Daniel J. Travanti
| Daniel J. Travanti | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Danielo Giovanni Travanti March 7, 1940 Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin in Madison |
| Years active | 1958–present |
Danielo Giovanni "Daniel J." Travanti (born March 7, 1940) is an American actor best known for his starring role as Captain Frank Furillo in the 1980s television drama Hill Street Blues.
Travanti, one of five children, was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Italian immigrant parents. His father worked at the American Motors assembly plant in that city. During his teen years, Travanti was an athlete and good student, earning scholarships to Harvard University, Princeton University, and Dartmouth College, though he eventually attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1957, before his senior year, he attended the youth government and leadership program called Badger Boys State as a representative chosen from his high school.
His first credited role was in an episode of Route 66 called, "Child of a Night." In 1964, Travanti guest-starred in the episode "Murder by Scandal" of CBS's drama about newspapers, The Reporter. He made his feature film debut in 1965 (credited as "Dan Travanty") playing a deaf-mute nightclub bouncer in the psychological thriller Who Killed Teddy Bear? starring Sal Mineo and Juliet Prowse.
In 1966 he played the role of radio talk-show host and murderer Barney Austin in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Midnight Howler." He (credited as Dan Travanty in all four) was the lead guest-star in the Season 3 episode "Collision Of Planets" of Lost in Space in 1967, appeared in the episode "The Octopus" of the single-season crime drama The Silent Force in late 1970, was featured in the Season 5 episode "Murder Times Three" of Mannix in late 1971, and appeared in the Season 6 episode "Image" of Mission: Impossible in early 1972. Also in 1972 he played a fugitive in The Devil's Playground episode of Cannon with his future Hill Street Blues co-star James B. Sikking. In 1982 Travanti appeared briefly in the Newhart episode "A View From The Bench".
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