Tony Danza still thinks about the night Frank Sinatra yelled at him \u2014\u00a030 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was singing to him,\u201d Danza recalled of Ol\u2019 Blue Eyes\u2019 1995 televised 80th birthday tribute, talking to The Post while sitting amidst a flurry of Frank memorabilia in his Upper West Side apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, I didn\u2019t really sing \u2014 except for in the shower. But Frank liked my performance, though afterwards it looked like he was losing his balance, because he was perched on these high steps. So I put my hands under him and then he threw his elbow back and almost got me in the chin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Chairman of the Board turned and snarled. <\/p>\n
Tony Danza shares stories from his lengthy career \u2014\u00a0and his storied relationship with Frank Sinatra \u2014\u00a0in his current cabaret act at Cafe Carlyle in NYC. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
\u201cBack off! What\u2019s your problem?\u201d Danza remembers him saying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201cWho\u2019s the Boss\u201d and \u201cTaxi\u201d actor was shocked \u2014\u00a0but Sinatra\u2019s burly longtime confidante Jilly Rizzo said to just shrug it off.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe pulls me aside and said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it, Tony. That\u2019s how you know Frank likes you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Snag yourself a ticket to Danza\u2019s popular and typically sold-out NYC cabaret show, \u201cSinatra and Stories<\/a>,\u201d and that\u2019s just one of many tales from the good old days you might hear.<\/p>\n Sinatra\u2019s appearance on Danza\u2019s hit sitcom, \u201cWho\u2019s The Boss?\u201d was a highlight of their lengthy friendship.<\/p>\n Currently packing Caf\u00e9 Carlyle at The Carlyle night after night with dates through Oct. 2, the performance features Danza accompanied by a four-piece band, regaling the crowd with Sinatra tunes and tales from his friendship with the legendary crooner \u2014\u00a0with some tap dancing and ukulele-playing in the mix.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I try to do is mirror those old variety shows where you have a host and all of the acts,\u201d Danza said of the performance, which he launched last year and brought back due to popular demand.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in this, I\u2019m both the host and all of the acts. It\u2019s a little of this and a little bit of that.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And why Sinatra, as a theme? <\/p>\n \u201cThey say write what you know.\u201d<\/p>\n You make me feel so young<\/strong><\/p>\n Danza performs his \u201cSinatra and Stories\u201d cabaret show at Cafe Carlyle, at the Carlyle Hotel on NYC\u2019s Upper East Side. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n Long before the 74-year-old Danza skyrocketed to stardom on breakout sitcom \u201cTaxi\u201d in 1978, he was just a kid from Brooklyn who would often hear Sinatra\u2019s songs echo throughout the family\u2019s East New York home.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother, when I was a young kid, turned me onto Frank and got me excited about him,\u201d Danza told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd throughout high school and college, I sang along with his records like the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n After moving to Long Island as a teen, he became interested in boxing, later scoring a wrestling scholarship to attend Iowa\u2019s University of Dubuque.\u00a0<\/p>\n Danza, now 74, first rocketed to stardom as Tony Banta in the hit 1970s sitcom, \u201cTaxi.\u201d \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n He soon found himself training at Gleason\u2019s Gym \u2014\u00a0where Muhammad Ali also threw punches at the time. It was during a boxing match that a producer scouted Tony to pursue acting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy some miracle, when I got out to Hollywood, I ended up being in Frank\u2019s circle,\u201d Danza recalled with a sustained sense of awe. \u201cIt was really kind of crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n By then, the singer had been retired for years, but was hot once again after returning to the stage in spectacular fashion with 1974\u2019s \u201cMain Event\u201d \u2014\u00a0a boxing-themed comeback concert at Madison Square Garden concocted by Jerry Weintraub.\u00a0<\/p>\n Come fly with me<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBy some miracle, when I got out to Hollywood, I ended up being in Frank\u2019s circle,\u201d Danza said. \u201cIt was really kind of crazy.\u201d Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n The careers of the two personalities soon wound up dovetailing rather neatly \u2014 Danza\u2019s film debut, 1983\u2019s \u201cCannonball Run II,\u201d happened to be Sinatra\u2019s last movie credit.\u00a0(Dean Martin\u2019s, too.)<\/p>\n Danza soon endeared himself to the Hoboken native \u2014\u00a0that is, after he got over being starstruck. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw him, I probably referred to him as \u2018Mr. Sinatra.