Tony Danza was Tupac’s prison pen pal

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Everything you think you know about Tony Danza is now irrelevant. Everything you thought you knew about Tupac Shakur is now irrelevant. Because now the world has learned that Tony Danza, the '80s sitcom star and Internet meme, and Tupac Skakur, rap immortal, were pen pals and friends.

As Danza explains it to Access Hollywood, Shakur's singing and acting inspired Danza to reach out to him in jail:

“I was trying to make a point that since he had five bullets holes in him and he was in jail and he’s the same guy that wrote ‘Dear Mama’ and did all those great acting roles, I said, ‘Maybe there is a better way to do this. Maybe, I know you can’t be a goodie two-shoes in your business, but maybe there is a way to inspire kids,” Tony said, recalling his exchange with Tupac while he was behind bars in 1995.

Tupac wrote and told Danza,"Thanks for understanding me," which struck up an unlikely correspondence between the two. They met before Shakur passed away in 1996.

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Tony Danza was Tupac’s prison pen pal