Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) a laugh, esp. a loud ‘belly laugh’, usu. show business use.

1947		N.Y. Herald Trib. 28 Dec. 16/2: [heading] Phil Silvers, who started out in burlesque, has found that the $5 customers are no different from the 35-centers — they love a ‘boffola’.
1961		W. Randle ‘Payola’ in AS XXXVI:2 109: Slang is a large repository of words ending in -ola [...] : boffola.

2. (US) a success in show business.

1951		Green & Laurie Show Biz from Vaude to Video 547: Mario Lanza’s surprise boffola, The Great Caruso, with its longhair hit parade music, catapulted a wave of middle-and-highbrow music.
1956		Mad mag. Nov.–Dec. 38: [headline] Boffola in the Bunkers.