The French Connection Actor, Tony Lo Bianco Dies at 87
Tony Lo Bianco, who is famous for portraying the characters in The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, dies at the age of 87. He died on Saturday night after battling with prostate cancer at his horse farm in Poolesville, Maryland. His representative confirmed his death to Fox News and added, “His beloved wife, Alyse, was by his side.”
Lo Bianco was born in October 1936 in Brooklyn, New York. He studied at William E. Grady CTE High School in Brooklyn and pursued his acting and theater production by attending the Dramatic Workshop. Before turning to acting, he was a former Golden Gloves boxer.
He founded the Triangle Theatre in 1963, and for six years he served as its artistic director. During that time, he directed and produced several plays. In 1964, he performed in the Broadway production Incident at Vichy, and in the following years, he appeared in a supporting role in Tartuffe and as Fray Marcos de Nizza in The Royal Hunt of the Sun.
He also made his onscreen debut in The Doctors for one episode. His first film role was in 1965’s The Sex Perils of Paulette, and after that, he appeared as a murderer in the 1970 semi-biographical crime film The Honeymoon Killers.
In 1971, he acted as Salvatore Boca, who was involved in an illegal narcotics deal, in the critically acclaimed film William Friedkin’s The French Connection. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won five.
He was back with another crime thriller, The Seven-Ups, in 1973, in which he appeared with his French Connection co-star Roy Scheider.
In the film God Told Me To (1976), he portrays a police officer who investigates a series of murders. He also played the lead role in NBC’s anthology television series Police Story, directed by Joseph Wambaugh.
In 1983, he got a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Arthur Miller’s play A View From the Bridge as Eddie Carbone. He played the role of boxer Rocky Marciano in the 1979 biographical sports telefilm, Marciano. His major miniseries performances include Marco Polo (1982), La Romana (1988), and The Maharaja’s Daughter (1994).
His other film credits include Bloodbrothers, City Heat, F.I.S.T., Nixon, City of Hope, and Kill the Irishman. He last appeared in Ray Romano’s film Somewhere in Queens as Dominic “Pops” Russo.
He was also part of many charitable organizations, including the United Service Organization, The Wounded Warrior Project, and Building Homes for Heroes.