Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor and singer. He is arguably best known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as the mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City. He has also had considerable fame in musical theatre.
Bostwick, one of two children, was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Betty (née Defendorf), a homemaker, and Henry "Bud" Bostwick, Jr., a city planner and actor. His only sibling, Henry "Pete" Bostwick, was killed in a car accident on June 20, 1973. Bostwick attended San Diego's United States International University in 1967, majoring in acting, and worked for a time as a circus performer.
In 1972, Bostwick originated the role of bad boy, Danny Zuko in the stage production of Grease, earning a Tony Award nomination for his performance. In 1975 he starred with Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He also won a Tony Award for his performance in the 1977 musical The Robber Bridegroom. From 1996 to 2002, Bostwick portrayed Randall Winston, the Mayor of New York City in the sitcom Spin City opposite Michael J. Fox and his successor, Charlie Sheen.
Since 2004, Bostwick has had a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Other television credits include guest appearances in Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O, The Golden Palace, Grace Under Fire, Cold Case, Scrubs, and Las Vegas, among others. He has also had leading roles in various mini-series, including George Washington, its sequel The Forging of a Nation, Scruples, A Woman of Substance, War and Remembrance, and Till We Meet Again.
Bostwick served as host of the nationally televised annual Capitol Fourth celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for eight years.
Bostwick was also seen in a Pepsi Twist commercial. In the Cold Case episode Creatures of the Night, in which he is the main suspect, the theme of the episode revolves around The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is among his best-known performances to date.
Recently, Bostwick gained a recurring role, as Grandma Betty Jo and Grandpa Clyde Flynn on Phineas and Ferb.
Bostwick married Stacey Nelkin, but they were divorced in 1991. Bostwick is married to his second wife Sherri Ellen Jenkins and has two children, Brian and Chelsea.
In 1997, Bostwick was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 10 days later had his prostate removed. In 2004, he won the Gilda Radner Courage Award from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
Additionally, In 2003, Bostwick appeared on Scrubs as a patient also diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In 1979 he starred, with Hal Holbrook, Katharine Ross, and Richard Anderson in the made-for-TV movie "Murder by Natural Causes".
