San Diego born, Detroit raised, TONY WINTERS is second generation show business. His father, singer John "Net" Winters, was a founding member of the legendary 50's Doo Wop group THE PELICANS who recorded the hit "Aurelia" and his uncle later recorded the 80's R&B slow jam classic "Magic Man" under the moniker ROBERT WINTERS AND FALL. However, Tony has blazed his own unique trail through the business of show. That is, he began his career simply as an actor and over the past two decades has evolved into the multi-hyphenate actor/screenwriter/producer.After graduation from Detroit's Redford High School, young Mr. Winters headed West to the place of his birth to attend college. It was there while attending San Diego City College that he was bitten by the "acting bug". Hard. Under the the tuteledge of Lyman Saville he began his theater training in earnest. Saville first cast Winters in a supporting role in LITTLE MURDERS and later in the lead role of Axel in Woody Allen's DON'T DRINK THE WATER. But college theater was not enough for the eager thespian, so he looked beyond City's small campus and found a thriving African-American theater scene -- and a mentor in the person of Dr. Floyd Gaffney. Under "Dr. G", Winters tackled a succession of pivotal roles; Brick in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, Lou in SPELL #7, Prince in MOON ON A RAINBOW SHAWL and Homer in the LILIES OF THE FIELD. He even spent time in the choruses of GUYS AND DOLLS and DON'T BOTHER ME, I CAN'T COPE.
In an effort to expand his career into film and television he moved on to Tinseltown. A long time movie buff, he fittingly landed a job as a Tour Guide at the famed Universal Studios Tour and was discovered there by actor/producer Leon Isaac Kennedy. So impressed was Kennedy with Winters' witty delivery that he cast him as a reporter in the third installment of his gritty prison film series PENITENTIARY III. "I was cut from the finished movie," said Winters. "Occupational hazzard. But I earned my SAG card and I've continued to work ever since." A recurring role as Tony on television's DAYS OF OUR LIVES soon followed and his breakthrough turn as Dr. Ossie Dunbar M.E. on NBC'S HUNTER have together cemented a place for him on the small screen. As he has become one of Hollywood's busiest journeyman actors with scores of guest shots on such hit shows as DYNASTY, HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN, E.R., SEINFELD, THE DIVISION, THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, BOSTON LEGAL and CRIMINAL MINDS. His commercial credits include; MCDONALD'S, COORS, SATURN, IBM, REEBOK, HBO, MERRILL LYNCH and many, many others. He appeared opposite four Academy Award winners in SNEAKERS and has enjoyed roles in other big box office fare such as PRIMARY COLORS, GREMLINS 2 and VIRTUOSITY. At the midpoint in his career, he boasts of having shared the screen with WESLEY SNIPES, DENZEL WASHINGTON and even SIDNEY POITIER.Always one to seek new challenges, Winters began writing screenplays and formed DETROIT WINTERS PRODUCTIONS to produce them. His first effort was the romantic comedy RETIRING TATIANA, winner of the "Audience Favorite" award at The Pan African Film & Arts Festival. The upstart company's sopohmore offering was the stage production and film version of the poingant family drama SECTION 8. The play was nominated for three NAACP Theater Awards; Best Production, Best Set Design and Best Supporting Actor. While the film garnered "Best Feature Film" at The Arizona Black Film Showcase. "The awards have happened because I strive for truth in my writing. Truth resonates with people," said Winters. The films were acquired by Ventura Distribution and Image Entertainment, respectively and have been successfully distributed throughout the United States and Canada.