Career
1958 The Naked Maja
1958 The Long, Hot Summer
1957 Wild Is the Wind
1957 A Hatful of Rain
1957 A Face in the Crowd
1957 This Could Be the Night
1956 Ford Star Jubilee
1955 Kraft Theatre
1955 Studio One in Hollywood
1954 Goodyear Playhouse
