Editing Anthony Franciosa (section)

==Career==
===Theatre===
Franciosa studied privately for two years with Joseph Geigler. He got a four-year scholarship at the Dramatic Workshop which led to the New York Repertory Theatre.<ref name="times">{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Thompson (film critic) |date=December 8, 1957 |title=ASCENDING BRIGHT STAR; Anthony Franciosa Retraces His Path In Rapid Rise to Screen Success Face in the Crowd Personal Approach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/12/08/archives/ascending-bright-star-anthony-franciosa-retraces-his-path-in-rapid.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

In 1948, Franciosa joined the [[Cherry Lane Theatre]] Group [[off Broadway]] (at the same time as actress [[Bea Arthur]]). Within two years, he had been accepted as a member of the [[Actors Studio]], which would prove an invaluable resource throughout his career<ref>{{cite news |last=Lipton |first=Michael A. |date=March 18, 1996 |title=Back in the Game |url=https://people.com/archive/back-in-the-game-vol-45-no-11/ |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=August 18, 2012 |quote=By 22, Anthony Franciosa (he had taken his mother's maiden name) was studying at the Actors Studio. At 25, he made his Broadway debut in End as a Man.}}</ref> but it would be a few years more before Franciosa could make a living from acting. In the meantime, he accepted a variety of jobs which included being a waiter, dishwasher, day laborer, and messenger boy at CBD.{{specify|date=March 2025}} He worked in Theatre of the Sky on Lake Tahoe. In 1950 he was in a San Francisco production of ''[[Detective Story (play)|Detective Story]]''.<ref>The Life Story of ANTHONY FRANCIOSA
Picture Show; London Vol. 70, Iss. 1827, (Apr 5, 1958): 12.</ref><ref name="hedda">{{cite news |last=Hopper |first=Hedda |author-link=Hedda Hopper |date=April 21, 1957 |title=Franciosa Rated Star Before Public Sees Films |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

In 1953, he made his Broadway debut in ''[[The Strange One|End as a Man]]'' alongside [[Ben Gazzara]], and the following year in ''Wedding Breakfast'' (1954).<ref>{{cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Zolotow |date=August 27, 1954 |title=NEW REEVES PLAY WILL OPEN NOV. 16 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/08/27/archives/new-reeves-play-will-open-nov-16-shumlin-to-stage-wedding-breakfast.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

Franciosa began guest starring on TV shows such as ''[[Studio One in Hollywood]]'', ''[[Kraft Theatre]]'', ''[[Ford Star Jubilee]]'' (an adaptation of ''This Happy Breed'' with [[Noël Coward]]), and ''[[Goodyear Playhouse]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Cecil |date=October 26, 1960 |title=THE TV SCENE---: Franciosa to Do 'Heaven Can Wait' |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===''A Hatful of Rain''===
Franciosa's breakthrough role came when cast in the Actors Studio production of ''[[A Hatful of Rain]]'' (1955–56) under the direction of [[Elia Kazan]]. He played Polo, the brother of the drug addicted Johnny (Ben Gazzara). [[Shelley Winters]] played Johnny's wife and she would marry Franciosa the following year. Franciosa was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance.<ref name="ind" />

Franciosa made his film debut in [[Elia Kazan]]'s ''[[A Face in the Crowd (film)|A Face in the Crowd]]'' (1957) alongside [[Andy Griffith]], [[Patricia Neal]], and [[Lee Remick]]. He followed it in MGM's ''[[This Could Be the Night (film)|This Could Be the Night]]'' (1957) as the romantic interest for [[Jean Simmons]], under the direction of [[Robert Wise]]. He reprised his role in ''[[A Hatful of Rain]]'' in the film version, directed by [[Fred Zinnemann]] at 20th Century Fox, with Don Murray and [[Eva Marie Saint]] playing the roles originated by Gazzara and Winters. [[Hedda Hopper]] pointed out that these three films were made before the first one had been released.<ref name="hedda" /> His performance in ''Hatful of Rain'' earned him an [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]].<ref name="variety">{{cite news |title=A Hatful of Rain |url=https://variety.com/1956/film/reviews/a-hatful-of-rain-1200418373/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=December 31, 1956 |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

