Tony Little

Last updated

Tony Little
Born (1956-09-16) September 16, 1956 (age 67)
Fremont, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Television personality, businessman

Anthony Little [1] (born September 16, 1956) is an American television fitness personality and businessman, who is best known for his fitness infomercial products.

Contents

Little is a certified personal trainer and identifies himself as "America's Personal Trainer". [2] The Florida Times-Union described him as being known for his "booming-voice enthusiasm" and long blond ponytail. [3] Little is known for his use of the catchphrase he trademarked, "You can do it!" [4] [5] [6] [7]

Biography

Personal life

As a child, Little and his mother were abandoned by his father, and he was raised by his mother in Fremont, Ohio. As an adult, he moved to Tampa, Florida, to advance his personal fitness career. In 2009, Little married fitness model Melissa Hall. [8] She delivered their twin sons, Cody and Chase, in Tampa on November 23, 2009. [9] Little has two children from a prior marriage with Tracy Felix: daughter Tara (born ca. 1987) and son Trent (born ca. 1988). [10] Little describes himself as an avid collector of antiques, classic cars, and obscure species of livestock. [11] In 2022, Little was remarried to Michelle Lopresti.[ citation needed ]

Career

Little is a former Mr. Florida and Mr. Junior America bodybuilding champion. [12] In 1983, while training for the National Physique Committee USA Championships, he was involved in a car accident and suffered numerous physical injuries. He had two herniated discs, a knee dislocation, a cracked vertebra, and lacerations. He recovered enough to compete in the event and finished fifth place as a middleweight competitor. [13]

During his recovery, Little began developing exercise programs and became successful in the fitness industry. His products are sold by retailers worldwide, including Home Shopping Network and QVC. His most notable product, the Gazelle, was co-created by Little, colleague Harper Williams, and Fitness Quest. [14]

Parodies and media appearances

Little has frequently been the target and source of parody. In his own infomercials, he has often dressed up, and parodied other TV personalities, such as Fabio, Richard Simmons, and Susan Powter.

Little's persona was depicted as "Peter Small" on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head , "Take a Lap".

Bruce Springsteen's 1995-97 Ghost of Tom Joad Tour included the song "Sell It and They Will Come", a tribute to the insanity of late-night infomercials. Tony Little remarked, "I figure that he (Springsteen) got home from a gig and wanted to watch some TV and couldn't get away from me. The line was: 'And Tony Little, America's personal trainer, please kill yourself.' That cracks me up. I love the parody stuff." [15] [16]

During the original run of the Nickelodeon sketch show All That , Josh Server portrayed a manic fitness instructor named Tony Braun, for whom Little was the inspiration.

In 1997, he appeared as himself, making fun of his own image, on The Weird Al Show . The following year, he once again parodied himself on the Fox show MADtv . He also did a cameo appearance in the movie Frezno Smooth in 1999. In 2005, he appeared in a GEICO commercial that at first pretends to be another of his personal training videos but then becomes a commercial for car insurance.

On a 2002 episode of MADtv, he was parodied and was portrayed by WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin himself would be parodied by MADtv cast member Will Sasso.

Little appeared in the 2006 horror film The Pumpkin Karver.

Little appeared on VH1's Best Year Ever 2007.

In October 2006, Little appeared on an episode of G4TV's popular videogame review show X-Play ; the episode in question was actually named "The Tony Little Episode". [17] The highlight of the episode featured Little in a comedy sketch that directly parodied his own infomercials. In the sketch, Little magically transports (via superpowers) an excessively obese member of G4's web design team into a fitness infomercial (Little claims in the sketch that he obtained said superpowers when he was 16 years old, after being bitten by a radioactive ponytail). Little then shows the person how they can begin an exercise regimen using specialized video-game peripherals.

Little appeared in an October 29, 2006, episode of VH1 reality show Celebrity Paranormal Project .

Little appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three times.

