Tony Ganios was an actor best known for playing Anthony “Meat” Tuperello in the “Porky’s” series and Perry in “The Wanderers.”
- Died: February 18, 2024 (Who else died on February 18?)
- Details of death: Died of heart failure after emergency surgery for a spinal cord infection at the age of 64.
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Tony Ganios’ legacy
Ganios didn’t aspire to be an actor when he was young – he wanted to study art. But his plans took a detour while he was working in a warehouse, practicing bodybuilding, and waiting to get into art school. His uncle, also a bodybuilder, interrupted a weightlifting session and insisted Ganios go with him to audition for a commercial. In fact, it was an audition for director Philip Kaufman’s “The Wanderers,” and Ganios, with no previous acting experience, landed a leading role as tough guy Perry LaGuardia. Perry’s habit of chewing on a wooden matchstick came directly from Ganios, who himself liked to keep a matchstick around to chew on.
After his film debut, Ganios had a small role in “Continental Divide” as football player turned mountain man Max Birnbaum. Next up was another career-defining role as Meat in the first of three movies in the raunchy sex comedy “Porky’s” series. He returned for “Porky’s II: The Next Day” and “Porky’s Revenge!”
In 1990, Ganios appeared in “Die Hard 2” as Baker, a mercenary who was memorably killed with an icicle by Bruce Willis’ character. His final film role came in 1993’s “Rising Sun,” another Kaufman film that offered an homage to Ganios’ first character. His role was a small one – he played a doorman – but the character was named Perry, and he chewed a matchstick. On TV, Ganios had a recurring role in “Wiseguy” and made appearances on “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “The Equalizer.”
Ganios on his two biggest roles
“Both movies were a great deal of fun to film. With ‘The Wanderers,’ there was a feeling of reverence for what we were doing, almost as though we knew we were leaving something most excellent for posterity, but ‘Porky’s’ felt like a transcendental twelve-week bender with a half dozen degenerate buddies that just happened to be chronicled with a camera.” —from a 2015 interview for Cult Faction
Tributes to Tony Ganios
Full obituary: USA Today
