Tony Danza to bartend at Connolly Station in Malverne

Long Island has its share of bartenders for sure, many of whom are engaging and interesting people -- but it’s unlikely any of those local mixologists have also had their own talk show…or hit sitcom…or starred on Broadway…or appeared in a major motion picture…

Well, come the evening of  March 14, anyone of legal drinking age will be able to order up a beverage from a gentleman who has managed to achieve all of those aforementioned feats, as actor and performer Tony Danza will be guest-bartending at Connolly Station in Malverne.

Danza has had an accomplished career – starring in long-running and syndicated sitcoms “Taxi” and “Who’s The Boss,” starring in films such as “Hollywood Knights” and “She’s Out of Control,” appearing in Broadway productions of “The Producers” and “The Iceman Cometh” and hosting an eponymous daily talk show, among other highlights – but it also happens that the man is a graduate of Malverne High School (Class of 1968) and once tended bar at the tavern that was previously located at the address now home to Connolly Station (named “Ickle Bickle’s Pub”).

However, Danza is not returning to become the newest staffer at Connolly’s, but rather to help his former community.

As it turns out, the Grade 6 classes of the Howard T. Herber Middle School have been making a yearly field trip to the Frost Valley YMCA sleepaway camp in the Catskill Mountain region (frostvalley.org) for more than four decades. Designed to be both an educational and self-building experience for the attending students, the 2013 journey cannot be financed through the district budget. To help raise funds for this year’s outing, Danza will be manning the Connolly Station taps from 8 p.m.-11 p.m.

Admission will be $20, which will also include a free drink, and there will be both raffles and a 50/50 drawing – with proceeds going to the “Save Frost Valley” cause (savefrostvalleyhth.webs.com). The event kicks off at 7 p.m.; for more information, check out Connolly’s online at connollystationli.com and facebook.com/ConnollyStation.

Connolly Station: 280 Hempstead Ave., Malverne, 516-887-5160