| Tony Ganios | |
| Yearsactive: | 1979–2024 (semi-retired in 1993) |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Birth Date: | 21 October 1959 |
| Death Place: | New York, U.S. |
Tony Ganios (October 21, 1959 – February 18, 2024) was an American actor.[1] He played the tough guy Perry in the 1979 film The Wanderers, and Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello in the 1981 comedy Porky's and its sequels.
Tony Ganios was of Greek ancestry. He made his debut appearance as tough guy Perry in The Wanderers. In 1981, he played a former football player turned mountain man in the John Belushi film Continental Divide.
Soon after, Ganios starred in the 1981 cult teen-sex comedy Porky's and its two sequels.
Ganios appeared in five episodes of the Emmy Award-winning 1980s TV series Wiseguy as muscular mob lawyer Mike "Mooch" Cacciatore, and he made a guest appearance in an episode of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. In 1990, Ganios appeared as a mercenary in Die Hard 2, casually murdering a church caretaker and memorably meeting his death when Bruce Willis stabs him in the eye with an icicle.
After brief appearances in three films between 1991 and 1993, Ganios semi-retired from acting. One of those films was Rising Sun, where he revisited his matchstick-chewing The Wanderers hero as an adversary for Sean Connery.
Ganios died of heart failure on February 18, 2024, at the age of 64, after being hospitalized for a spinal cord infection.[1] [2] [3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Wanderers | Perry LaGuardia | Debut as an actor and his first collaboration with director Philip Kaufman and actor Ken Wahl. |
| 1981 | Back Roads | Bartini | |
| 1981 | Continental Divide | Max Bernbaum | |
| 1981 | Porky's | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | |
| 1983 | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | ||
| 1984 | Body Rock | Big Mac | |
| 1985 | Porky's Revenge! | Anthony "Meat" Tuperello | |
| 1987 (TV Series) | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Simons | Episode: "Any Number Can Play" |
| 1988 (TV Series) | The Equalizer | Sergio | Episode: "Video Games" |
| 1989-1990 (TV Series) | Wiseguy | Mike "Mooch" Cacciatore | Five episodes. Second collaboration with Ken Wahl. |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Baker | |
| 1991 | The Taking of Beverly Hills | EPA Man | Third collaboration with Ken Wahl. |
| 1992 (TV Movie) | Tony | ||
| 1993 | Rising Sun | Doorman guard (Perry) | Last appearance as an actor and his second collaboration with director Philip Kaufman. |
"Tony Ganios:The gentle giant who was a renaissance man" Neo Magazine. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.