Wednesday, June 12, 2024

SO LONG, TONY LO BIANCO

You made great, pulpy, tough-guy movies, without apology and with great, manly panache. Some were, in fact, uncompromising in their toughness, while others, from a biographical stance, proved touching and revealing. And let's not forget, your stage portrayal of beloved, NY mayor, Fiorello H. La Guardia, in Hizzoner! (and its acclaimed variant, The Little Flower), is nothing short of legendary. 

For the sake of your ample features, you tangled Hizzoner! (captured from the play); The French Connection; The Seven-Ups; Serpico; Marciano (1979 & 1999); F.I.S.T.; Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story; Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (aka God, You are Truly an Eternal Father!); The Cruelest Day; Bridge, Broadway; The Honeymoon Killers; City Heat; The Juror; Frame of Mind; Kill the Irishman; Send No Flowers; '79 Parts; N.Y.-'70; Somewhere in Queens; The Last Request; Blood Ties; Bloodbrothers; The Ann Jillian Story; Goldenrod; Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside; The Ascent; Boiling Point; Mafia!; Bella Mafia; The Good Policeman; Nixon; Cold Night Into Dawn; Stormy Weathers; She'll Be Sweet; In the Shadow of a Killer; The 10 Million Dollar Get Away; Lucky Day; Body of Evidence; Champions: A Love Story; The Engagement Ring; Welcome Home, Bobby; Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen; Death Has a Bad Reputation; Merciless Man (aka Genova at Gunpoint); Hizzoner!; The Pawn; Down 'n Dirty; Friends and Family; The Sex Perils of Paulette; The Day the Ponies Come Home; Another Woman's Child; City of Hope; The Story of Jacob and JosephJesus of Nazareth; and the chilling duo, Endangered Species (aka Alien Invasion/Earth Alien) and God Told Me To (aka The Demon). 

On television, you guest-starred on The Twilight Zone 1985; Get Smart; Marco Polo; Madigan; The Streets of San Francisco; F/X: The Series; N.Y.P.D.; Law & Order; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Homicide: Life on the Street; Police Story; Murder, She Wrote; The Maharaja's Daughter; Hidden Faces; Tyson; Great Performances; ABC Afterschool Special; CBS Schoolbreak Special; CBS Summer Playhouse; Night HeatBlue Light; Today's FBI; La romana; Walker, Texas RangerThe Paper Chase; and for its underrated entirety, the psychological, cop drama, Jessie, with Lindsay Wagner.  

You were a noble badass right to the end, Mr. Lo Bianco: a first-class, patriotic performer who could twist good into bad and back again in the wink of an eye. To rephrase, few could rival your achievements, and for that, your star's gonna shine a long, long time. 

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