Tony Musante, Oz Actor and Big-Screen Tough Guy, Dies at 77

By Sheila Cosgrove Baylis

11/28/2013 at 11:10 AM EST

Tony Musante in 1970's The Anonymous Venetian

Everett

Television, film and theater actor Tony Musante passed away in New York City on Tuesday at age 77.

Musante, who recently played mafia boss Nino Schibetta on HBO's Oz, died from complications following surgery, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The actor starred as the title character in the cop drama Toma, which ran for one season from 1973-74 and was based on the life of Newark, N.J., detective David Toma. He also played alongside Martin Sheen in the 1967 film The Incident, in which the two terrorized New York City subway riders.

He was nominated for an Emmy for his guest-starring role in a 1975 episode of Medical Story. The following year, he starred opposite Meryl Streep in a theatrical production of 27 Wagons Full of Cotton.

Musante was born in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1936 and married Jane Sparkes Musante in 1962.