Tony Tarantino was born in Queens, New York, July 4th, 1940 to Dominic and Elizabeth Tarantino and was raised in Brooklyn. In 1952, the family, which included sister Diane, moved to Los Angeles, California. Tony graduated from L.A.'s Washington High School in 1958. He auditioned for and was accepted to the Pasadena Playhouse, graduating in 1960. He caught the "acting bug" from his father, who in the early thirties appeared in several westerns with stars such as Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson and Fred Thompson. He has recently produced two feature films, Underbelly Blues and Mediterranean Blue.