Daniel John Travanti was born March 7, 1940, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to John and Elvira (DeAngelis) Travanti. He was the youngest of five children. Travanti received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Phi Beta Kappa (1961), attended Yale School of Drama, and received an M.A. in English literature from Loyola-Marymount University, Los Angeles (1978). He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Emerson College in 1982.
Travanti began acting in New York in 1963 and by the early 1970s he had established a solid career in the theater. His first television role was in Route 66, and from 1973-1979 he appeared in several action/adventure series. He also made many television commercials during this period. In 1980, Travanti created the leading role in the innovative series Hill Street Blues, and was awarded two consecutive Best Actor Emmy Awards (1981, 1982) for his portrayal of Capt. Frank Furillo. He is also well known for his performance as the father of Adam, the kidnapped boy in the made-for-television film Adam (NBC, 1983), and the sequel, Adam: His Song Continues. Travanti's other television movies have included A Case of Libel, Murrow, and Aurora.