===Film star===
Franciosa supported [[Anna Magnani]] and [[Anthony Quinn]] in ''[[Wild Is the Wind (1957 film)|Wild Is the Wind]]'' (1957) directed by [[George Cukor]], produced by [[Hal B. Wallis]] who put Franciosa under a multi-film contract. He then appeared with [[Paul Newman]] and [[Joanne Woodward]] in ''[[The Long Hot Summer]]'' (1958), playing Jody Varner, the son of Will Varner ([[Orson Welles]]), directed by [[Martin Ritt]] at Fox.<ref>{{cite news |last=Parsons |first=Louella |author-link=Louella Parsons |date=August 14, 1957 |title=Anthony Franciosa Agrees to Try Faulkner Role |newspaper=[[The Washington Post|The Washington Post and Times-Herald]]}}</ref>

In December 1957, he spent 10 days in jail for hitting a press photographer in April of that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Actor Anthony Franciosa Begins Jail Sentence |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 13, 1957}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Attack on Newsman Jails Shelley Winters' Fiance |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 20, 1957}}</ref> However he was much in demand: In an interview in December, he said he owed Fox and MGM three films each over five years, Kazan two more films, and Wallis one film a year over seven years.<ref name="times" />

He played [[Francisco Goya]] in MGM's ''[[The Naked Maja (film)|The Naked Maja]]'' (1958) with [[Ava Gardner]], which earned Franciosa $250,000 in acting fees due to production delays. He made a second film for Wallis, ''[[Career (1959 film)|Career]]'' (1959) with [[Dean Martin]] and [[Shirley MacLaine]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Beaufort |first=John |date=October 10, 1959 |title=Tale of Theater World Stars Anthony Franciosa |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Robert F. |date=July 27, 1958 |title=GOYA AND HIS 'MAJA' FACE CAMERA; Artist's Film Biography Started After Many Delays -- Addenda |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/27/archives/goya-and-his-maja-face-camera-artists-film-biography-started-after.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> then ''[[The Story on Page One (film)|The Story on Page One]]'' (1959) with [[Rita Hayworth]] for [[Clifford Odets]] at Fox.

He was meant to star in ''[[Orpheus Descending]]'' (which became ''[[The Fugitive Kind]]'') with [[Anna Magnani]], but the producers decided to cast [[Marlon Brando]], and Franciosa was paid out $75,000. He was mentioned as a possibility for one of the roles in ''The Magnificent Seven'' and for the title role in a proposed [[Simon Bolivar]] biopic that [[Dino De Laurentiis]] was going to make.<ref>{{cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |date=February 20, 1959 |title=Franciosa Strong 'Bolivar' Prospect: Busy Actor, Set in 10 Films, Gives Answer to Pessimists |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

In 1959, he served 30 days at an open-prison farm for possession of marijuana. The same year, he was in a car accident.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anthony Franciosa Injured |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/29/archives/anthony-franciosa-injured.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 29, 1959 |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

Franciosa returned to television to appear in ''Heaven Can Wait'', an adaptation of ''[[Here Comes Mr Jordan]]'' (1960), then in ''[[Cradle Song (TV film)|Cradle Song]]'' (1960).<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Robert |date=November 12, 1960 |title=SOUL IN SEARCH OF A BODY: Anthony Franciosa Has an Off-beat Role for His Return to Television |work=[[Chicago Tribune|Chicago Daily Tribune]]}}</ref> He supported [[Gina Lollobrigida]] in MGM's ''[[Go Naked in the World]]'' (1961), which lost money. He was top-billed in the Italian ''[[Careless (film)|Careless]]'' (1962) with [[Claudia Cardinale]] and MGM's ''[[Period of Adjustment (film)|Period of Adjustment]]'' (1962) with [[Jane Fonda]], Franciosa's first film for that studio which made a profit. In August 1963, he addressed a civil rights rally in Alabama alongside [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Paul Newman]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Four Actors Address Negro Rally in Alabama: RACIAL RALLY |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 23, 1963}}</ref>

