About Tony Musante
Anthony Peter Musante Jr. (June 30, 1936 – November 26, 2013) was an American actor, best known for the TV series Toma as Detective David Toma, Nino Schibetta in Oz (1997), and Joe D'Angelo in As the World Turns (2000–2003). In movies, he achieved fame relatively early in his career, starring or having significant roles in such films as Once a Thief (1965), The Incident (1967), The Detective (1968) and The Last Run (1971), and also in a number of Italian productions, including The Mercenary (1968), Metti, una sera a cena (1969) and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970). == Life and career == 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. His television work included the 1973 television series Toma (predecessor to Baretta) and the soap opera As the World Turns. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance in the 1975 Broadway play P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!. He was also seen on Broadway in a double-bill of Tennessee Williams's 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays and in Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque, and off-Broadway in Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. 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.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.