‘Hill Street Blues’ Star & Ex-Wife of Steven Bochco Was 83

Veteran actress Barbara Bosson, best known for her Emmy-nominated role in the NBC police drama Hill Street Blues, has died. She was 83.

In an Instagram post, Bosson’s son, Jesse Bochco, confirmed her passing on Sunday, February 19. “More spirit and zest than you could shake a stick at,” he wrote alongside a photo of his mother holding him when he was a child.

“When she loved you, you felt it without a doubt. If she didn’t, you may well have also known that too. Forever in our hearts. I love you Mama.”

Born on November 1, 1939, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Bosson got her first taste of acting in the 1969 crime thriller Bullitt in an uncredited role. From there, she went on to appear in several TV shows throughout the 1970s, including Mannix, Longstreet, Alias Smith and Jones, McMillan & Wife, Griff, and Richie Brockelman, Private Eye.

However, her most memorable role came in 1981 when she joined the cast of Hill Street Blues, co-created by Bosson’s then-husband Steven Bochco. She played Fay Furillo, the ex-wife of Daniel J. Travanti’s main character, Frank Furillo. She starred in the hit series from 1981 to 1985, during which she received five Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Following her run on Hill Street Blues, Bosson joined the cast of the ABC comedy-drama Hooperman in 1987, where she played Captain C.Z. Stern in over 40 episodes. She also portrayed Mayor Louise Plank in the short-lived musical police drama Cop Rock.

Her next big role came in 1995 in the ABC legal drama Murder One, also co-created by Bochco (the couple divorced in 1997), where she played Deputy District Attorney Miriam Grasso. She starred in 41 episodes of the show and received another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.