Overview

Boggs was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA and received a Master's degree from Penn's Annenberg School for Communication. He was the celebrity correspondent for the syndicated My Generation television show airing on PBS, featuring interviews inspired by his 2007 HarperCollins book, Got What it Takes?: Successful People Reveal How They Made It to the Top. The book includes interviews with Renée Zellweger, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson, Clive Davis, Joe Torre, and others. He has also published a novel, At First Sight, with Grosset and Dunlap publishers. That novel and his one-man show about his TV career, Talk Show Confidential, were optioned by Renée Zellweger for a screenplay inspired by his life.

A former news anchorman for WNBC in New York, Boggs also hosted 'All Star Anything Goes' a CBS TV game show. His first talk show was in 1972. He hosted 'Southern Exposure' for (then) ABC affiliate, WGHP channel 8 in High Point, North Carolina.

Boggs was host of Midday Live on WNEW-TV (now WNYW) from 1975 to 1986, as well as 'Saturday Morning Live' on WNEW TV. succeeding Lee Leonard.

He created the first national restaurant review show, TV Diners, for the Food Network, and spent many years hosting the network's first non-cooking show, the celebrity interview show, Bill Boggs' Corner Table. Boggs co-executive produced and hosted TV's first syndicated stand up comedy series, Comedy Tonight in the late 1980s.

He also hosted Championship Boxing Report Update for Showtime, and Historic Traveler and Freeze Frame (an adventure photographer show) for the Travel Channel.

Boggs was also the executive producer of The Morton Downey, Jr. Show and founding executive producer of Court TV (now TruTV).

Boggs appeared in several film and television dramas including Oz and Miami Vice. He appeared as himself in the movie Eyes of Laura Mars.

He debuted a solo stage show called Talk Show Confidential in 2003. The show included stories and rare video clips from his years as a television talk show host.

Boggs formed Boggs/Baker Productions Inc with Richard Baker. The company produced several music shows including artists as varied as Lou Reed (A Night with Lou Reed), Bobby Short (Bobby Short & Friends at the Cafe Carlyle) Ian Hunter, Mink DeVille and a documentary on The Stuttgart Ballet (The Miracle Lives) as well as the syndicated series Comedy Tonight." Boggs is an officer of the Friars Club of New York and a member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work on television, he is a leadership coach and motivational speaker for Vistage International.

Personal life

Boggs has been married four times. HIs first marriage was to a college classmate, and was annulled. His second marriage was to Leslie Bennetts, a journalist and columnist for Vanity Fair. His third marriage was to Canadian actress Linda Thorson, and produced a son, Trevor. His fourth marriage, to publishing executive Carol Edmunds Campbell, ended in divorce in 2010.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]