Acting
Oct 31, 1939
Charleroi, Pennsylvania, United States
Barbara Bosson
Acting
Biography
Barbara Bosson, who earned an Emmy Award nomination for her performance on Murder One (1995), was raised in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, a small coal-mining town about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. When she was a teenager, she and her family moved to Florida, where she attended Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. After graduation, she was accepted into the Drama Department of Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon). When Bosson learned the tuition would be too great a burden on her parents, she instead moved to New York. She supported herself in a variety of jobs -- secretary, television production assistant, Playboy Bunny, etc. -- while studying acting with Milton Katselas and Herbert Berghof, and musical comedy with Word Baker. Six years later, Bosson reevaluated her prospects while working as a secretary for ACT (the American Conservatory Theater). She spoke frequently with various drama department heads, including Earl Gister, head of Carnegie Tech's Drama Department. Deciding it wasn't too late to pursue her dream, she asked Gister for an audition. He agreed. Bosson can't remember her audition, but it convinced Gister to place her in the school and to assist her in finding scholarship money. So, at 26, she became Carnegie Tech's oldest freshman. While attending Carnegie Tech, Bosson met her future husband, Steven Bochco (whom she would not marry until years later), and fellow Hill Street Blues (1981) stars Bruce Weitz and Charles Haid. On a summer break from Carnegie Tech, she landed a job in San Francisco with the improvisational group, "The Committee". With Gister's blessing, she stayed with the group and performed with them for three years. Bosson is a five-time Emmy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series for her portrayal of "Fay Furillo" in the Emmy Award-winning series, Hill Street Blues (1981). An innovative cook, Bosson raised her own herbs and vegetables. She enjoyed skiing, doing crossword puzzles and dancing. Bosson also hated dieting, which she had done unsuccessfully for 25 years. Bosson had two children with Bochco and resided in Los Angeles.
Feature Films (18)
Video game expert Alex Rogan finds himself transported to another planet after conquering the video game The Last Starfighter, only to find out it was just a test. He was recruited to join the team of best Starfighters to defend their world from the attack.
The Last Starfighter
Once Upon a Time in a mythical place called Hollywood, a long, long, long time ago in a galaxy not so very far away, a witty group of actors with 38 EMMY Nominations, 3 Academy Award nominations, and 8 Golden Globe nominations, along with 4 Playmates and a Penthouse Pet, came together in a burst of comic frenzy and created imps*.
Imps*
A young private detective takes on his first case, a young woman with amnesia who doesn't know why a gunman is trying to kill her but believes she might be involved in a murder.
Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours
During the launch party of a nude calendar, one of the models is thrown to her death by a black gloved killer. When the killer begins to strike again, going in the order of the calendar itself, a hard nosed cop realizes that he needs to solve the mystery, or risk all of the models ending up in the morgue!
Calendar Girl Murders
A career driven mother and her daughter don't see eye to eye when it comes to the daughter's future plans.
Supermom's Daughter
Television & Series (20)
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
Murder, She Wrote
The high-powered law firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak handles both criminal and civil cases, usually for high fees. However, office politics and romance often distract the legal staffers from matters in the courtroom.
L.A. Law
Theodore 'Teddy' Hoffman is a highly-regarded defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. Having successfully defended the wealthy but suspicious Richard Cross in a much-publicised murder trial, he is now involved in the defense of Neil Avedon, a famous young actor who has been suffering from severe drug and alcohol problems - and has been charged with the murder for which Cross was acquitted.
Murder One
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of cousin outlaws trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, as he wants to keep the pact under wraps for political reasons. The condition is that they will still be wanted— until the governor can claim they have reformed and warrant clemency.
Alias Smith and Jones
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions.
