Daniel J. Travanti (original) (raw)

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American actor (born 1940)

Daniel J. Travanti (born Danielo Giovanni Travanti; March 7, 1940)[1] is an American actor. He is best known for playing police captain Frank Furillo in the television drama series Hill Street Blues (1981–1987)[2] for which he received a Golden Globe Award from five nominations, and two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards from five nominations.

Early life, family and education

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Travanti, one of five children, was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Italian immigrant parents John and Elvira Travanti.[3] His father worked at the American Motors assembly plant in that city.

Daniel attended Mary D. Bradford High School,[1] where he was an all-star football player; he received athletic scholarship offers to several colleges, but he decided he wanted to be an actor rather than an athlete.[4] A good student, he was offered scholarships to Harvard University, Princeton University, and the Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship to Dartmouth College, but he took the General Motors Scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[5] from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1961. After that, he attended the Yale School of Drama on a Woodrow Wilson fellowship. In 1978,[6] he graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a master's degree in English.[7]

Travanti's first credited role was in "Child of a Night", an episode of Route 66. In 1964, Travanti guest-starred in the episode "Murder by Scandal" of CBS's drama about newspapers, The Reporter. He made his feature film debut in 1965 (credited as "Dan Travanty") playing a deaf mute nightclub bouncer in the psychological thriller Who Killed Teddy Bear? starring Sal Mineo and Juliet Prowse. In 1965, he appeared in an episode of Gidget as a photographer.

In 1966, he played the role of radio talk show host Barney Austin in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Midnight Howler". He (credited as Dan Travanty in all four) was the lead guest star in the Season 3 episode "Collision of Planets" of Lost in Space in 1967, appeared in the episode "The Octopus" of the single-season crime drama The Silent Force in late 1970, was featured in the Season 5 episode "Murder Times Three" of Mannix in late 1971, and appeared in the Season 6 episode "Image" of Mission: Impossible in early 1972. Also in 1972, he played a fugitive in the episode "The Devil's Playground" of Cannon with future Hill Street co-star James B. Sikking. In 1974, Travanti appeared briefly in The Bob Newhart Show episode "The Battle of the Groups". Also in 1974, he appeared in a Gunsmoke episode, "Like Old Times", with his future Hill Street co-star Charles Haid.

Travanti earned five nominations and two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Hill Street Station Captain Frank Furillo. In 1982, Boston's Emerson College chose him as the commencement speaker and gave him an honorary Doctorate degree.[6] In 1983, Travanti starred in the TV movie Adam, for which he received another Emmy nomination. He starred opposite Sophia Loren in Aurora (1984), which premiered on NBC and received a theatrical release in Italy. Travanti has appeared in a number of TV movies and has made appearances in television programs such as Poltergeist: The Legacy (1997) and Prison Break (2005). In 1986, HBO broadcast the made-for-cable biographical film Murrow, with his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow receiving a Cable Ace nomination. He co-starred in the film Millennium (1989) and as Lt. Ray McAuliffe in the television series Missing Persons (1993).[2]: 696

From January to March 2007, Travanti appeared off-Broadway in Oren Safdie's The Last Word... at the Theater at St. Clements in New York City, and from November to December 2008, Travanti played the "Con Melody" in an off-off Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet for Friendly Fire Theater in New York.

In 2010, he appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds as a 75-year-old serial killer with Alzheimer's disease.

Travanti had a recurring role on the Starz television series Boss. He also appeared on The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas as Captain William Fletcher in the audio adaptation of "The Little People".

Starting in 2017, he played the father of Chris O'Donnell's character (G. Callen) in NCIS: Los Angeles. His final appearance, and final acting role to date, was in a 2019 episode of that series.

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Travanti has publicly acknowledged his past as an alcoholic[8] who found sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous, calling alcoholism a "disease of loneliness and secrecy". In 1981, he made such a confession to Rona Barrett in an interview on NBC and even recited, from memory, all of the organization's "Twelve Steps" on camera.[9] Captain Furillo, his best-known character, was also a recovering alcoholic, and the character was shown multiple times taking part in AA meetings.

Many of Travanti's roles prior to the mid-1970s were credited as "Dan Travanty" or "Dan Travanti." Later roles are credited as "Daniel J. Travanti."[_citation needed_]

1. ^ a b "Daniel J. Travanti". Authentic Wisconsin. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
2. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 463. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
3. ^ "Afraid of Family's Bias, Travanti Cut Graduation." Durham (NC) Morning Herald, November 14, 1983, p. 6B.
4. ^ "All Star Fullback." Mobile (AL) Register, November 27, 1981, p. TV 19.
5. ^ Horwitz, Simi (February 20, 2007). "Having 'The Last Word...'". Backstage.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2007.
6. ^ a b "Honorary Degree for Daniel J. Travanti." Springfield (MA) Union, May 25, 1982, p. 22.
7. ^ Wallace, Carol (May 1, 1982). "Daniel J. Travanti: Prime time's sexiest cop". Des Moines Tribune. Iowa, Des Moines. New York Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved February 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "The Sparkling Middle Place of Daniel J. Travanti". Members.wizzards.net. August 14, 1973. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
9. ^ Video on YouTube[_dead link_‍]