Barbara "Bobo" Lewis (May 14, 1926 – November 6, 1998) was an American comedic actress of film, musical theatre, stage and television.
Born in Miami, Florida, Lewis studied acting and won a Drama Desk Award in 1978 for portraying a teacher in Working on Broadway. In 1997, she was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award.
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Career
Lewis appeared in numerous stage productions throughout her career. In 1965, Lewis was part of the cast of the Off-Broadway musical revue The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter by Ben Bagley. She performed as Emily, Celia, Dorothy, and Ma as a standby in Twigs (1971 to 1972), followed by roles as the Dowager and Olga in The Women (1973). In 1974, she served as a replacement for the role of Mrs. Ella Spofford in Lorelei. She won the Drama Desk Award for her performances as Fran Swenson, Grace Clements, Lucille Page, and Rose Hoffman in Working (1978). Lewis later appeared in the 1980 world premiere of The Diviners as Norma Henshaw, also as a replacement. In 1987, she portrayed Bernice Roth in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 of 1940 before joining the Broadway production of 42nd Street as a replacement for the role of Maggie Jones.
Bobo Lewis was most famous for her role as gossip Midge Smoot on the children's television series Shining Time Station. Lewis would later appear in the four succeeding Shining Time Specials in 1995. Her other television appearances include roles on sitcoms such as Bewitched, The Monkees, That Girl, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
Bobo was seen in a handful of well-known films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), Way...Way Out (1966) Can't Stop the Music (1980), Arthur (1981) Her Alibi (1989), Miami Blues (1990) and The Paper (1994).
Death
Lewis died on November 6, 1998, at New York Hospital in Manhattan from cancer, aged 72.
Legacy
She teamed up with her Broadway co-star Lynne Thigpen (Working, 1978) to create the Lynne Thigpen-Bobo Lewis Foundation "to help young actresses and actors learn how to survive and succeed in New York theater".
