So True? So False? Is Tony Danza Really Engaged to...Liza Minnelli?!

Opposites attract, but is the erstwhile Who's the Boss? star really set to tie the knot with the Broadway legend?

By Gina Serpe Jun 07, 2012 7:57 PMTags
Tony Danza, Liza MinnelliThos Robinson/Getty Images

As odd couples go, this one would be hard to beat. After all, Liza Danza?

Is the world really ready for Liza with two Zs?

That's what the online world would have us believe, as word trickled out this week that Tony Danza (yes, that Tony Danza) had popped the question to none other than Liza Minnelli. And, arguably even harder to fathom: she said yes.

As it happens, the theater-loving duo are longtime friends, but they've never been romantically connected—well, until now. In fact, a press release annoncing their happy news even made the rounds along with the announcement, which was disclosed over the weekend in none other a place of record than The Village Voice.

Last we checked, it wasn't April Fool's. So, is this would-be wedding of the century really in the works? Are Tony and Liza really engaged? This rumor is...

So false!

The pals won't be battling over boss status anytime soon, with a rep for Minnelli categorically denying the non-engagement to E! News. So who was to blame for this bizarre whopper of a tale?

Well, a site by the name of Free Press Release was kind enough to host a phony press release that seemingly made its way to various media sites. The dubious piece claimed that the duo had long been attracted to each other, were tenants of the same building and, finally, declared that Minnelli formally announced their coupling in a forthcoming issue of Glamour magazine (which, of course, she didn't).

"In the interview, Liza says, 'I have finally made the decision that there ARE some men who can change the mind of a heartbroken, pessimistic, hopeless romantic,'" the fabricated release quoted her as saying.

Word of warning to future hoaxsters: stick to killing people off Twitter if you want people to take your stories seriously, don't include sentences like this in your copy: "Apparently Tony Danza at one time was a boxer, which may come in handy when it comes to keeping Liza with a Z from biting off his ear."

Aw. How, um, romantic.