Promotional Photos of a Young Tom Hanks for the ABC TV Series “Bosom Buddie” (1980–1982)

Bosom Buddies is an American television sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert Boyett, Thomas Miller and Chris Thompson. It aired on Thursday nights for two seasons on ABC from November 27, 1980, to March 27, 1982, and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC. The show features the misadventures of two single men, working in creative advertising, struggling in their industry while disguising themselves as women in order to live in the one apartment they could afford. Gender stereotypes and male/female interpersonal relationships were frequent themes.

Kip Wilson, portrayed by the talented Tom Hanks, is one half of the dynamic duo at the center of Bosom Buddies. As Buffy, he is the more suave and confident of the pair, often finding himself entangled in humorous predicaments.

The chemistry between Hanks and Peter Scolari was what made the show an instant hit. Hanks said that he and Peter were, “molecularly connected in a way that they started speaking the same language.” They would often ab lib from the script and the two actors made TV magic together.

Prior to Bosom Buddies, Hank was a struggling stage actor. Landing Bosom Buddies was Hanks big break. After that, Hank landed big roles including the 1984 hit movie Splash, which was directed by Ron Howard and starred Daryl Hannah. Tom Hanks and Ron Howard became a strong actor-director team and worked on several movies together including Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

In 1988, Penny Marshall cast Hanks in Big and his performance earned him his first Academy Award nomination. From there he went on to star in Nora Ephron’s 1993 hit Sleepless in Seattle with co-star Meg Ryan; the two stars went on to make a number of movies, including You’ve Got Mail.

Hanks moved from comedy to drama in 1994’s Philadelphia, in which he played a lawyer fired from his high-paying firm because he had AIDS. He won the Academy Award for his role. He then went on to star in many successful movies including Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. Hanks has become one of America’s favorite actors.

Here, promotional photos of Tom Hanks for Bosom Buddies: