Tony Musante

Anthony Peter Musante Jr. (June 30, 1936 – November 26, 2013) was an American actor, best known for the TV series Toma.

Musante was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, into an Italian-American family, the son of Natalie Anne (née Salerno), a school teacher, and Anthony Peter Musante, an accountant. He attended Oberlin College and Northwestern University.

Musante acted in numerous feature films, in the United States and elsewhere, including Italy. Among his body of work are the 1973 television series Toma (predecessor to Baretta) and the soap opera As the World Turns, and the 1975 Broadway play, P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Toma did well in the ratings despite tough opposition, but Musante insisted upon leaving the series after one year, as was permitted by his contract. The series was revised as Baretta, with Robert Blake in the lead role, and it was a success. At the time of his death, The New York Times referred to Toma as "the show that got away." But Musante never regretted leaving the series, despite sacrificing money and fame.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work in a 1975 episode of Medical Center, A Quality of Mercy. Musante also played Nino Schibetta, a feared Mafia boss and the Italian gang leader inside of Emerald City during the first season of the HBO television series Oz.

Musante died of a hemorrhage, following oral surgery on November 26, 2013, aged 77, in Manhattan.