Anthony Joseph Scotti (born December 22, 1939) is an American actor, television and film producer, and co-founder of Scotti Brothers Records. He is married to French singer Sylvie Vartan.

Tony Scotti
Born
Anthony Joseph Scotti

(1939-12-22) December 22, 1939 (age 84)
Occupation(s)Actor, television and film producer, businessman
Years active1967–present
Spouse
(m. 1984)
Children1

Early life edit

Scotti and his brother Ben both played football for the University of Maryland.[1] As declared on 25 February 2024 during the Italian TV show Domenica In, Tony’s family originates from Gesualdo (Avellino).

Career edit

Acting edit

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Scotti began his career as an actor, portraying Sharon Tate's love interest, Tony Polar, in the 1967 film, Valley of the Dolls. For his role in Valley, Scotti was required to sing and performed the song "Come Live With Me" in the film and on the film's soundtrack. Scotti's second and last acting appearance was the title role in an unaired 1968 television pilot film, Nick Quarry, based on the 1967 film, Tony Rome.

Scotti Bros. edit

While pursuing his film career, Tony Scotti had a mildly successful singing career with 3 low-chart national singles as a soloist, and two as the leader of Heaven Bound.

In 1971, Scotti abandoned his film career and joined the record production department of MGM as a senior vice president. In 1974, Scotti, along with older brother Ben, formed Ben Scotti Productions, a music marketing firm. The company eventually branched out into television and produced the pop music series, America's Top 10. The success of the show prompted the brothers to form a television syndication company, All American Television in 1981. The company would go on to distribute shows like Baywatch and Acapulco H.E.A.T.[2]

In the mid-1980s, the company began producing movies under Scotti Brothers Pictures and would go on to release Eye of the Tiger and Lady Beware.

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Film Role Notes
1967 Valley of the Dolls Tony Polar
1986 Eye of the Tiger Producer
1987 Lady Beware Producer
He's My Girl Executive producer
1989 The Iron Triangle Producer
1992 The Resurrected Executive producer

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Nick Quarry Nick Quarry Unaired television series
1980–1993 America's Top 10 Producer
1986–1987 Wordplay Executive producer (2 episodes)

In popular culture edit

Scotti signed pop music parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic to the Scotti Bros. label in 1981. Scotti was portrayed by Yankovic himself in the 2022 film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story; the film is a satirical biopic loosely based on Yankovic's own life (in which "Weird Al" is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe).

References edit

  1. ^ Waxman, Sharon (December 15, 1998). "Former Players Tony & Ben Scotti, Looking to Score With the Redskins". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  2. ^ "All American Communications Inc. History". FundingUniverse. Retrieved October 25, 2007.

External links edit