The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 108

'Who's the It's Dahza He's one of the most likable comic actors on television. He's also the owner of a volatile temper that has dragged him into trouble with the law. But after five years as a small fish in a big pond called Taxi, Tony Danza today is the undisputed "big tuna" of the Tuesday night ABC comedy series Who's The Boss? Danza was an unknown talent seven years ago when he got tabbed as part of the fabled ensemble on Taxi. In five seasons on that classic series, he parlayed his naturally in- gratiating personality and his ability to learn his trade quickly into a memorable run as Tony, the prizefighter-turned-cab driver. "Probably the most amazing thing about my time on Taxi is how much I retained," Danza told this column.

"I mean, we all went to school, right? And I finished college. thought I was going to jail. The district attorney recommended jail; the judge, feeling for some reason that had lied, was of a mind to put me in jail; everybody was talking jail. So I come back out to L.A. to do five episodes of the show in that six-week period and I want you to know, I could hardly think; I was in a fog." Then Danza got lucky.

The judge sentenced him to 250 hours of "community service" at the Jewish Home Hospital for the Aged in New York. He was rescued, and so was his TV show. "The good thing that came out of it was my service at that home," Danza said. "I've logged about 50 hours so far as an activities -director, and I've met some wonderful people who work there. And I think I've helped some of the people who live there.

That's been a terrific experience. "I just hope that the people who like me especially the kids don't think I'm a bum because of this. 1 really want to tell those kids: I'm not a bum." Nicholas Colasanto wasn't a famous name. But the character he played for the last three years on Cheers certainly was. As Coach, the lovable but mentally hazy bartender, Colasanto gave credible existence to a role that, in lesser hands, easily could have degenerated into slapstick or burlesque.

He was a gifted actor who lent the NBC Thursday night comedy series a delicious edge. Colasanto, 61, died last week of a heart attack. He had missed the last five tapings of Cheers because of a heart ailment, but he was recovering well and was planning to return to the program very soon. He passed away in his Los Angeles home while sitting up in bed watching TV. Besides his considerable talents as a character actor, Colasanto also was an award-winning director of stage plays and TV programs.

NBC says the Coach character will be discontinued, but that a new actor will join the cast next season in a new role. Networking: Dick Clark's plagiarism lawsuit against Alan Landsburg Productions has been dismissed in a federal court. Clark had charged that Landsburg's occasional ABC specials called Life's Most Embarrassing Moments were a direct steal from Clark's TVs Bloopers Practical But the big question is 'How much did you Well, on Taxi I learned from the best, actors, the best directors, the best writers, the best everything. And I retained so much of it. It's really Improved me as an actor.

"Taxi was a classic, and to have been a part of it is so unbelievable. All I can do now is strive to do well, strive to get laughs. Some people may think Who's The Boss? is disappointing by comparison with Taxi, but Who's The Boss? is a good show on its own. Out of 19 episodes so far this season, we haven't had one clinker." On Who's The there's never any doubt about who's the star. Judith Light does a nice job, as does Katherine Helmond.

But it's Danza, with his rough-cut Italian good looks and his built-in charm, who's the primary attraction on the show. After a slow start in the popularity derby, the program has picked up considerably. There's no word yet on next fall, but inside sources at ABC say Who's The Boss? is virtually certain to gain renewal for another year. Amazingly, Who's The Boss? nearly died before it was born last fall. Danza was convicted of beating up a security guard during a brawl in a Manhattan restaurant, and during the six-week delay before his sentence was handed down, it looked pretty bleak.

"I was convicted," Danza recalled, "and I Page 2 The Greenville liew-Pledmont Sunday, February 24, 1985.