\u2019 It was so hard to call him just Frank,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had an aura when he walked into the room \u2014\u00a0there was always a hush,\u201d he remembered. \u201cMost times, I just didn\u2019t say anything, you know?<\/p>\n Danza is bringing his show back to Cafe Carlyle a second time, to sold-out crowds, through Oct. 2. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n \u201cBut one night in a booth, I girded myself and said, \u2018Uh, Frank?\u2019 And he looked up and answered me.\u201d <\/p>\n Soon, they were hanging out like old pals \u2014\u00a0Danza told The Post about an evening the pair were sitting by a pool, Sinatra drinking Jack Daniels, his favorite \u2014 Humphrey Bogart turned him onto it. In between gulps, he was also chain-smoking Camels.\u00a0<\/p>\n Feeling courageous, the fledgling star had a question: \u201cI said, \u2018Does the drinking and the smoking mess with your voice?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sinatra took a sip, then a puff, and turned to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018I\u2019ve never met a singer worth his shit who didn\u2019t smoke two packs a day,\u2019\u201d he shrugged.<\/p>\n Frank\u2019s the <\/strong>\u2018Boss\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Danza shares a moment with \u201cWho\u2019s The Boss\u201d co-star Judith Light. \u00a9Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n One of the best days of his life, Danza said, was the time he got to introduce his mother to the \u201cMy Way\u201d singer on the set of \u201cWho\u2019s the Boss\u201d<\/a> in 1989,\u00a0where Sinatra, guest-starring on the classic sitcom, gifted her his handkerchief.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Famously impatient, cast and crew were shocked by the superstar\u2019s relaxed attitude while filming an episode where Danza\u2019s character, Tony Micelli, gets kicked out of a party where Sinatra was to perform.<\/p>\n Eventually, Micelli gets to meet his idol<\/a> \u2014\u00a0while getting a drink at the bar.<\/p>\n \u201cHow does it feel to be worshipped and adored by millions?\u201d Danza\u2019s wide-eyed alter-ego asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNice,\u201d Sinatra coolly replied.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n And while millions can\u2019t fit into the intimate Carlyle, currently celebrating its 70th anniversary, Danza\u2019s fans are worshipping and adoring his latest act \u2014\u00a0leading to 24 sold-out shows in a row in its current run.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a long time I couldn\u2019t get into the place, and then my manager called me to say that they wanted me to perform there in less than a month,\u201d he remembers of the short notice of his initial engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Wait, did somebody drop out?\u2019 He said, \u2018Do you want the job or not?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe people come to see me. Are you kidding me? Sometimes I\u2019m amazed \u2014 you walk in through the back and pass all of the people; they really pack them in. It\u2019s self-affirming,\u201d he admitted. \u201cIt really is.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a very good year<\/p>\n Danza\u2019s cabaret act has been an occasional fixture on the New York nightlife scene through the years \u2014 here, he rehearses for a 1997 show at the Rainbow Room. 1.21.97<\/p>\n Besides basking in the glow of a lengthy and rewarding career, Danza also keeps busy these days with his Stars of Tomorrow Project<\/a>, an NYC-based organization offering mentorship and free acting, voice, dance and movement lessons to youths in need.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer that, unfortunately, in our country today, we\u2019ve abdicated responsibility for nurturing our children,\u201d he said, turning serious for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really important we give them something else to be interested in \u2014\u00a0rather than things that could lead to a gun or something.\u201d<\/p>\n Already, program alumnae are making good \u2014\u00a0with some even headed for Broadway. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a whole bunch of kids who have gone to college,\u201d Danza said of the charity,\u00a0which will hold its third annual benefit<\/a> at the Sheen Center in Greenwich Village on Oct 14. He\u2019ll co-chair the evening with an equally legendary former co-star \u2014\u00a0Danny DeVito.<\/p>\n Danza with \u201cTaxi\u201d co-stars Carol Kane (counter-clockwise from left), Christopher Lloyd and Judd Hirsch in 2023 at Manny\u2019s Bistro in NYC. Tony Danza \/ Instagram<\/p>\n Tony\u2019s New York<\/strong><\/p>\n When not busy entertaining his fans at the Carlyle, here are some of Danza\u2019s favorite Big Apple nightspots.<\/p>\n Patsy\u2019s Italian Restaurant\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Patsy\u2019s is a fave for Danza \u2014 and was special for Sinatra, too. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n Danza gravitates to the old-school red-sauce joint just off Columbus Circle \u2014 an Italian mainstay since its 1944 opening, and famously a Sinatra haunt. \u201cI\u2019ve known the family forever,\u201d he says of the Scognamillos, including father Joe and son Sal. \u201cFrank loved that place, and I do, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 236 W. 56th St.<\/p>\n