Captain Tony
“I went down to Captain Tony’s to get out of the heat….” Who is this “Captain Tony” Jimmy Buffett immortalizes in his famous hit, The Last Mango in Paris? Key West’s and your, and our, own Capt. Tony Tarracino, that’s who!
Captain Tony- what a great life and legacy. From his humble beginnings in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to his even more humble arrival in Key West on a milk truck from Miami in 1946, Capt Tony lived life to its fullest and made countless friends around the world for himself, his family, and for his adopted home, Key West.
On this piece of coral and sand called Key West where he lived for over 60 years, Anthony “Captain Tony” Tarracino was a fisherman, charter captain extraordinare (his famous shark catch is in the Smithsonian), owner of the renowned Captain Tony’s Saloon, city mayor, and friend of literary masters Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Shel Silverstein among countless others and best of all, a wonderful husband and father to all of his wives and children. He has been the subject of feature films, songs and books. He appeared on national television more times than anyone can count.
