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Philip Bosco

 
American Theater Guide: Philip [Michael] Bosco

Bosco, Philip [Michael] (b. 1930), actor. One of Broadway's busiest and most versatile actors, he only became a widely recognized stage star in his later years, but for decades he gave superlative performances in classic and contemporary comedies and dramas. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a carnival operator, and educated at Catholic University of America. The big, burly performer worked as a carnival performer and was a truck driver before becoming a resident actor at Washington's Arena Stage from 1957 to 1960. He made his Broadway debut as the modern‐thinking Heracles in The Rape of the Belt (1960), then over the years Bosco would act for all the notable Manhattan theatre companies, including the New York Shakespeare Festival, Roundabout Theatre, Circle in the Square, and Lincoln Center. Some highlights from his many outstanding performances at these theatres included the understanding father Nat Miller in Ah, Wilderness! (1983), recovering alcoholic Doc in Come Back, Little Sheba (1984), paranoid Commander Queeg in The Caine Mutiny Court‐Martial (1983), and principal Shavian parts, such as Undershaft, Boss Mangan, the Waiter (in You Never Can Tell), and General Burgoyne. His years of loyalty to live theatre were rewarded when he was starred on Broadway as Saunders, the beleaguered impresario, in Lend Me a Tenor (1989). Bosco's later performances of note include the obsessive Harpagon in The Miser (1990), Mafioso Mike Francisco in Breaking Legs (1991), ham actor George Hay in Moon Over Buffalo (1995), Malvolio in Twelfth Night (1998), and the Danish physicist Niels Bohr in Copenhagen (2000).

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Actor: Philip Bosco
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  • Born: Sep 26, 1930 in Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: My Best Friend's Wedding, Children of a Lesser God, F/X 2
  • First Major Screen Credit: An Enemy of the People (1966)

Biography

Catholic University was the alma mater of American actor Philip Bosco -- or would have been if he hadn't been expelled. Bosco would not collect a college degree until age 27, after a long stint as an Army cryptographer. Most comfortable in classical stage roles, Bosco has found it expedient to don modern garb for most of his movie work. After a one-shot screen appearance in 1968's A Lovely Way to Die, Bosco didn't step before the movie cameras again until 1983, making up for the lost years with supporting appearances in such films as Trading Places (1983), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Three Men and a Baby (1987), Working Girl (1988) and Shadows and Fog (1992). Philip Bosco won a Tony Award for his performance in the popular door-slamming farce Lend Me a Tenor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Philip Bosco
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Philip Bosco
Born Philip Michael Bosco
September 26, 1930 (1930-09-26) (age 79)
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1961—present
Spouse(s) Nancy Ann Dunkle (1957-present)

Philip Michael Bosco (born September 26, 1930) is an American actor.

Contents

Early life

Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond (née Thek), a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker.[1] Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City.[2] He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C.[3]

Career

Bosco began his career in Broadway theatre. He received a Tony Award nomination for his debut in The Rape of the Belt in 1960 and spent the next three decades supporting major stars in classic revivals like Cyrano de Bergerac, King Lear, and Twelfth Night. His speciality was George Bernard Shaw, winning raves for Broadway revivals of Man and Superman, Saint Joan, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Major Barbara, Heartbreak House (opposite Rex Harrison), and You Never Can Tell, winning Tony nominations for the last three. He also appeared with Shirley Knight in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Come Back, Little Sheba.

Following his Tony-winning performance in the farce Lend Me a Tenor in 1990, Bosco appeared on Broadway in An Inspector Calls (1994), The Heiress (1995), Twelfth Night (1998), Copenhagen (2000), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He played "Grandpa Potts" in the 2005 Broadway production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and capped his Shawian work as the aged Captain Shotover in a Broadway revival of Heartbreak House in 2006.

Bosco has appeared regularly in the Law & Order franchise of television series, in various roles ranging from judges to lawyers to villains. His film credits include Hogan's Goat, Working Girl, Children of a Lesser God, Nobody's Fool, Wonder Boys, The Money Pit, Quick Change, and The Savages, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. Bosco also portrayed Walter Wallace, father of the bride-to-be in the 1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding, co-starring Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz and Dermot Mulroney.

In 1988, Bosco won a Daytime Emmy award for his appearance in the ABC Weekend Special 'Read Between The Lines'. Bosco is a series regular on the FX original series Damages. He read Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus by Barbara Bash as its narrator on the PBS series Reading Rainbow in its sixty-second episode on March 27, 1990. It was shot in Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

Personal life

Bosco married Nancy Ann Dunkle on January 2, 1957. They have seven children, Jenny, Diane, Philip, Chris, John, Lisa, Celia and 15 grandchildren.[1] A long-time resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, Bosco now lives in Haworth, New Jersey.[2]

References

External links


 
 
Learn More
Faccia a Faccia: Law & Order (TV Episode) (1998 Crime TV Episode)
Walls of Glass (1985 Drama Film)
An Enemy of the People (1966 Drama Film)

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Philip Bosco" Read more