TV Dad, unionist and gifted Actor Tom Bosley is gone

TV Dad, unionist and gifted Actor Tom Bosley is gone

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Tom Bosley

Tom Bosley, the actor best known for playing the father of Richie Cunningham on the sitcom “Happy Days,” died Tuesday in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 83, and is survived by his second wife Patricia and daughter Amy.

Bosley is also know for his roles on Love American Style,  Murder, She Wrote, and The Father Dowling Mysteries. 

Bosley’s death comes less than a week after the passing of Barbara Billingsley, who played iconic TV mother June Cleaver on “Leave It To Beaver.”

Born in Chicago, Bosley joined the U.S. Navy in 1945 at the age of 17 and enrolled at DePaul University in a pre-law program. He quickly switched to acting, however, and performed in stock theater in Illinois after college.

Bosley first found fame playing New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Fiorello!” (1959) and starred in a number of film and television roles before being cast as Ron Howard’s folksy father Howard Cunningham on “Happy Days,” which aired from 1974 to 1984.

TV Guide ranked Bosley/Mr. Cunningham number 9 on their list of “Top TV Dads of All Time.”

Photo below: Tom Bosley with 2011 SAG LIfetime Achievement reciprient Ernest Borgnineand his wife Nancy.

Above is from Wall Street Journal.com/ with additions based on IMDB, NPR news, LA Times and New York Times.