Barbara Bosson (November 1, 1939 – February 18, 2023) was an American actress and writer. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'' (1981–1986) and '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), for both of which she received six

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations.

Early life

Bosson was born in

Charleroi, Pennsylvania Charleroi ( ) is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River, 21 miles south of Pittsburgh. Charleroi was settled in 1890 and incorporated in 1891. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,210. Red ...

, to a tennis coach father, and raised in the nearby coal-mining town of

Belle Vernon Belle Vernon is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated along the Monongahela River, abutting two other counties, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland to the north and Washingt ...

. She and her family moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and she graduated from Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport in 1957. She later moved to New York and worked as a secretary for the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...

and as a

Playboy Bunny A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a straples ...

while taking acting classes with

Herbert Berghof Herbert Berghof (September 13, 1909 – November 5, 1990) was an American actor, director and acting teacher.Kennedy, Dennis. ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'', Oxford Univ. Press (2010) p. 61 Early life Berghof was born in ...

and

Milton Katselas Milton George Katselas (December 22, 1933 – October 24, 2008) was an American-Greek director and producer of stage and film, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach who trained under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the acclaimed ...

. When she was 26 years old, Bosson was enrolled at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Career

Bosson made her screen debut with a minor part in the 1968 crime thriller film ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American action thriller film directed by Peter Yates from a screenplay by Alan Trustman, Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner and based on the 1963 crime novel ''Mute Witness'' by Robert L. Fish. It stars Steve McQueen, Ro ...

''. During 1970s, Bosson made guest appearances on many series, including ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'', ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...

'', '' Ironside'' and ''

McMillan & Wife ''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976 to 1977) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, ...

''. She was a member of the improvisation group The Committee, appearing in the comedy series ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' is an American television comedy, comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially consid ...

'' from 1968 to 1969, and the comedy film '' Where It's At''. In 1978 she was regular cast member in the short-lived detective drama series, '' Richie Brockelman, Private Eye''. She also had supporting roles in films ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to emulate the hardware of arcade games, video game consoles, old computers and other systems in software on modern personal computers and ...

'' (1974), ''

Capricorn One ''Capricorn One'' is a 1977 thriller film in which a reporter discovers that a supposed Mars landing by a crewed mission to the planet has been faked via a conspiracy involving the government and—under duress—the crew themselves. It was wri ...

'' (1978), and ''

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager who, after winning the high score in an arcade game that's secretly a simulation test, is rec ...

'' (1984). Bosson starred as Fay Furillo in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

police drama series ''

'' during the series' first six seasons from 1981 to 1986. She received five

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in series. Following the fifth season, Bochco was fired by

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the produc ...

after he refused to cut costs and pare storylines. Bosson soon would exit ''Hill Street Blues'' as well, quitting after filming three episodes for season six. She later guest-starred on ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'', ''

Mike Hammer, Private Eye ''Mike Hammer, Private Eye'' is an American syndicated television program based on the adventures of the fictitious private detective Mike Hammer, created by novelist Mickey Spillane. Like the previous series, it was produced by Jay Bernstein ...

'', ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'' and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. From 1987 to 1989, Bosson was regular cast member in the ABC comedy-drama series, '' Hooperman''. In 1990 she starred in the short-lived ABC musical procedural ''

Cop Rock ''Cop Rock'' is an American police procedural musical television series created by Steven Bochco and William M. Finkelstein for the American Broadcasting Company. It premiered on September 26, 1990, and broadcast eleven episodes before concludin ...

'',

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

Magazine ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002. She later had a recurring role in the legal drama ''

Civil Wars A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.James Fearon"Iraq' ...

'' and guest-starred on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (in episode "

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

" as Roana), and '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. From 1995 to 1997, Bosson starred as tough prosecutor Miriam Grasso in the ABC legal drama series, '' Murder One'', which earned her an additional Emmy Award nomination. Steven Bochco and Barbara Bosson 3849

Personal life

In 1970, Bosson married writer-producer

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, mostly crime dramas, including '' Hill Street Blues''; ''L.A. Law''; '' Doogie Howser, M.D.''; ...

, who created several of the series in which she starred, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Murder One'', and ''Cop Rock''. The couple had two children before divorcing in 1997. Bosson died in Los Angeles on February 18, 2023, at the age of 83.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosson, Barbara 1939 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American television actresses People from Charleroi, Pennsylvania