Boggs, Bill 1942- (William Boggs, III)

views updated

Boggs, Bill 1942- (William Boggs, III)

PERSONAL:

Born July 11, 1942, in Philadelphia, PA; son of William, Jr. (an electrical appliance dealer) and Helene (a U.S. Navy purchasing agent) Boggs; married Leslie Bennetts (a newspaper reporter), May 19, 1970 (divorced); married Linda Thorson (an actress), 1984 (divorced); married Carol Campbell (a magazine publisher), May 21, 2005; children: (by second marriage) Trevor. Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1963, M.A., 1964.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY.

CAREER:

Writer, producer, actor, television host, public speaker. Armstrong Cork Co., writer, 1964-65; Patchett & Tarses, manager of comedy team, 1966-69; KYW-TV, Philadelphia, PA, writer and producer of McLean & Co., 1970-72; host and producer of talk show, Southern Exposure, 1972-74; WNEW-TV, New York, NY, host of Midday with Bill Boggs; host of Weekend Today in New York, NBC; host of Bill Boggs Corner Table, Food Network; host of Historic Traveler and Freeze Frame, Travel Network; executive producer, Court TV. Talk Show Confidential, one-man show, Off-Broadway, 2003. Our Sinatra, Off-Broadway play, lead actor. Member of advisory board of Ballet Hispanico, Juvenile Diabetes, and Humane Society.

MEMBER:

New York Athletic Club, Friars Club of New York (member of board of directors), Yale Club.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Award from U.S. Rubber, for "Midday with Bill Boggs"; public service awards; four Emmy Awards; named Father of the Year, National Father's Day Committee, 2000.

WRITINGS:

At First Sight (novel), Grosset (New York, NY), 1980.

Got What It Takes? Successful People Reveal How They Made It to the Top, Collins (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of comedy scripts. Contributor to Diversion, New York Times, and Blacktie International Magazine. Author of blog.

SIDELIGHTS:

Bill Boggs is an Emmy Award-winning television host and producer whose shows have ranged from the talk show format to travel and food. He has hosted over a dozen different shows for several networks. Boggs's television interviews include talks with William Buckley, Gore Vidal, Margaret Mead, Sidney Sheldon, Norman Mailer, Rona Jaffe, Isaac Asimov, and Neil Simon. Boggs has noted that his most difficult interview was with movie star Lee Marvin, who was so inebriated that he had to be helped getting on stage. He also has reported that his most embarrassing moment on television came when he fell asleep on his own show. In addition, Boggs has written book-length works, including the 1980 novel, At First Sight. Boggs once commented to CA: "My novel was motivated by an intense relationship, and the desire to tell the story of love from a man's point of view."

Boggs has also starred in Off-Broadway productions, such as Our Sinatra, as well as his own one-man show, Talk Show Confidential, a series of anecdotes about the stars he has interviewed. Reviewing that production in Back Stage, Esther Tolkoff termed it "fun" and further noted: "Boggs' delivery is down to earth, as if he's talking one on one at a party." In 2007 he published his second book-length work, Got What It Takes? Successful People Reveal How They Made It to the Top, in which he presents forty-four case histories of stars and entrepreneurs alike detailing how they achieved success. One of the people he profiles, Diane von Furstenberg, laid her success to luck and timing, as did television personality Matt Lauer. For former New York governor Mario Cuomo the secret of success was being able to focus all one's energies on a goal, while for business tycoon Donald Trump it was a matter of abstaining from alcohol and the bad decisions and hangovers that might result from such consumption. In an interview for the Ding Bat magazine Web site, Boggs shared his own secret: "The key to my own success was probably my success at Lincoln High School in northeast Philadelphia—it was there that I developed a certain small gift for speaking in front of audiences." Boggs went on to note that this experience "somehow gave me the confidence to make a childhood dream come true—that dream was to be like the people on the radio whom I heard when I was a little boy—I wanted to be an interviewer even then." Reviewing Got What It Takes? for Booklist, David Siegfried noted that it "includes numerous quotes and reflections on self-doubt, motivation, risk taking, and everyday practices."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Back Stage, August 20, 2004, "Talk Show Confidential," p. 48.

Booklist, March 15, 2007, David Siegfried, review of Got What It Takes? Successful People Reveal How They Made It to the Top, p. 6.

Broadcasting & Cable, June 28, 1993, "Warhol Minus 12," p. 63; February 3, 1997, "Travel Update," p. 72; July 26, 1999, "‘Cooking a Cross America’ Offers Hot Stuff for Charity," p. 44.

Business Wire, July 9, 2000, "Nokia and San Diego Mayor Launch City-wide Mobile Courtesy Campaign; Nokia and San Diego Lead the Way to Encourage the Nation to Mind Their Mobile Manners," p. 2015.

Daily News Record, May 8, 2000, "Discriminating Taste; Television Personality Bill Boggs Feels Strongly about Dining and Dressing Well," p. 8.

Entertainment Weekly, July 17, 1998, "Bill Boggs' Corner Table," p. 38.

Mediaweek, May 22, 2000, "Boggs Corners Dad Award," p. 38.

Nation's Restaurant News, April 28, 2003, "Whitsons, NYIT Host Culinary Expo 2003," p. 30.

New York Times, February 26, 1980, "Who Are New York's Most Eligible Bachelors?," p. 9; December 21, 1980, "Midday," p. 37; June 15, 2001, "Parlaying a Gift into a Gig Honoring Ol' Blue Eyes," p. 2; May 22, 2005, "Carol Campbell, Bill Boggs," p. 14.

Philadelphia, November, 1987, "Bill Boggs: The Return of the Prodigal Personality," p. 29.

Restaurant Business, April 10, 1995, "Who's Watching the Food? Has a $60 Million Investment in a Cable Network for Foodies Paid off Yet?," p. 62.

Weight Watchers, November, 1987, "America's Top TV Hosts Tell All," p. 59.