John Bosley (fictional detective)
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| John Bosley | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Pilot - 21 March, 1976 |
| Last appearance | Let Our Angel Live - 24 June, 1981 |
| Cause/reason | Series Finale |
| Created by | Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts |
| Portrayed by | David Doyle |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Private Detective |
John Bosley is the assistant to owner Charlie Townsend in the 1976-1981 television series Charlie's Angels. He was portrayed by David Doyle. He, along with Kelly Garrett (actress Jaclyn Smith), is the only character who stayed with the Townsend Agency for the show's entire 5-season run.
Contents |
[edit] Original series
John Bosley (often nicknamed "Boz") is a middle aged man of average looks, especially when contrasted with the glamorous "Angels". However, he is warm, funny, and intelligent, and often helps the Angels either with background information, or often joining them in the field. Seemingly asexual (and thus unthreatening), he helped direct the Angels meet Charlie's desired ends in the series where most men were villains and women were often victims (outside the Angels themselves[1]). Several times he played either a pratfall-type character or a Sugar Daddy as part of one of the Angels' covers. Bosley always initiates the phone conferences between Charlie and the Angels as they learn of each case. He also acts as a father figure to the ladies. In early episodes, he takes a playfully antagonistic role to the Angels, especially Jill's and Kris' sense of humor. He also frets about vacation days, car damages, and timeliness when the opportunity arises.
Bosley is apparently the only Townsend Agency employee to have ever met Charlie, and he remains steadfast in never revealing Charlie's identity, or even a clue to his looks. This was a running joke in the series.
Most of the Angels found themselves romantically involved at one time or another with someone they encountered on the job, and Bosley is no exception. In one early episode, Bosley mentions a wife, but by the second season he "has not been married for some time", and he became linked with several females encountered in cases, although always those of middle age. One particularly close relationship occurred when the Angels visited Aspen, Colorado in Season 3. However, these liaisons never seemed to last beyond the episode, and otherwise, we learn little about Bosley's private life.
Ironically, although Bosley is proficient with firearms, disguises and accents, his actions occasionally hampered the Angels' work. In one episode, Bosley, acting as an Auctioneer, gets caught up in the excitement and mistakenly sells valuable merchandise not to an Angel as per the plan, but to an actual bidder. This ruined the Angels later plan to catch a cat burglar.
[edit] Recognition
David Doyle was nominated for a 1977 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and a 1980 Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actor in a Supporting Role.
[edit] Film series
In the Charlie's Angels films, John Bosley was played by Bill Murray, and then in the sequel, a new character, John's adoptive brother Jimmy Bosley (comedian Bernie Mac), replaced him.
For the first film, Drew Barrymore, the producer and star of the film series, pursued Bill Murray for months to play Bosley; he consistently declined. Eventually, he did the film but did not return for the sequel. Murray was rumored to have clashed with co-star Lucy Liu on the set.[2]
