# Daniel J. Travanti
**Daniel J. Travanti** (born March 7, 1940, in [Kenosha, Wisconsin](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenosha-wisconsin); birth name Daniel Giovanni Travanti) is an American actor best known for playing Captain Frank Furillo on the NBC police drama *Hill Street Blues* from 1981 to 1987, a role that won him two [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards) and a Golden Globe[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/daniel-j-travanti) • [3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/daniel-j-travanti/). After the series ended he worked steadily in television movies, theater, and a second series, *Missing Persons*, while remaining closely identified with Furillo.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | March 7, 1940, Kenosha, Wisconsin; birth name Daniel Giovanni Travanti[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daniel-j-travanti/bio/3030173441/) |
| Signature role | Capt. Frank Furillo on *Hill Street Blues* (NBC, 1981–1987)[6](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/hill-street-blues) |
| Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, 1981 and 1982, for *Hill Street Blues*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/daniel-j-travanti) |
| Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, 1982, for *Hill Street Blues*[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/daniel-j-travanti/) |
| Notable TV movies | *Adam* (1983, as John Walsh), *Murrow* (1986, as Edward R. Murrow), *A Case of Libel* (1983)[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-tv-36649-story.html) |
| Second series | *Missing Persons* (ABC, 1993–1994), 17 episodes, as Lt. Ray McAuliffe[9](https://www.thebeacher.com/2023/ewExternalFiles/BeacherOct05.pdf) |
| Training | Yale School of Drama; costarred with James Earl Jones in *Othello* in 1965[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) |
## Early career
Travanti trained at the [Yale School of Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/yale-school-of-drama) and was winning stage roles on tour and in New York soon after graduating; among other work, he costarred with [James Earl Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-earl-jones) in *Othello* in 1965[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf). He moved to New York in 1963 and worked mostly in television, then relocated to Los Angeles three years later[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/). Through the 1960s and 1970s he appeared in guest roles on series such as *Route 66*, *The Defenders*, *Gunsmoke*, *Kojak*, and *Perry Mason*, parts he later described as limited, mostly "dumb and/or bad guys"[1](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf) • [10](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/daniel-j-travanti). He billed himself under his actual last name, Travanty, until the early 1970s[11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/).
**A turning point in 1973.** According to a career biography, Travanti had turned to drinking to combat career dissatisfaction and was forced to seek professional help in 1973 after a collapse and breakdown on stage during a show in [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis)[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6). Following treatment, he changed course: in 1978 he earned a master's degree in [English literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-literature) at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, and the next year he took a six-month stint on the ABC daytime soap *General Hospital*[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6).
## Hill Street Blues
In 1981, at age 40, Travanti was cast as Captain Frank Furillo on *Hill Street Blues*, created by [Steven Bochco](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-bochco) and Michael Kozoll for NBC's MTM-produced hour-long ensemble drama[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6) • [6](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/hill-street-blues). In a Television Academy interview he described having been reluctant to do a series before accepting the role[10](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/daniel-j-travanti). Furillo was the precinct captain and, in the Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia's description, "the professional touchstone and indisputable patriarch of the precinct work-family, and the moral center" of the show's narrative universe, battling criminals, bureaucrats, his own alcoholism, and a failed marriage[6](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/hill-street-blues).
The series was among television's lowest-rated programs in its first season but was renewed for its critical impact and its six [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards), including Outstanding Drama Series[6](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/hill-street-blues). At the September 1981 ceremony it won eight Emmys, at that point a record for a primetime series in one season, a mark that stood until *The West Wing* won nine in 2000; Travanti took the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series[12](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/news/25-years-ago-today-hill-street-blues-swept-the-emmy-awards) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/daniel-j-travanti). He won the category again in 1982 and was nominated in 1983, 1984, and 1985, adding a 1984 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for playing John Walsh in *Adam*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/daniel-j-travanti). The [Hollywood Foreign Press Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-foreign-press-association) gave him the 1982 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama, with nominations in 1983 through 1986[3](https://goldenglobes.com/person/daniel-j-travanti/), and the Viewers for Quality Television group named him Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series in 1985[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/awards/).
The role brought him a visibility his earlier career had not: press accounts described him as a "thinking woman's sex symbol" at 41, and he later said the show was never merely popular but "the most celebrated"[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/). The series ran seven seasons, ending in 1987; Travanti told a newspaper interviewer that year, "Seven years are enough"[14](https://www.digifind-it.com/Redbank/data/newspapers/register/reg-1970-1991/1987/1987-03-04.pdf).
