Barry Bostwick

Barry Bostwick

Active - 1971 - 2023  |   Born - Feb 24, 1945 in San Mateo, California, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Action

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Biography by AllMovie

Tall leading man Barry Bostwick began his professional acting career while still a sophomore at the United States International University School of Performing Arts in San Diego; his first stage gig was opposite Walter Pidgeon in Take Her, She's Mine. Completing his training at the New York University Graduate School of the Arts, Bostwick made his Broadway bow in Cock-a-Doodle Dandy. He went on to play Danny Zuko in the smash-hit musical Grease, and in 1978 won a Tony Award for his work in The Robber Bridegroom. In films from 1971, Bostwick is best known for his calculatedly cloddish portrayal of Brad Majors in the midnight-movie perennial The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Equally enjoyable was his characterization of the aspiring songwriter ("It Just Shows to Go Ya") who agrees to write an entire Broadway musical in 24 hours in the 1979 spoof Movie, Movie. Barry Bostwick has also excelled on television, playing movie idol John Gilbert in Garson Kanin's The Silent Lovers (1980) and George Washington in two mid-'80s miniseries based on the life of the first U.S. president. He continued to work steadily on the big and small screen in projects such as the miniseries War & Remembrance and its sequel, Challenger, Praying Mantis, and Weekend at Bernie's II. At the beginning of the 21st century he appeared in The Skulls 3 as well as other productions including Hannah Montana: The Movie. In 2012 he appeared in the action comedy FDR: American Badass!

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Factsheet

  • Put on folk-music and puppet shows in high school with his brother.
  • Was influenced by his father, who joined the Screen Actors Guild at the age of 79.
  • Originally focused on singing but switched to acting when a girlfriend got him a part in the play Take Her, She's Mine.
  • Was the original Danny Zuko, playing the character in Grease when it premiered on Broadway in 1972; he received a Tony nomination for his performance.
  • Played the nerdy stranded motorist, Brad Majors, in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  • Hosted the PBS July 4th broadcast of A Capitol Fourth for eight years.