Daniel J. Travanti
Encyclopedia
Danielo Giovanni "Daniel J." Travanti (born March 7, 1940) is an American actor best known for his starring role as Captain Frank Furillo in the 1980s television drama Hill Street Blues
.
, to Italian immigrant parents. His father was a factory worker. During his teen years, Travanti was an athlete and good student, earning scholarships to Harvard University
, Princeton University
, and Dartmouth College
, though he eventually attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. In 1957, before his senior year, he attended the youth government and leadership program called Badger Boys State
as a representative chosen from his high school.
In 1964, Travanti guest-starred with Paul Richards
and Roy Thinnes
in the episode "Murder by Scandal" of CBS's drama about newspapers, The Reporter
, with Harry Guardino
in the title role of journalist Danny Taylor. He also appeared, (credited as Dan Travanty) in a Season 6 episode of Mission: Impossible
called "Image".
Years later, Travanti earned five nominations and two Emmy Award
s for his portrayal of Hill Street Station Captain Frank Furillo. In 1983, Travanti starred in the TV movie Adam with Jo Beth Williams for which he received another Emmy nomination. Since then, 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 Robert Vaughn
, with Travanti portraying 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).
Although the organization maintains a policy of anonymity among its members, Travanti publicly acknowledged his past as a chronic alcoholic who found sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous
, calling the affliction 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. Capt. Furillo, his best-known character, was also a recovering alcoholic.
In January–March 2007, Travanti appeared off-Broadway
in Oren Safdie
's The Last Word... at the Theater at St. Clements in New York City
, and in November–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 suffering from Alzheimer's.
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
.
Biography
Travanti, one of five children, was born in Kenosha, WisconsinKenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, to Italian immigrant parents. His father was a factory worker. During his teen years, Travanti was an athlete and good student, earning scholarships to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, though he eventually attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. In 1957, before his senior year, he attended the youth government and leadership program called Badger Boys State
Badger Boys State
Badger Boys State is a week-long youth program held each June to teach Wisconsin high-school students leadership and the workings of government. Forty-nine states have a similar yet distinctive program for boys and a separate program for girls...
as a representative chosen from his high school.
In 1964, Travanti guest-starred with Paul Richards
Paul Richards (actor)
Paul Richards was a Jewish American actor who appeared in films and on television in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s until his death from cancer at the age of fifty. He married actress Monica Keating in 1953.Richards guest-starred in a number of classic television western series, including Gunsmoke...
and Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967-68 television series The Invaders. He also played Alfred Wentworth in the pilot episode of Law & Order...
in the episode "Murder by Scandal" of CBS's drama about newspapers, The Reporter
The Reporter (TV series)
The Reporter is an American drama series that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 18, 1964. The series was created by Jerome Weidman and developed by executive producers Keefe Brasselle and John Simon.-Synopsis:...
, with Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. In 1964, he was cast in a short-lived CBS series entitled The Reporter, a drama about a hard-hitting investigative journalist named Danny Taylor. His principal co-star was Gary Merrill as city...
in the title role of journalist Danny Taylor. He also appeared, (credited as Dan Travanty) in a Season 6 episode of Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
called "Image".
Years later, Travanti earned five nominations and two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his portrayal of Hill Street Station Captain Frank Furillo. In 1983, Travanti starred in the TV movie Adam with Jo Beth Williams for which he received another Emmy nomination. Since then, Travanti has appeared in a number of TV movies and has made appearances in television programs such as Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy is a Canadian horror television series which ran from 1996 to 1999. The series tells the story of the members of a secret society known as the Legacy, and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers...
(1997) and Prison Break
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
(2005). In 1986, HBO broadcast the made-for-cable biographical film Murrow with Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
, with Travanti portraying Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
receiving a Cable Ace nomination. He co-starred in the film Millennium
Millennium (film)
Millennium is a 1989 film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Kris Kristofferson, Cheryl Ladd, Robert Joy, Brent Carver, Al Waxman and Daniel J. Travanti. The original music score was composed by Eric N. Robertson...
(1989) and as Lt. Ray McAuliffe in the television series Missing Persons
Missing Persons (TV series)
Missing Persons is an American television show set in Chicago. The show is about a fictitious missing persons unit. Each episode usually following the investigation into three or more cases....
(1993).
Although the organization maintains a policy of anonymity among its members, Travanti publicly acknowledged his past as a chronic alcoholic who found sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, calling the affliction a "disease of loneliness and secrecy." In 1981, he made such a confession to Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
in an interview on NBC and even recited, from memory, all of the organization's "Twelve Steps" on camera. Capt. Furillo, his best-known character, was also a recovering alcoholic.
In January–March 2007, Travanti appeared off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in Oren Safdie
Oren Safdie
Oren Safdie is a Canadian-American-Israeli playwright and screenwriter, and the son of architect Moshe Safdie.Prior to embarking on a career in writing, he graduated with a Master's in Architecture from Columbia University. He also received an MFA from Columbia University in Fiction Writing...
's The Last Word... at the Theater at St. Clements in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and in November–December 2008, Travanti played the "Con Melody" in an off-off Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's A Touch of the Poet
A Touch of the Poet
A Touch of the Poet is a play by Eugene O'Neill.It and its sequel, More Stately Mansions, were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled A Tale of Possessors Self-Dispossessed...
for Friendly Fire Theater in New York. In 2010, he appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
as a 75-year-old serial killer suffering from Alzheimer's.
External links
- The Last Word...
- WOR radio interview
- Daniel J. Travanti interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
- October 13, 2004