Tony Tarantino

Tony Tarantino
Born (1940-07-04) July 4, 1940
Queens, New York, United States
Occupation Actor
Children Quentin Tarantino

Tony Tarantino (born July 4, 1940) is an American actor and father of Quentin Tarantino.[1][2]

Life and career

Tarantino was born in Queens, New York on July 4, 1940, to Elizabeth and Dominic Tarantino (1915–2004), a World War ll veteran.

He 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."[3]

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, Tony Tarantino claims he punched Willson in the face, knocking Willson to the ground. After Willson got up he told Tony Tarantino he'd never work in Hollywood or New York again as an actor. Tarantino claimed he was 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 claims he was thrown off the lot within two hours once his true identity was discovered.[2]

Police brutality controversy

In October 2015, 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." Tony Tarantino responded, saying he had relatives in the police and that what Quentin Tarantino did and said was "dead wrong".[4][5]


Filmography

As producer

Year Title
2012 Mediterranean Blue
2011 Underbelly Blues

As director

Year Title
2003 Blood Money

As actor

Year Title
2012 Mediterranean Blue
2011 Underbelly Blues
2008 Harvest Moon
2003 Blood Money
1999 It's The Rage
Family Tree
Holy Hollywood

References

  1. ↑ "Tony Tarantino". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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.
  3. ↑ Secher, Benjamin (February 8, 2010). "Quentin Tarantino interview: 'All my movies are achingly personal'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  4. ↑ The Guardian
  5. ↑ New York Post
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