===Television===
[[File:Name of the Game cast 1968.JPG|right|thumb|Tony Franciosa with [[Robert Stack]] (left) and [[Gene Barry]] in the TV series ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'' (1968)]]
Franciosa guest starred on ''The DuPont Show of the Week'', ''Arrest and Trial'', ''Breaking Point'', ''The Greatest Show on Earth'', and ''Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre''. He had supporting parts in two films for Fox: ''[[Rio Conchos (1964 film)|Rio Conchos]]'' (1964) with [[Stuart Whitman]] and [[Richard Boone]], and ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]'' (1964) with [[Ann-Margret]] and [[Carol Lynley]].<ref name="mclellan">{{cite news |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |date=January 21, 2006 |title=Anthony Franciosa, 77; Versatile Star of Stage, Film and Television |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-21-me-franciosa21-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

He starred in a TV series ''[[Valentine's Day (TV series)|Valentine's Day]]'' (1964–65).<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Val |date=June 9, 1964 |title='HOOTENANNY' CUT FROM A.B.C. LIST; Franciosa to Star Next Fall in TV 'Valentine's Day' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/09/archives/hootenanny-cut-from-abc-list-franciosa-to-star-next-fall-in-tv.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> When that ended he had support parts in ''[[A Man Could Get Killed]]'' (1966) with [[James Garner]] and ''[[Assault on a Queen]]'' (1966) with [[Frank Sinatra]]. He was [[leading man]] to [[Ann-Margret]] in ''[[The Swinger]]'' (1966) at Paramount<ref name="mclellan" /> and [[Raquel Welch]] in ''[[Fathom (1967 film)|Fathom]]'' (1967) at Fox. In a 1966 interview he confessed that Hollywood stardom had come a little too early: "It was an incredible amount of attention, and I wasn't quite mature enough psychologically or emotionally for it."<ref name="ind" />

He starred in Universal's ''[[Fame Is the Name of the Game]]'' (1966), then a spaghetti Western at Universal, ''[[A Man Called Gannon]]'' (1968), a drama with [[Jacqueline Bisset]] at Fox, ''[[The Sweet Ride]]'' (1968), and a war film at Universal, ''[[In Enemy Country]]'' (1968). Producer [[David Dortort]] was on the verge of casting him as [[Cameron Mitchell (actor)|Cameron Mitchell]]'s best friend and brother-in-law, Manolito Montoya, on the [[Western (genre)|western]], ''[[The High Chaparral]]'', if [[Henry Darrow]] did not make it to the set in time. Darrow did.<ref>[http://www.thehighchaparral.com/cast.htm#Henry Darrow]</ref>

Franciosa returned to regular series with ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'' (1968–71) (based on ''[[Fame Is the Name of the Game]]''), as lead role of charismatic but doggedly determined star reporter Jeff Dillon, alternating the regular lead spot with [[Gene Barry]] and [[Robert Stack]]. The three leading actors were never onscreen at the same time at any point in the series. He was fired from the show in 1970 because of his temper. He was in ''[[Web of the Spider]]'' (1971), an Italian horror film, then a series of TV movies: ''[[The Deadly Hunt]]'' (1971), ''[[Earth II]]'' (1971), and ''[[The Catcher]]'' (1972). He had a support part in the action film ''[[Across 110th Street]]'' (1972).

