Word has just gotten out on the passing of another cherished television favorite.
Veteran character actor Tom Bosley has passed away after a bout with heart failure at 83. After making the rounds as a guest star on several series during the 60's and early 70's, Bosley was cast as hardware salesman Howard Cunningham on Happy Days. The role had been originated by Harold Gould in a pilot episode on Love, American Style, but when Gould became unavailable due to scheduling conflicts, Bosley took his place, and the rest is history. After Happy Days ended its run, Bosley began taking on more dramatic parts, most notably as Sheriff Amos Tucker on Murder, She Wrote, before leaving for his first starring role in The Father Dowling Mysteries as a crime-solving priest.
Bosley also lent his voice to a number of animated series & specials, including the syndicated series Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home (1972), and the American version of The World of David the Gnome, which aired on Nickelodeon in the 80's and early 90's. Bosley also narrated the Rankin-Bass Christmas special, The Stingiest Man in Town, a sort-of adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". During his run on Happy Days, Bosley did a series of commercials for Glad trash bags.
Rest in peace, Tom. You'll be missed.
When I read Bosley's obit, I began to ask the usual superstitious question: who will be the third? Then I had a strange bonus thought: we've lost a mother (Billingsley) and a father (Bosley), so the third ought to be a child -- someone who played a child, that is.
ReplyDeleteAnd wouldn't you know? Johnny Sheffield, the "Boy" to Weissmuller's Tarzan, is the latest obit for the nostalgia crowd. Check your news sites for more details.
Thanks for the tip. I've posted a obit piece on Sheffield after checking Yahoo!.
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