Julia Anne Bovasso (August 1, 1930 – September 14, 1991) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television.
Life and career Bovasso was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of this borough, the daughter of Angela Mary (née Padovani) and Bernard Michael Bovasso, a teamster.Profile, Doollee.com; accessed August 4, 2017. She was Albanian-Italian-American.
She attended The High School of Music & Art in Manhattan.Rothstein, Mervyn (September 17, 1991). "Julie Bovasso, a Dramatist, 61; Active in Avant-Garde Theater", The New York Times.
Bovasso appeared in numerous films, including Saturday Night Fever (1977) as Florence Manero, the mother of John Travolta's character, Tony Manero. She reprised the role in the film's 1983 sequel Staying Alive. Before Saturday Night Fever, she appeared in the 1970 Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon.
In addition to Staying Alive, she was in a number of films in the 1980s, including Willie & Phil (1980), The Verdict (1982), Daniel (1983), Off Beat (1986), Wise Guys (1986), Moonstruck (1987). In the 1990s, Bovasso was seen in Betsy's Wedding (1990) and My Blue Heaven (1990).
On-stage, Bavasso wrote and appeared in avant-garde productions off-Broadway such as Jean Genet's The Maids. For the latter, she won the first Best Actress Obie (Off-Broadway) Award in 1956, presented to her by Shelley Winters.
Before her film work, Bovasso established the experimental Tempo Playhouse at 4 St. Marks Place in Manhattan during the 1950s. There, she introduced works of the Theater of the Absurd, including works by the playwrights Jean Genet, Eugene Ionesco and Michel de Ghelderode, to the professional theater in the United States.
Bovasso also performed with The Living Theater and had a longstanding relationship with La Mama Experimental Theatre Club. From 1968 to 1975, she directed many of her own original works at La MaMa, including Gloria and Esperanza, Schubert's Last Serenade, The Moondreamers, Standard Safety, and The Nothing Kid.
In addition to her work as a director and actor, her playwriting credits include the four-hour play Gloria and Esperanza, which Village Voice theatre critic Jerry Tallmer described as "a miracle, a mythopoetic fireworks display." A sought-after acting coach, Bovasso was known as an exacting instructor and her private New York workshops regularly included prominent performers. As per the DVD commentary, Bovasso coached both Cher and Olympia Dukakis on their Brooklyn accents in the film Moonstruck.
In earlier performances, she played Rose Corelli Fraser in the short-lived soap opera From These Roots. She was fired from that show due to a disagreement with producers.
Marriage Bovasso was married to painter George Earl Ortman for 30 years until her death in 1991.Interview with George Ortman, August 2010; Geoform.net; accessed August 4, 2017.
Death In September 1991, Bovasso died in New York City of cancer at age 61.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1970 Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon Ramona 1977 Saturday Night Fever Flo Manero 1980 Willie & Phil Mrs. D'Amico 1982 The Verdict Maureen Rooney 1983 Staying Alive Flo Manero 1983 Daniel Frieda Stein 1986 Off Beat Mrs. Wareham 1986 Wise Guys Lil Dickstein 1987 Moonstruck Rita Cappomaggi 1990 Betsy's Wedding Grandma 1990 My Blue Heaven Vinnie's Mother 1992 Article 99 Amelia Sturdeyvant
Selected theatrical credits Moon DreamersLa MaMa's Digital Collections, Documentation related to "Moondreamers" at La MaMa (1968 and 1969). Retrieved June 27, 2017. Schubert's Last SerenadeLa MaMa's Digital Collections, Documentation related to "Schubert's Last Serenade" at La MaMa (1971 and 1975); retrieved June 27, 2017. Gloria and Esperanza Monday on the Way to Mercury IslandLa MaMa's Digital Collections, Documentation related to "Monday on the Way to Mercury Island" at La MaMa (1971); retrieved June 27, 2017.
References
External links
Julie Bovasso at La MaMa Archive