Acting
GenderFemale
BirthdayOctober 31, 1939 (85 years old)
Place of BirthCharleroi, 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.
The Last Starfighter
Imps*
Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours
The Impatient Heart
Calendar Girl Murders
Supermom's Daughter
Your Alcohol I.Q.
Petulia
Capricorn One
Mame
Hostage Flight
The Bunny Years
Little Sweetheart
The Love God?
The Abduction of Allison Tate
Jury Duty: The Comedy
A Session with the Committee
Murder, She Wrote
L.A. Law
Murder One
Alias Smith and Jones
Mannix
Hill Street Blues
Emergency!
Crazy like a Fox
Hooperman
Cop Rock
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye
Delvecchio
McMillan & Wife
McMillan & Wife
NYPD Blue
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Ironside
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman