New York [US]: American actor Tony Ganios, best known for his turn as fan-favourite Meat in Bob Clark’s ‘Porky’ died on February 18 after surgery at a hospital in New York, as reported by Variety on Tuesday evening.
He was 64.
Ganios’ fiancee revealed the news on X with a photo of the two holding hands. The post read, “I love you so much, my love. I’m broken.”
She later followed up with a tweet that included a photo of Ganios with a caption, “The last words we said to each other were, ‘I love you.’ Love is an understatement. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul and my best friend.”
Ganios was recognised for his roles in 1980s teen comedies and action films. He rose to notoriety for his portrayal of rough, muscular characters, which often forced him to use character acting to perform roles that demanded physical presence and toughness.
Ganios made his film debut in Kaufman’s ‘The Wanderers,’ as Perry, a Bronx Italian-American street roughneck in the 1963 picture based on Richard Price’s novel. Ganios would reconnect with co-star Ken Wahl for a recurring role as a mob lawyer in Wahl’s 1987-90 crime series ‘Wiseguy.’
His most well-known role, however, was that of Meat in the 1981 bawdy comedy series ‘Porky’s’ about a gang of high school pals who seek vengeance on a shady nightclub owner named Porky after being humiliated at his place.
Despite being blasted by critics, the picture went on to become the sixth highest-grossing film of 1982, with two sequels.
Other movie credits include ‘Porky’s II: The Next Day’ (1983) and ‘Die Hard 2’ (1990).
Ganios semi-retired from acting after working on the film ‘Rising Sun,’ making brief cameos in three films between 1991 and 1993.
Cult Faction questioned Ganios in 2015 why he opted to return to acting for such brief periods, and he said, “It’s a strange thing. While I did miss acting, I didn’t miss the entertainment industry or most of the people in it. But as time went by, I would constantly run into fans who were genuinely disappointed to know that I had quit the business. Their votes of confidence notwithstanding, I think few of my friends and fans realized how difficult it would be for me to get back into an industry where I was hardly successful in the first place.”
Ganios was born in Brooklyn. He is survived by his fiancee, Amanda.
