Jackson Leonard Bostwick Jr. (born October 23, 1943) is an American actor,

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and film producer. He is best known for portraying Captain Marvel in the first season and beginning of the second season of the '' Shazam!''

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

in 1974–1975.

Early life and education

Bostwick was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. His father, Jackson Leonard Bostwick Sr., was a neurosurgeon in Montgomery,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. A photo of Bostwick's parents is seen in a movie in which he starred, '' The Prey''. Bostwick studied pre-med at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, where he was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

fraternity. He also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, having been one of the original students in the program. He studied under

acting coach An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepar ...

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatil ...

and eventually taught classes of hers.

Career

Bostwick was a contestant on the television game show ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

''. He played the lead character role of Captain Marvel on the Saturday morning television series '' Shazam!'' and performed his own stunts. However, he was dismissed from the cast of ''Shazam!'' two installments into the second season and replaced in the role by John Davey. Bostwick had not shown up for a day's shooting, and the producers, Louis Scheimer and Norman Prescott, accused him of holding out for a higher salary. Bostwick explained that he had sustained an injury during the previous day's filming and had gone to seek medical treatment. In an interview, he stated, "I was at the doctor's office having my face and eye examined for an injury that I incurred doing a stunt on the previous day (during the filming of a flying takeoff sequence where the stunt boxes hadn't been reset properly)." He successfully litigated against

Filmation Associates Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated and ...

, which was forced to pay him for the remainder of his contract, plus residuals, including the entire second season. Bostwick appeared in several minor movie roles in the 1980s, such as a sentry in '' My Science Project'' and a guard in ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

''. He played

park ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, field ranger, or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands and Protected area, protected areas – private, national, state, provincial, or local parks. Their duties include ( ...

Mark O'Brien in the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

''The Prey'' (1984). Bostwick later returned to Alabama and taught theater at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

where he directed several plays, including '' The Ballad of the Sad Cafe''. He occasionally appeared in films in the 1990s and 2000s. Bostwick is the founder of the L.A. (Lower Alabama) Film Group and the MIT (Made ostlyIn Tennessee) Film Group, two independent "off-Hollywood" motion-picture and television production companies.

Personal life

Bostwick has trained in

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from ...

and Wing-Chun

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. He also plays the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

Notes and references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bostwick, Jackson 1943 births American male television actors Auburn University at Montgomery faculty Living people Male actors from Pennsylvania American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American Wing Chun practitioners People from Carlisle, Pennsylvania