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The Wanderers Image: Orion Pictures Nostalgia for the kinder, simpler, more innocent days of the ‘50s and ‘60s was rampant all through the bitter, cynical ‘70s. The decade was swarming with entertainment that doubled as fictionalized time capsules: American Graffiti, Happy Days, the music of Sha Na Na, Animal House,...

The WanderersImage: Orion Pictures

Nostalgia for the kinder, simpler, more innocent days of the ‘50s and ‘60s was rampant all through the bitter, cynical ‘70s. The decade was swarming with entertainment that doubled as fictionalized time capsules: American Graffiti, Happy Days, the music of Sha Na Na, Animal House, Grease.

Tony Ganios, an actor best known for his roles in the comedy franchise Porky’s, coming-of-age film The Wanderers, and action classic Die Hard 2, has died. He was 64. Ganios’ wife, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, confirmed the passing on social media, where she shared a photo of the two holding hands. “I love you so much, my love. I’m broken,” she wrote alongside the image. She later shared a follow-up tweet, writing, “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.” According to People, Ganios died on Sunday morning (February 18) after a long surgery for a spinal infection. Amanda later confirmed this on X, noting that his “heart stopped.” “It’s just unreal to me right now. It was so fast. He hadn’t felt well and hid it from me for days,...

Tony Ganios, best known for playing Anthony ‘Meat’ Tuperello in Porky’s, is dead at the age of 64. According to the actor’s fiancée Amanda, Tony was admitted to a hospital in New York on Saturday with a severe spinal cord infection but passed away of heart failure following surgery on Sunday.

“The last words we said to each other were, ‘I love you,’” Amanda wrote on X. “Love is an understatement. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul and my best friend.“

He made his feature-film debut in Philip Kaufman’s coming-of-age comedy-drama The Wanderers, which followed a group of Italian-American teenagers and their power struggles against rival gangs in the Bronx in 1963. The film was a success upon release, but its popularity grew over the decades as it developed a passionate following, even leading Warner Bros. to re-release the movie in 1996.

Ganios made a name for himself with Porky’s,...

Tony Ganios, the comedic actor known for his turn as fan-favorite Meat in Bob Clark’s “Porky’s” and as Perry in Philip Kaufman’s 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama “The Wanderers,” died Feb. 18 following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64.

Ganios’ finacée shared the news on social media — publishing a tweet that featured a photo of the two holding hands with the caption, “I love you so much, my love. I’m broken.” She later followed up with a tweet containing a photo of Ganios and the 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 known for his roles in 1980s teen comedies and action movies. He gained prominence for his portrayal of tough, muscular characters that frequently had him tap into character acting to play...

Tony Ganios, the actor who made his film debut in Philip Kaufman’s 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama The Wanderers and played audience favorite Anthony ‘Meat’ Tuperello in the 1980s Porky’s sex comedy franchise, died Sunday following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64.

His death was announced on social media by his fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, who said that the actor fell ill last week, was hospitalized Saturday with a spinal cord infection, and passed away Sunday of heart failure.

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, for much of the ’80s, a go-to actor for directors looking for a touch of East Coast flavor. Ganios re-teamed with his Wanderers co-star Ken Wahl for a recurring role as a mob lawyer on Wahl’s 1987-90 crime series Wiseguy.

John Friedrich, Ken Wahl, Tony Ganios,...

“I don’t blame you. When I was your age, I was knockin’ ’em off left and right; but I never did it with nobody’s daughter.”

The Wanderers (1979) screens Friday December 16th through Sunday December 18th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The movie starts at 7:30 all three evenings.

The Bronx, 1963. The 50’s style greaser gang the Wanderers find themselves becoming obsolete as the world changes all around them. The beginning of the Vietnam war and the assassination of President Kennedy signify the end of innocence while these lovably macho and rugged Italian-American lugs deal with gang fights, racial conflicts, finishing high school, and the awkward, yet inevitable transition from adolescence to adulthood. With the 1979 film The Wanderers, based on Richard Price’s cult novel, Director/co-writer Philip Kaufman delivered a vivid, funny, moving and sometimes even surreal evocation of a magical period in time. He...

Cinema’s Hidden Pearls – Part I

By Alex Simon

One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.

Here are a few of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:

1. Night Moves (1975)

Director Arthur Penn hit three home runs in a row with the trifecta of Bonnie & Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant and Little Big Man,...

Stars: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Cyril O’Reilly, Tony Ganios, Kaki Hunter, Kim Cattrall, Nancy Parsons, Boyd Gaines, Doug McGrath, Chuck Mitchell, Alex Karras | Written and Directed by Bob Clark

When we think of the rise of the teen sex comedy in the current movie generation the focus easily moves to American Pie and maybe even Superbad. The brashness and move against being controlled by the ratings system pushed the boundaries of what could be included on-screen. Looking back to the eighties though there was a movie that arguably created the blueprint from which these films would work from. That film was Bob Clark’s Porky’s.

Set in 1954 we see a group of high school kids from Florida, trying to find the best way to get their friend Pee-Wee (Dan Monahan) laid, and finally “lose his cherry”. With a few disastrous failures under their belt,...

We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.

This week’s “Question of the Week” on Jeff Bayer’s “Movie B.S.” podcast is inspired by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, a film about bullies and wimps clashing within the American educational infrastructure (I’m just assuming – Jeff reviewed it, I didn’t).

Read Jeff Bayer’s review of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”

In honor of the wimps and their bullies, it’s time to think about the best clashes between the two in all of cinematic history. Below is a list that covers the moments of “Bully vs. Wimp,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean victory for the little guy. Sometimes, the wimp wins, but in others, the bully just keeps on harassin’, sassin’, and obviously, bullyin’.

Here are the Top 7 Bully vs. Wimp Moments …

7. Porky’s (1982)

Bully: Porky Wallace (Chuck Mitchell)

Wimp: Young...