From the stage to the screen, Barry Bostwick's roles ran the gamut - from bad boys to uptight nerds, men of action or leaders of nations, effortlessly switching from broad comedy to high drama with each role. A veteran Tony Award-winning stage actor, Bostwick moved to the screen where he soon found lasting notoriety in the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) opposite a then unknown Susan Sarandon. While many of his later efforts were far less memorable - the nostalgic "Movie, Movie" (1978) and ridiculous "Megaforce" (1982) being prime examples - Bostwick nevertheless remained a constant presence, primarily on the small screen. With his formal bearing and commanding voice, the actor was often cast as military and political leaders, notably in several Judith Krantz adaptations and two famously lengthy turns as George Washington, culminating in an award-winning role as Lieutenant Carter "Lady" Aster in the acclaimed miniseries, "War and Remembrance" (1988). Bostwick later brilliantly flexed his comedic muscle as the hilariously incompetent New York City mayor on the long-running sitcom "Spin City" (ABC, 1996-2002) opposite Michael J. Fox. After the series ended, he remained a familiar face on television with frequent guest spots on popular series like "Law & Order" Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ). Although never achieving the megawatt stardom of some of his peers, Bostwick was undoubtedly one of the more versatile, hardworking and welcome stars of his generation.Born on Feb. 24, 1945, in San Mateo, CA, where he and his older brother, Peter, were raised, Bostwick was the son of a city planner father, Henry, and a homemaker mother, Betty. His father went on to become a modestly working actor, and his performer's life rubbed off on his kids. By the time Bostwick was a student at San Mateo High School, he and his brother were putting on varying folk music and puppet shows for students. In the mid 1960s, Bostwick headed off to United States International University's School of Performing Arts, but opted to transition from music to acting after an actress he was dating landed him in a play, "Take Her, She's Mine," at the Valley Music Theater. Upon graduating with an acting degree in 1967, he headed off to continue his graduate training at New York University, taking a year off to perform out west with the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company.Back in New York, Bostwick had both his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts in 1969, appearing in the rock musical "Salvation" and then moving on up to "Cock-a-Doodle Dandy." In 1972, Bostwick nabbed a Tony nomination for originating the role of the charismatic Danny Zuko in the musical "Grease." The highs of that year were somewhat tempered by a crushing low, as his young older brother Peter was killed in a car accident, but Bostwick put his energies into work, and after a series of small film roles, appeared opposite Susan Sarandon in the big screen adaptation of the musical classic, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975). As the film's green young lover Brad Majors, Bostwick, along with his fiancée, Susan Sarandon, found himself stranded in the carnival-like world of transvestite, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry).In 1976, Bostwick nabbed a second Tony nomination for a revival of "They Knew What They Wanted," but finally won the prestigious award in 1978, playing the lead in the country-themed musical "The Robber Bridegroom." He found onscreen work to be better paying, however, and continued to juggle them both, including a dual role in the big feature satire "Movie Movie" (1978) and the CBS made-for-television movie, "Murder by Natural Causes" (1979), where an affair with a mentalist's wife leads her to attempt spousal homicide. By 1980, Bostwick began what would become a four-year relationship with actress Lisa Hartman and gave a solid performance in the first of his TV miniseries based on Judith Krantz novels, including the good-looking, sometime photographer in "Scruples" (CBS, 1980).