Little appeared on NFL Countdown on December 7, 2008. He was "training" the players on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2009, he appeared on an episode of Real Chance of Love 2 .

One of Tony Little's infomercials was featured in the movie Jennifer's Body when Jennifer is watching TV and circling which boys to kill in her yearbook. Diablo Cody, the film's writer, also mentioned Little in her Oscar-winning script for Juno . When discussing exercise equipment, Juno's father comments, "My wife ordered one of those Tony Little Gazelles off the television.... I don't know about that guy. He doesn't look right."

In April, 2014, Miller Lite beer launched a retrospective ad campaign that included a "recap" of the fitness crazes that (ostensibly) followed the introduction of Miller's low carb, low calorie beer, in which a brief clip of a Tony Little infomercial appears.

In 2018, Little could be seen briefly in a National Car Rental commercial. In the same commercial, Patrick Warburton also affectionately impersonates Little with his own faux ponytail.

In 2020, a clip of a Tony Little infomercial can be seen in the Cricket Wireless ad "Couchercize." [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Popeil</span> American inventor and marketing personality (1935–2021)

Ronald Martin Popeil, was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined the phrase "Set it, and forget it!" as well as popularizing the phrase, "But wait, there's more!" on television as early as the mid-1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Estrada</span> American actor (born 1949)

Henry Enrique Estrada is an American actor and police officer. He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series CHiPs, which ran from 1977 to 1983. He later became known for his work in Spanish-language telenovelas, his appearances in reality television shows and infomercials and as a regular voice on the Adult Swim series Sealab 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Levey</span> American infomercial host

Michael Stephen Levey was an American infomercial host. He was best known for hosting Amazing Discoveries, a series of infomercials that aired on late night television from 1989 to 1997.

An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often program-length commercials, and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight and early morning, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred outside of the traditional overnight hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.

Mad TV is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine Mad, Mad TV's pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodies of popular culture and occasionally politics. Many of its sketches featured the show's cast members playing recurring original characters and doing celebrity impressions. The series premiered on Fox on October 14, 1995, and ran for 14 seasons. Its final episode aired on May 16, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Kattan</span> American actor and comedian

Christopher Lee Kattan is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Kattan found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003. He also played Doug Butabi in A Night at the Roxbury, Bob on the first five seasons of The Middle, and Bunnicula in Bunnicula. He's also known for playing the main antagonist Mr. Feather in Undercover Brother (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Jones</span> American actor

Orlando Jones is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv, for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his role as the African god Anansi on Starz's American Gods.

<i>Robot Chicken</i> American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series

Robot Chicken is an American adult stop motion-animated sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The writers, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Douglas Goldstein, and Tom Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare. Robot Chicken has won two Annie Awards and six Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Six (mascot)</span> Mascot of American Six Flags theme parks

Mr. Six is an advertising character since 2004 for an advertising campaign by the American theme park chain Six Flags. Appearing as an elderly man wearing a tuxedo and thick-framed glasses, he was usually shown stepping slowly off a bus before he suddenly performed a frenetic dance to an instrumental version of the Vengaboys song "We Like to Party" to invite stressed and overworked people to Six Flags. Mr. Six last appeared in 2010, with Six Flags stating the character was on a hiatus. On June 25th, 2024, Six Flags brought Mr. Six back in a Fright Fest ad after 14 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Wilson</span> American actress

Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced various characters on television and video games, including Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Baby Shark's Big Show!, Spitting Image, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Wolfenstein, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Halo Infinite, Diablo IV & Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Frank Caeti is an American actor and comedian, known for his time as a cast member on the FOX sketch-series MADtv from 2005 to 2007. Caeti is also an alumnus of The Second City and Comedysportz in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Lapre</span> American salesman (1964–2011)

Donald D. Lapre was an American multi-level marketing and infomercial salesman. His work involved product packages such as "The Greatest Vitamin in the World" and "Making Money Secrets".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taran Killam</span> American actor, comedian, and writer

Taran Hourie Killam is an American actor and comedian. He first garnered attention for his brief stint on the Fox comedy series MADtv during its seventh season between 2001 and 2002, followed by his wider success as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2016. He has also appeared in other television series such as Wild 'n Out, The Amanda Show, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and in the main cast of Single Parents. Killam is also known for his portrayal of a teen pop star in the 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs. He voiced the title character on the PBS children's cartoon series Nature Cat.

