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Tony was born the fourth of five children in the sandhills of north central Nebraska, where his parents were
ranching. His father was out buying a "pretty good" bull that day, according to family legend. He grew up in the
Sonoran desert of Arizona, but migrated to Los Angeles in the late '70s where he attended USC film school.
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While supporting himself in multi-media production, he began experimenting in stereoscopic drawing techniques,
which led to a job converting the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby's drawings to 3-D for the Ray Zone
penned book "Battle for a Three Dimensional World." After a period of designing 3-D glasses and
anaglyph promotions for the craze of 1983-D, he was hired to rotoscope stereo effects animation for the movie
"Metalstorm," where he met effects supervisor Frank Isaacs.
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With his big break into Hollywood, he began free-lancing as an animator, prop and miniature builder and set grunt;
sidelining at 3-D comic conversion with the then mere Prince of 3-D, Zone. Eventually, through the good graces of
Gene Warren Jr. of Fantasy II Film Effects, he learned optical printer operation. Thus he spent many
long nights torching vampires and Terminators, electrocuting maniacs and generally making the impossible at least
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He bought one of the first Amiga computers, entering the endless modern cycle of upgrading, hacking, and generally
enriching the manufacturers of silicon chips. Needing some means to finance his new addiction, he teamed up with
his old pal Frank to supply effects for low-budget action films and the rest is history. Obscure history, perhaps,
but history just the same.
When not making visual magic, he plays the ukulele, rides his recumbent bicycle, and reads voraciously. |