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Tony Ganios — famous from “Porky’s” and a ton of other cult classic films — has died.
The actor’s fiancée, Amanda, tells us Tony passed away Sunday at a NY hospital — this after he was taken in on Saturday and was found to have been suffering a severe spinal cord infection. We’re told he went into surgery, but suffered a fatal heart attack the following day as he was recovering.
Thank you, Marc. 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.
— Amanda Ganios (@Pinkyrat87) February 20, 2024
@Pinkyrat87
Amanda says Tony was on his way to a dialysis treatment Sunday morning when he went into cardiac arrest … and we’re told he was experiencing organ failure too. Amanda says his death came so suddenly, and she’s absolutely shattered right now … explaining they were just planning their wedding last week. They’d been together for a couple for at least 9 years.
She posted a sweet tribute to Tony online, 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. #I love you #tonyganios.”
Tony will best be remembered for his lead role in the 1981 film, which went down as a fan fave sex comedy flick and developed a cult following. ‘Porky’s’ also went on to churn out several sequels … including ‘Porky’s II’ and ‘Porky’s Revenge’ — both of which he starred in.
Of course, fans know him as Meat Tuperello … one of the guys trying to lose their V-cards at a brothel, and who ended up playing peeping Toms. The shower scene from the movie is probably one of the most iconic in the raunchy comedy category of movies.
While ‘Porky’s’ was arguably his biggest flick/franchise … Tony was in a handful of other memorable films as well — including 1979’s ‘The Wanderers,’ in which he played Perry.
Other movies of his include ‘Back Roads,’ ‘Continental Divide,’ ‘Body Rock,’ ‘Die Hard 2,’ ‘Rising Sun,’ ‘The Taking of Beverly Hills’ and more. TG had been in shows as well — such as ‘The Ring of the Musketeers,’ ‘Wiseguy,’ ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘Scarecrow and Mrs. King.’
He appears to have left showbiz behind in the ’90s … but he certainly left his mark on pop culture. In fact, film producer Sean Clark had some kind words for Tony upon hearing about his passing.
SC wrote, “Sad to hear of the passing of Tony Gainos aka Meat from Porky’s This photo is from 20 years ago with Tony and Porky’s co-star Scott Colomby Although I had many business conversations with him over the years I would not say he was a friend.”
He adds, “I did not know him well at all. However he was a nice guy and it’s a shame he passed just 2 weeks away from the big Porky’s reunion at Cult Classics Weekend in Bastrop TX in which he was supposed to attend. So with that said I’m sorry for OUR loss.”
TMZ Studios
Amanda tells TMZ Tony had been working and active in the final years of his life. He was 64.
RIP