Tony_Tarantino
Tony Tarantino
American actor and producer (1940–2023)
Tony Tarantino (/ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/; July 4, 1940 – December 8, 2023) was an American actor and producer. He was the father of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.[1][2]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
Tony Tarantino | |
|---|---|
 Tarantino in 2009 | |
| Born | (1940-07-04)July 4, 1940 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 2023(2023-12-08) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Children | Quentin Tarantino |
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 would never work in Hollywood or New York again as an actor. Tarantino stated he was thereafter quickly fired from his role on the western television 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 was 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 produced such films as Prism[7] and Underbelly Blues.[8]
Tony Tarantino died in Los Angeles on December 8, 2023, at the age of 83.[9]
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]
As producer
As director
As actor
- "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.
- "Tarantino Productions". www.tarantinoproductions.com.
- 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.
- "Tony Tarantino". Legacy. Retrieved December 24, 2023.