<i>Mad TV</i> season 13 Season of television series

The thirteenth season of Mad TV, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on the Fox Network between September 15, 2007, and May 17, 2008.

Tuan Anh Vu, better known as Tommy or Tom Vu, is a Vietnamese American poker player, real estate investor and speaker best remembered as an infomercial personality in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A popular American TV show from the late 1990s through early 2000s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had a tremendous influence on popular culture that has attracted serious scholarly attention. Even the language used on the show has affected modern colloquial expressions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Mays</span> American salesperson (1958–2009)

William Darrell Mays Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Zorbeez, and Mighty Mendit. His promotions aired mainly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc., although they have aired on other syndicated networks. Mays's infomercials were known for his catch phrase "Hi, Billy Mays here", and his shouted delivery of lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erica Ash</span> American actress (1977–2024)

Erica Chantal Ash was an American actress, comedian, singer, and model. She was a cast member on the sketch comedy programs MADtv and The Big Gay Sketch Show, and she later starred in the Starz sitcom Survivor's Remorse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Horton (personal trainer)</span> American personal trainer, author, and former actor

Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr., known professionally as Tony Horton, is an American personal trainer, author, and former actor. He is best known as the creator of the commercial home exercise regimen P90X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Basedow</span> American fitness personality

John Basedow is an American television personality, model, author, and motivational speaker. He produces the Fitness Made Simple video series and the Internet series New Media Stew.

References

  1. ↑ "TONY LITTLE'S - Trademark Details". trademarks.justia.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tony | Tony Little". www.tonylittle.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Middleton, Diana (December 1, 2007). "Tony Little juices up Jacksonville customers". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved October 14, 2010.[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ Hall, Landon (September 5, 2013). "Infomercial king Tony Little is busy as ever". Orange County Register. Retrieved November 12, 2023. ...he trademarked "You can do it!"
  5. ↑ Little, Tony (November 3, 2014). "After Injury, Tony Little Told Himself: 'You Can Do It!'". NPR.org. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ Eldridge, Tocarra (December 2016). "Fitness Expert Tony Little Overcomes the many Harsh Challenges in Life". Consciousness Magazine. Vol. 12, no. 6. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ Little, Tony (March 13, 2017). "90s Fitness Star Tony Little Offers Women Workout And Life Advice". Swaay. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Tony Little, Overcoming Adversity After Fatal Accident: Motivating Others With Fitness Model Wife". LIVERAMPUP. August 9, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  9. ↑ Dillard, Mechele R. (March 3, 2011). "Tony Little speaks out on devastating effects of postpartum depression". HULIQ. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  10. ↑ "ParentDish – Tony Little: Push Your Body, Not Your Kids – Tony Little". December 3, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ "About Tony". www.bodybybison.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ Martin, Claire (July 30, 1982). "Obsession: Tony Little feels he must muscle his way to the top". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  13. ↑ Strauss, Steve (February 25, 2008). "Ask an Expert: His success is no Little surprise". USA Today. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  14. ↑ Thompson, Victoria; Wright, David (May 20, 2010). "Up Close and Personal With 'America's Personal Trainer'". ABC News. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  15. ↑ "lyricsvip.com". lyricsvip.com. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Montoya, P.; Vandehey, T. (2008). The Brand Called You: Make Your Business Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace. McGraw-Hill Education. p. 222. ISBN   9780071641777 . Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  17. ↑ "G4TV". www.g4tv.com. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Cricket Wireless TV Commercial, 'Couchersize' Featuring Tony Little".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.