Tony Longo

Standing at 6' 6" and weighing in easily at 250 lbs., Tony Longo has frequently played football and baseball players on TV series and in feature films, but has also won a shot at more sensitive "gentle giant" roles as well. He is remembered as "Mad Dog," the "Animal House-esque" football player of "First & 10," the HBO series on which he co-starred from 1985-88, and as "Stump," the somewhat slow-witted aide-de-camp for Robert Blake in "Helltown" (NBC, 1985). Longo broke into TV in the early 80s, and from 1982-85 could be seen frequently on the CBS series "Alice" playing "Artie," one of the revolving customers trading barbs with the waitresses. "Helltown" and "First and 10" followed, and Longo was also a regular on the short-lived 1992-93 Fox Max Frewer vehicle "Shaky Ground" playing Harry, an assembly-line worker. Longo has appeared in numerous TV movies, but had perhaps his best role in "Young at Heart" playing a Hoboken, NJ, ethnic Italian who finds his emotional voice (CBS, 1995). His work in feature films dates back to the rather listless "Pink Motel" (1982), but he had a good moment as a weight-lifting buddy of romantic lead Michael Schoeffling in "Sixteen Candles" (1984). Longo was in the all-star cast of "Bloodhounds of Broadway" (1989), the re-creation of four Damon Runyon stories starring Madonna and Matt Dillon, among others. In 1994, Longo was the chest-thumping catcher, Triscuitt Messmer, in the remake of "Angels in the Outfield," and was "Little Mike" opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Eraser" (1996). Longo was cast in "Police Academy...The Series," which was set to begin syndication in 1997. Longo appeared in a small role in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (2001), an episode of the acclaimed series "Six Feet Under" (HBO 2001-05), Wayne Kramer's "The Cooler" (2003), and the romantic comedy "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days" (2003). Between 1999 and 2006, he had a recurring role as a private investigator on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" (CBS 1973-). He continued working steadily in low-budget films and short video pieces. Tony Longo died of undisclosed causes in his sleep at his home in Marina dey Rey, California on June 21, 2015. He was 53.