Tom Bosley

Biography for Tom Bosley

Bosley was born in Chicago, Illinois and during World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. While attending DePaul University in Chicago in 1947, he made his stage debut in Our Town with the Canterbury Players at the Fine Arts Theatre.

His breakthrough stage part was as New York's Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in the long-running Broadway musical Fiorello! (1959) for which he won a Tony Award.

He is best known as Ritchie Cunningham's father, Howard in the long running sitcom Happy Days but he also portrayed the titular Father Frank Dowling on the TV mystery series, Father Dowling Mysteries, as well as the voice of Harry Boyle in the animated series, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home.

Born in 1927, he served in the United States Navy during the Second World War. While he was following his studies at the De Paul University in Chicago, Tom made his debut of actors at the theater in 1947.

His career as a actor really took off with his role from Mayor Fiorello H. New York Laguardia in the Broadway Long Fiorello Musical in 1959, where he won the Tony award.

It was in 1974 that he became famous thanks to the Happy Days series where he played Howard Cunningham and in June 2004 his character was classified in the 9thrang of the best dad TV of all time. In parallel to the Happy Days series, he will play in many other TV series, such as "La Cruise has fun", but also in TV movies like "The Bastard" (1978) and "The Rebels" (1979).

For 4 years he will integrate the Arabesque series into the skin of the Sheriff Amos Tupper.

In 1986, he participated in the series "Perry Mason" in the episode "The case of the None".

In 1989 he made the film "Fire and Rain" with David Hasselhoff and he became once again assuming the role of a priest in the series "Father Dowling Mysteries", where Tom interpreted the main character from 1989 to 1991.

Subsequently he will choose a theatrical career, recently participating in a few episodes of "Drew Carey Show" (1995) and "Boys Meet World" (1996). Tom also lent his voice to cartoons, like "David the Gnome". On stage, Tom Bosley played “The Beauty and the Best” for 3 years. We then find him Captain in the musical "Show Boat". However, everyone remembers him especially as a severe father, but close to his young people, Richie, Joanie or Fonzie, when they had problems ...

Tom Bosley was an American actor born October 1, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He was mainly known for his role as Howard Cunningham in the cult television series Happy Days and for his role as Simon Bishop in the television series Remington Steele surveys.

Bosley began his acting career in the theater and has played in many Broadway productions, including Fiorello!, The snow queen and the tamed shrew. He also played in several films, including American divorce, the last of the Mohicans and the Tenenbaum family.

In addition to his acting career, Bosley was also a producer and screenwriter. He produced several films for television and wrote several plays.

Bosley died on October 19, 2010 at the age of 83 at Rancho Mirage, California, following pneumonia. His acting career has earned him several awards, including an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe. He remains a much appreciated actor and admired many cinema and television fans.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Won a Tony in 1958 for "Fiorello"
• Bosley was the host of CBS Radio's "General Mills Radio Adventure Theater" in 1977.
• Howard Cunningham, Bosley's character on "Happy Days" (1974), was ranked #9 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
• Won Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for playing the title role of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in "Fiorello."
• Originated the role of Lumiere in the Broadway Production of the Disney musical 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Family

• His daughter, Amy, has given him 3 grandchildren.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by donovan
• Last update: 01/05/2007 by donovan