| Barbara Bosson | |
| Birth Date: | 1 November 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Charleroi, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Known For: | Hill Street Blues |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1967–1998 |
| Children: | 2 |
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 (1981–1986) and Murder One (1995–1997), for both of which she received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Bosson was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to a tennis coach father, and raised in the nearby coal-mining town of Belle Vernon. She and her family moved to Florida, 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 and as a Playboy Bunny while taking acting classes with Herbert Berghof and Milton Katselas. When she was 26 years old, Bosson was enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University.
Bosson made her screen debut with a minor part in the 1968 crime thriller film Bullitt. During 1970s, Bosson made guest appearances on many series, including Mannix, Emergency!, Ironside and McMillan & Wife. She was a member of the improvisation group The Committee, appearing in the comedy series The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour from 1968 to 1969, and the comedy film Where It's At.[1] 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 (1974), Capricorn One (1978), and The Last Starfighter (1984).
Bosson starred as Fay Furillo in the NBC police drama series Hill Street Blues during the series' first six seasons from 1981 to 1986. She received five Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in series. Following the fifth season, Bochco was fired by MTM Enterprises 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, Mike Hammer, Private Eye, Hotel and Murder, She Wrote.
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, TV Guide Magazine ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002.[2] She later had a recurring role in the legal drama Civil Wars and guest-starred on (in episode "Rivals" as Roana), and . From 1995 to 1997, Bosson starred as a tough prosecutor Miriam Grasso in the ABC legal drama series, Murder One, which earned her an additional Emmy Award nomination.[3]
In 1970, Bosson married writer-producer Steven Bochco, 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.[4]
Bosson died in Los Angeles on February 18, 2023, at the age of 83.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Bullitt | Nurse | Uncredited | |
| 1969 | The Love God? | Minor | Uncredited | |
| 1969 | Where It's At | The Committee | ||
| 1969 | A Session with the Committee[6] | The Committee | Also writer | |
| 1974 | Mame | Emily | ||
| 1978 | Capricorn One | Alva Leacock | ||
| 1978 | Operating Room | Unknown | Television movie | |
| 1983 | Imps* | Pam | ||
| 1984 | Calendar Girl Murders | Nancy | Television movie | |
| 1984 | The Last Starfighter | Jane Rogan | ||
| 1985 | Hostage Flight | Roberta Spooner | Television movie | |
| 1986 | The Education of Allison Tate | Lisa Stubbs | ||
| 1989 | Little Sweetheart | Mrs. Davies | ||
| 1998 | Scattering Dad | Writer, Television movie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Mannix | Miss Riley | S3-Episode 05: "A Question of Midnight" |
| 1972 | Longstreet | Unknown | Episode: "The Sound of Money Talking" |
| 1972 | Emergency! | Mrs. Collins | Episode: "Saddled" |
| 1972 | Alias Smith and Jones | Mrs. Schwedes | Episode: "The Ten Days That Shook Kid Curry" |
| 1973 | Griff | Zena | Episode: "Countdown to Terror" |
| 1974 | McMillan & Wife | Della Wheatley | Episode: "Downshift to Danger" |
| 1975 | Sunshine | Mrs. Cox | Episode: "Father Nature" |
| 1976 | McMillan & Wife | Nurse Roz Beach | Episode: "The Deadly Cure" |
| 1976 | Delvecchio | Nancy Travis | Episode: "Board of Rights" |
| 1978 | Richie Brockelman, Private Eye | Sharon Diederson | 6 episodes |
| 1981–1985 | Hill Street Blues | Fay Furillo | 100 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1981–85) |
| 1986 | Crazy Like a Fox | Unknown | Episode: "A Fox at the Races" |
| 1986 | L.A. Law | Stacey Gill | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | The New Mike Hammer | Mrs. Wayne | Episode: "Requiem for Billy" |
| 1987 | ABC Afterschool Special | Donna Crandall | Episode: "Supermom's Daughter" |
| 1987–1989 | Hooperman | Captain C.Z. Stern | 42 episodes |
| 1988 | Hotel | Sydney Page | Episode: "Contest of Wills" |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Diane Raymond | Episode: "Wearing of the Green" |
| 1990 | Cop Rock | Mayor Louise Plank | 10 episodes |
| 1992–1993 | Civil Wars | Judge Babyak | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Roana | Episode: "Rivals" | |
| 1994 | NYPD Blue | Miriam Davis | Episode: "Simone Says" |
| 1995–1997 | Murder One | Miriam Grasso | 41 episodes Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1995 | Dr. Friskin | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | Total Security | Pamela Chapin | Episode: "Evasion of the Body Snatchers" |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 33rd Primetime Emmy Awards | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Hill Street Blues | |
| 1982 | 34th Primetime Emmy Awards | |||
| 1983 | 35th Primetime Emmy Awards | |||
| 1984 | 36th Primetime Emmy Awards | |||
| 1985 | 37th Primetime Emmy Awards | |||
| 1996 | 48th Primetime Emmy Awards | Murder One | ||
| Viewers for Quality Television | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | |||
| 1997 |