Franciosa had a further alternating lead role in a TV series, this time rotating with [[Hugh O'Brian]] and [[Doug McClure]], as agent Nick Bianco in [[Search (American TV series)|''Search'']] (1972). When that ended he supported [[Peter Sellers]] in ''[[Ghost in the Noonday Sun]]'' (1973) and ''[[The Drowning Pool (film)|The Drowning Pool]]'' (1975) with former ''[[The Long, Hot Summer]]'' co-star [[Paul Newman]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=William |date=December 22, 1973 |title=Peter Sellers Goes to Sea |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
[[File:Tony Franciosa and Laraine Stephens - Matt Helm 1975.jpg|thumb|With Laraine Stephens in a publicity photo for the TV series ''[[Matt Helm (TV series)|Matt Helm]]'' in 1975]]
He had his own series with ''[[Matt Helm (TV series)|Matt Helm]]'' (1975), a television version of the spy-spoof theatrical films that starred [[Dean Martin]], but it only lasted 14 episodes. He was in ''[[Curse of the Black Widow]]'' (1977), ''[[Wheels (novel)|Wheels]]'' (1978), ''[[Firepower (1979 film)|Firepower]]'' (1979), ''[[The World Is Full of Married Men (film)|The World Is Full of Married Men]]'' (1979), ''[[The Cricket (1980 film)|The Cricket]]'' (1980), ''[[Death Wish II]]'' (1982), ''[[Tenebrae (film)|Tenebrae]]'' (1982), and ''[[Julie Darling]]'' (1983).

In his memoir, ''From I Love Lucy to Shōgun and Beyond: Tales from the Other Side of the Camera'', [[Jerry London]] stated that Franciosa could not remember his lines during the shooting of the television movie ''Wheels'', so co-star [[Rock Hudson]] had to hold up cue cards for him during one scene in a car.<ref>{{cite book | title=From ''I Love Lucy'' to ''Shōgun'' and Beyond: Tales from the Other Side of the Camera | first1=Jerry | last1=London | first2=Rhonda | last2=Collier | author-link=Jerry London | year=2017 | page=60 | publisher=JRL Productions Incorporated | isbn=978-0692866993}}</ref>

===Later career===
Franciosa starred in the [[Aaron Spelling]]-produced series ''[[Finder of Lost Loves]]'' (1984–85). He could be seen in ''[[Stagecoach (1986 film)|Stagecoach]]'' (1986) and episodes of ''Hotel'', ''The Love Boat'', and ''[[Jake and the Fatman]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bob |date=January 21, 2006 |title=Hollywood bad boy Anthony Franciosa, 77 |work=The Record}}</ref> In the 1985 revival of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', he appeared in the third-season episode "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich", playing a gangster who is revealed to be the ultimate demon. Later performances included ''[[Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife]]'' (1987), ''[[Death House]]'' (1988), Fashion Crime (1989), ''Ghost Writer'' (1989), ''[[Backstreet Dreams (film)|Backstreet Dreams]]'' (1990), and Double Threat (1992). In 1990–91, he portrayed Colonel Doctor Otternschlag in the U.S. national tour of the musical ''Grand Hotel'' at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and other national tour locations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rose |first=Lloyd |date=December 7, 1990 |title=THEATER |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/12/07/theater/bfffc8d0-9077-4489-a4a0-2da98e0386f6/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Walsh |first=Winifred |date=February 25, 1991 |title=Anthony Franciosa, the matinee idol under the makeup |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-02-25-1991056142-story.html |work=[[The Baltimore Sun|The Evening Sun]] |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

His final film was ''[[City Hall (1996 film)|City Hall]]'', a 1996 drama starring [[Al Pacino]] and [[John Cusack]], in which he portrayed a crime boss.<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=February 16, 1996 |title=FILM REVIEW;Dangerous Dealings In the Heart of New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/16/movies/film-review-dangerous-dealings-in-the-heart-of-new-york.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

In his autobiography ''The Garner Files'', actor [[James Garner]] stated that Franciosa, on the set of ''A Man Could Get Killed'', constantly abused the stunt crew by not pulling punches in fight scenes, resulting in a physical confrontation with Garner.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Garner Files | first1=James | last1=Garner | first2=Jon | author-link1=James Garner | last2=Winokur | publisher=Simon & Schuster | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-4516-4260-5 | page=255}}</ref>