Tony Tarantino
Tony Tarantino (born July 4, 1940) is an American actor and producer. He is the father of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.[1][2]
Tony Tarantino | |
|---|---|
 Tarantino in 2009 | |
| Born | July 4, 1940 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Children | Quentin Tarantino |
Life and career
Tarantino was born in New York City, the son of Elizabeth Jean and Dominic James Tarantino, both of southern Italian ancestry.[3][4][5] In a 2017 interview, Tony Tarantino spoke of an incident in 1960 when he was 20 years old and talent agent Henry Willson offered him acting opportunities and a lavish lifestyle in exchange for gay sex.[2] Shocked, Tarantino says he punched Willson in the face, knocking Willson to the ground. After Willson got up he told Tarantino he'd never work in Hollywood or New York again as an actor. Tarantino stated he was thereafter quickly fired from his role on the TV western series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.[2] Tarantino changed his name to Tony Maro and booked several acting jobs with Paramount as an extra, but says he was thrown off the lot within two hours once his true identity was discovered.[2]
Tarantino is the father of film director Quentin Tarantino. During a 2010 interview, the younger Tarantino said: "Well, I never knew my father [...] That's the thing. I never knew him [...] He wanted to be an actor [...] Now he's an actor only because he has my last name. But he was never part of my life. I didn't know him. I've never met him."[6]
Tarantino has produced such films as Prism[7] and Underbelly Blues.[8]
Political positions
In October 2015, his son Quentin Tarantino received backlash from police unions after speaking at an anti-police brutality rally in New York, saying: "I have to call the murderers the murderers." Tarantino responded, saying he had relatives in the police and that what Quentin had said was "dead wrong".[7]
Filmography
As director
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Blood Money |
References
- "Tony Tarantino". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013.
- Sblendorio, Peter (November 11, 2017). "Quentin Tarantino's dad Tony claims Hollywood agent tried to sign him in exchange for sex". New York Daily News.
- "Le origini meridionali di Quentin Tarantino, genio indiscusso del cinema contemporaneo". May 27, 2020.
- "Tarantino Productions". www.tarantinoproductions.com.
- "Quentin Tarantino e le sue origini italiane: Ecco di dov'è la sua famiglia".
- Secher, Benjamin (February 8, 2010). "Quentin Tarantino interview: 'All my movies are achingly personal'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- Pulver, Andrew (January 27, 2016). "Tarantino's father to donate to police: 'Quentin's ignorance really upset me'". The Guardian.
- Lanier, Hunter (April 1, 2018). "Underbelly Blues". Film Threat.