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out of what could have been car-
icature.
With Maurice, Tom Bosley
feels right at home, and that
home is in the spotlight at the
Palace. "I wanted to come back to
do one more show," says Mr.
Bosley of his 46-year-career, "so
I figured why not do something
where I can sing a little bit."
Critics have been singing the
The company In a scene from 'Beauty and the Beast.'
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ather figures figure promi-
nently in Tom Bosley's im-
pressively bulging bio.
Mr.Bosley has played
the part of parent perfectly: May-
or Fiorello H. LaGuardia, father
to the city of New York, on Broad-
way; Father Dowling, the paren-
ntal priest on TV; and Richie
Cunningham's dear ole dad on
the long-running "Happy Days."
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So, when marking his return
to Broadway after 25 years, it
seems only natural that the ac-
tor whG once served as surrogate
dad to millions of TV viewers
would not abandon his role in the
face of the footlights.
"Somebody asked what part I
play in Beauty and the Beast, and
I said, "What part do you think?"
chuckles Mr. Bosley.
Tom Bosley thinks the world
of Maurice, Belle's doting dad in
the beautiful production of Beau-
ty and the Beast, the Broadway
hit musical based on Disney's
popular movie.
Not that Maurice was always
the ideal dad. "Before I took the
part, I spoke to the producers,
and I told them that I didn't want
the father to come across the way
he did in the movie — he was cra-
zier in the movie — that I want-
ed him to have a much more
poignant relationship with his
daughter," says Mr. Bosley.
Certainly, as animated as he
is, Tom Bosley is no cartoon char-
acter — unlike his animated fea-
ture counterpart. What Mr.
Bosley brings to the role is a
sense of caring and tenderness,
tendering a full-blown portrait
Michael Elkin is the
entertainment editor of the
Jewish Exponent in
Philadelphia.
JOAN MARCUS/MARC BRYAN-BROWN
actor's praises for 35 years, since
he bounded onto Broadway as the
larger-than-life Little Flower
named LaGuardia in 1959.
With his wide-brimmed hat,
the real-life LaGuardia bumped
heads with the pernicious and
powerful politicos at New York's
Tammany Hall.
When he was elected New
York's mayor during the 1930s,
LaGuardia helped undo much of
the wrong that the corrupt politi-
cians had perpetrated on the city
that never sleeps.
The part awakened producers
to Tom Bosley's many talents.
And Mr. Bosley enjoyed the big-
time breakthrough role. "He was
a hero for his times," says Tom
Bosley of the late legendary may-
or.
Could he be one again? Well,
says Mr. Bosley, maybe the man
who helped change the face of
New York would have to face
some changes himself if he re-
turned to the city via the stage.
Certainly, to make a big return
to Broadway, Fiorello wouldn't
have to enter swinging from a
chandelier or arrive by helicopter.
"But he would have to be broad-
ened up a bit," to appeal to today's
audiences, says Mr. Bosley.
What audiences find appeal-
ing about Mr. Bosley is his natu-
ralness, a down-to-earth
soulfulness, a sense that he is an
amiable authority figure with a
vestige of vulnerability.
Which may explain why, when
it comes to getting parts, every
day is Father's Day for Tom
Bosley.
Not that he has been able to fill
the role as wisely at home as on
stage. "The big difference," says
the man who plays the real-life
role to Amy, 27, "is that I can't
take the scripts home with me."
But the scenario life has script-
ed for him is just as interesting.
Mr. Bosley's religious roots ex-
tend back to a great-grandfather
who was first chief Orthodox rab-
bi of Chicago.
But Mr. Bosley's religious up-
bringing was stunted somewhat.
"My brother had a bar mitzvah,
but when it came my time, there
wasn't enough money to send me
to Hebrew school," says the actor.
Impoverished, Mr. Bosley, nev-
ertheless, learned of the religion's
riches. "I have been nothing but
always proud of my heritage,"
says Mr. Bosley.
The actor's career legacy was
not without struggle.
Tom Bosley got his first star-
ring role in the off-Broadway pro-
duction of Thieves' Carnival. It
was a costly production — the ac-
tor made $20 a week and it cost
him $30 to live.
An understanding mother
served as his personal patron.
"My mother was a concert pi-
anist, a total lady in every sense
of the word," recalls Tom Bosley.
Years earlier, "when my par-
ents got divorced" — he was 11
at the time — "she had to go out
and work for the first time at the
age of 45. She never discouraged
me."
In later years, Mom put her
money on her son's future. "She
always sent checks to me."
Tom Bosley cashed in on that
fit role, landing others, leading
eventually to his triumph as La-
Guardia.
That role was a dream-come-
true for Mr. Bosley. But then,
dreams are nothing new to his
family.
"My father was a dreamer,"
says Mr. Bosley. "He was a beau-
tiful human being, but he didn't
like to work very hard. He
dreamt that he could make a for-
tune — let's just say he was a
failed entrepreneur."
Unfailingly, Tom Bosley has
proved as popular with critics as
with audiences — even when it
takes an act of faith to imagine
him in a part. "I mean here was
a Jewish boy playing a Catholic