## Television movies and later work
The fame from *Hill Street Blues* led to acclaimed television movie roles: John Walsh, the father who became an activist after his child's murder, in *Adam* (1983) and its sequel *Adam: His Song Continues* (1986), and the title role of broadcast journalist [Edward R. Murrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-r-murrow) in *Murrow* (1986), which brought a CableACE nomination[7](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/awards/). In 1988 he played prosecutor Joe Hynes opposite [William Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-daniels) in the NBC movie *Howard Beach: Making the Case for Murder*[15](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-tv-2880-story.html), and he appeared in the *American Playhouse* production of *I Never Sang for My Father*, directed by Jack O'Brien[16](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-14-ca-4169-story.html).
**Second series and stage work.** From August 1993 to February 1994 he starred as Lt. Ray McAuliffe, head of the [Chicago Police Department](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-police-department)'s missing persons bureau, in the ABC series *Missing Persons*, which ran 17 episodes[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-tv-36649-story.html) • [9](https://www.thebeacher.com/2023/ewExternalFiles/BeacherOct05.pdf). He later starred in *Poltergeist: The Legacy* and described the move to Chicago and a turn toward semi-retirement in his Television Academy interview[10](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/daniel-j-travanti). Stage work included a 16-week London run as Valmont in *Les Liaisons Dangereuses* and, in 1997, [Eugene O'Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-oneill)'s *A Touch of the Poet* at Arena Stage in Washington[17](https://collections2.swco.ttu.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12255/363574/Snyder_Daily_News_1991_03_31.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/).
In 2013 he appeared in the independent film *One Small Hitch*, winning a Distinctive Achievement Award for Supporting Actor at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival and sharing a Best Ensemble Cast award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/awards/). His later television credits include *NCIS: Los Angeles*[18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/daniel_j_travanti).
## Relationship to the Furillo role
Travanti has repeatedly said he grew weary of being identified with Furillo. In a 1993 interview he refused to mention the series or the character by name, and in a 1997 profile he said the series was all most people knew about him, remarking, "in a minor key, we are legendary"[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-tv-36649-story.html) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/). He also attributed his post-series career partly to his own choices, saying he turned down many projects he did not regret declining, though he regretted earning less money[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-tv-36649-story.html).
## References
1. [TV Stars: The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, entry for Daniel J. Travanti](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf)
2. [Daniel J. Travanti, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/daniel-j-travanti)
3. [Daniel J. Travanti, Golden Globes Awards Database](https://goldenglobes.com/person/daniel-j-travanti/)
4. [Actor with the Blues, The Washington Post, October 22, 1997](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/23/actor-with-the-blues/7f48f422-6415-4334-a9ba-331d50cdad51/)
5. [Daniel J. Travanti Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daniel-j-travanti/bio/3030173441/)
6. [Hill Street Blues, Television Academy Interviews (Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television)](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/hill-street-blues)
7. [Daniel J. Travanti Bio & Filmography, Prime Video](https://www.primevideo.com/person/Daniel-J-Travanti/amzn1.dv.gti.84f9e02c-d641-4f24-9f8f-283c8a706964/ref%3Datv_pp_co_6)
8. [Daniel J. Travanti: Shaking the 'Blues', Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1993](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-19-tv-36649-story.html)
9. [A Famous Friend Honors a Dying Wish, The Beacher, October 5, 2023](https://www.thebeacher.com/2023/ewExternalFiles/BeacherOct05.pdf)
10. [Daniel J. Travanti, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/daniel-j-travanti)
11. [Daniel J. Travanti Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/)
12. [25 Years Ago Today: Hill Street Blues Swept the Emmy Awards, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/news/25-years-ago-today-hill-street-blues-swept-the-emmy-awards)
13. [Daniel J. Travanti Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871240/awards/)
14. [The Register, Red Bank, N.J., March 4, 1987](https://www.digifind-it.com/Redbank/data/newspapers/register/reg-1970-1991/1987/1987-03-04.pdf)
15. [Daniel J. Travanti of Hill Street Blues, Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1989](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-tv-2880-story.html)
16. [Old Globe's O'Brien Takes Talent Back to TV, Los Angeles Times, June 14, 1988](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-14-ca-4169-story.html)
17. [Snyder Daily News, March 31, 1991](https://collections2.swco.ttu.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12255/363574/Snyder_Daily_News_1991_03_31.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
18. [Daniel J. Travanti Filmography, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/daniel_j_travanti)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sw to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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