Barbara Bosson

Known for ActingBorn 1939-11-01Died 2023-02-18Charleroi, Pennsylvania, United States

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.Read more

Movies & web series

The Abduction of Allison Tate

Scattering Dad

Supermom's Daughter

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Emergency!

The Impatient Heart

A Session with the Committee

Murder One

Hill Street Blues

Murder, She Wrote

Crazy like a Fox

NYPD Blue

Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer

L.A. Law

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours

Delvecchio

Alias Smith and Jones

McMillan & Wife

Ironside

Capricorn One

The Last Starfighter

Mannix

Richie Brockelman, Private Eye

Hostage Flight

Hooperman

Mame

The Love God?

Petulia

Little Sweetheart

Calendar Girl Murders

Cop Rock

Imps*

The Bunny Years

Jury Duty: The Comedy

Inventors

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