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Barry Bostwick

Barry Bostwick has built the kind of career that resists being pinned to one medium. Born on February 24, 1945, in San Mateo, California, he has worked as a stage, film, television and voice actor, as well as a singer, dancer and comedian. That range is not an afterthought: musical theatre, screen comedy, drama and cult horror have all played substantial parts in his work. Bostwick studied acting at United States International University in San Diego and graduated from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program in 1968. He also got an early start at the Hillbarn Theatre and spent time as a circus performer. His stage career supplied two defining achievements. In 1972, he originated the role of Danny Zuko in Grease and received a Tony Award nomination. Five years later, he won a Tony Award for his performance in The Robber Bridegroom. For movie audiences, Bostwick remains closely associated with Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where he starred alongside Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. The role gave him a lasting place in musical horror, but it represents only one side of his screen career. He also voiced Terr in the English-dubbed version of Fantastic Planet and later appeared in Megaforce, Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival and Tales of Halloween. Television has given Bostwick room to shift between authority figures, comedy and historical drama. He portrayed George Washington in a 1984 miniseries and returned to the role in George Washington – The Forging of a Nation. From 1996 to 2002, he played New York City mayor Randall Winston on Spin City. His later recurring work included Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Phineas and Ferb and Cougar Town, where his character Roger Frank eventually became mayor of Gulf Haven. That varied résumé suits Bostwick’s adaptable presence. Whether playing a president, a mayor, a clean-cut musical lead or a horror-comedy character, he has repeatedly found room for theatrical energy without losing the shape of the role.