Anthony Franciosa

Tony Franciosa
Franciosa in 1969
Born
Anthony George Papaleo

(1928-10-25)October 25, 1928
New York City, NY, U.S.
DiedJanuary 19, 2006(2006-01-19) (aged 77)
Other namesTony Franciosa
OccupationActor
Years active1955–1996
Spouses
  • Beatrice Bakalyar
    (m. 1952; div. 1957)
  • (m. 1957; div. 1960)
  • (m. 1961; div. 1967)
  • Rita Thiel
    (m. 1970)
Children3
AwardsTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
1956 A Hatful of Rain

Volpi Cup for Best Actor
1957 A Hatful of Rain

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1960 Career

Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of the drug addict in the play A Hatful of Rain, which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised his role in its subsequent film adaptation, for which he won the 1957 Venice Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.[1]

After relocating to Hollywood he made numerous feature films, including A Face in the Crowd (1957), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), and Career (1959), for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor.[2] In television, he played lead roles in five television series: the sitcom Valentine's Day (1964–65), drama The Name of the Game (1968–71), Search (1972–73), Matt Helm (1975), and Finder of Lost Loves (1984).[3] Later in his career, he acted primarily in Europe, starring in the erotic drama The Cricket (1980) and Dario Argento's giallo Tenebrae (1982).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Anthony Franciosa". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Vallance, Tom (January 23, 2006). "Anthony Franciosa; Temperamental leading man". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved May 22, 2019.