Tony Ganios, the actor who made his film debut in Philip Kaufman's 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama "The Wanderers" and portrayed Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello in the 1980s "Porky's" sex comedy franchise, died on Sunday following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64.
The tragic news was broken by TMZ on Tuesday after his death was announced on social media by his fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios. She said that the actor fell ill last week, was hospitalized on Saturday due to a spinal cord infection, and unfortunately, died. on Sunday from heart failure. Tributes have been pouring in from all corners from the time news of Ganios' death was made public.
Sudden and Unexpected Death
"The last words we said to each other were 'I love you,'" she wrote. "Love is an understatement. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul and my best friend. #I love you #tonyganios."
"I love you so much, my love. I'm broken," Serrano-Ganios added in another tweet accompanied by a photo of the couple presumably holding hands.
Serrano-Ganios also responded to condolences from other social media users, including a man named Marc, who said he was planning to meet Ganios in person for the first time in two weeks.
"Thank you, Marc," she replied. "It's just unreal to me right now. It was so fast. He hadn't felt well and hid it from me for days. When he finally told me, and was taken to the hospital, his spinal cord was severely infected. They did surgery, next morning, his heart stopped. I'm crushed."
Star in His Own Right
Cast as one of the Bronx Italian-American street toughs in the 1963-set "The Wanderers," based on the novel by Richard Price, Ganios became a go-to actor for directors seeking East Coast authenticity throughout much of the '80s.
He collaborated again with his "Wanderers" co-star Ken Wahl, playing a recurring role as a mob lawyer on Wahl's 1987-90 crime series "Wiseguy."
He also gained popularity for portraying Anthony "Meat" Tuperello in the 1980s "Porky's" sex comedy franchise, which spawned two sequels. The films revolved around a group of high school boys in 1950s-era Florida on a quest to lose their virginity.
Ganios played a role as a killer in the 1990 film "Die Hard 2," where his character died after being stabbed in the eye with an icicle by Bruce Willis' character, John McClane.
Ganios' other roles include "Continental Divide" (1981) alongside John Belushi, as well as appearances in episodes of '80s series such as "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and "The Equalizer."
