He was born in Spanish Harlem New York City as Tony Zito. The name Zito was changed by his mother to Azito so that he would have a chance on stage. At that time auditions for children were done on a alphabetical order if you didn't have a theater agent. His mom wanted her son to have a chance so she added the "A". Which put her child in the first group. He got the job and so Azito stayed as the family name.
Tony had attended the prestigious Julliard school. He was given a full scholarship. However he did not graduate from Julliard (allthough he was considered alumni) the reason being he was offered his first role in Joe Papps Three penny Opera. Joe Papp was a great fan of Tony's talent and Tony went on to greater glory with Joe Papp when he was picked for the role of the Sergeant in the Pirates of Penzance.
He studied with the choreographer and modern dancer, Anna Sokolow, for five years: three years at Juilliard and two more with her company. He also studied mime with Moni Yakim.
Tony recieved a Tony nomination for this role as well as winning a Drama Desk award. While Tony's main love was the live stage he did do several television episodes as well as numerous films. The episode of Miami vice that he did was to be a recurring role. However after filming the initial episode Tony was hit and run by a new york cab (who never stopped and was never caught) so the remaining episodes that featured the character of Manolo was played by another actor.
In his memoir, Final Dress (1983), John Houseman ruefully remembers the time he discovered that Azito had had his Juilliard student I.D. photo taken while in full drag...
He died in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, of Aids related complications.
