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William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr., Ed.D (born July 12, 1937) is an American actor, comedian, television producer and activist.

Bill Cosby is one of the United States' most popular and admired entertainers, known for his wit and warmth both onstage and off. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start working clubs and making comedy albums, then moved into television with a vanguard role in the 1960s action show I Spy. He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show, in the early 1970s, and created the humorous educational cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby also acted in numerous films, although none has received the acclaim of his television work. During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in one of the decade's defining cultural products, The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and featured an upper-class African-American family without resorting to the kinds of vulgar stereotypes previously seen among African-American characters in prime-time television. Though some argued that The Cosby Show ignored the issues of racial inequity still prevalent in society, others maintained that it showcased positive role models.

The late 1990s brought trouble for Cosby, first in early 1997 with the death of his only son, Ennis, who was shot to death on a Los Angeles freeway in a random act of violence. Also that year, he was dragged into a court case that involved a young woman who was charged with extortion in claiming that he was her biological father - a shocking accusation that Cosby denied. Cosby admitted to having a one-time affair with the woman's mother. Despite these personal setbacks, Cosby did not slow down at all in the 1990s, starring in Cosby , which first aired in 1996, and hosting Kids Say the Darndest Things, which began in 1998, as well as making more movies. He has also continued appearing on the stand-up circuit, delighting audiences with his gentle, paternal brand of comedy. His material consists mainly of anecdotal tales, often dealing with his upbringing and raising his own family, and he is known for having a clean, kid-friendly routine. His good-natured, fatherly image has made him a popular personality and earned him the nickname of "America's Black Dad," and he has also been a sought-after spokesman for products like Jell-O Pudding and Coca-Cola.

Biography

Early life and success

William Henry Cosby, Jr., was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All Movie Guide, retrieved May 31, 2006 Cosby's mother, Anna Cosby, worked as a housekeeper, sometimes as many as 12 hours a day, and when Cosby was eight, his father, William Henry Cosby, joined the U.S. Navy and served as a mess steward, NNDB, retrieved May 31, 2006 which meant he was away from home for months at a stretch. Cosby was thus often left in charge of his younger brothers, Russell and Richard (another younger brother, James, died at age six of rheumatic fever Yahoo! Movies, retrieved May 31, 2006). Despite all the hard work, his family's finances suffered, and they were forced to sell their home and move to a smaller house, then into the Richard Allen housing project in the Germantown district of North Philadelphia.Curmudgeon-Online, retrieved May 31, 2006 Although the neighborhood was rough, Cosby's mother provided a firm moral ground for her sons by reading to them from the Bible and authors such as Mark Twain. However, he also enjoyed the serial radio programs of the time, such as The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Lights Out, and the humor of Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, Fred Allen, and George Burns with Gracie Allen. Internet Movie Database Inc., retrieved May 31, 2006

In school, Cosby was bright and athletic, the captain of the baseball and track teams at Mary Channing Wister Elementary School as well as class president. Early on, though, teachers noted his propensity for clowning around rather than studying. At Fitz-Simmons Junior High, Cosby began acting in plays as well as continuing his devotion to playing sports. He went on to Central High School, which was known to be academically challenging, but his full schedule of playing football, basketball, baseball, and running track, not to mention his dedication to joking in class, made it hard for him. In addition, Cosby was working before and after school, selling produce, shining shoes, and stocking shelves at a supermarket to help out the family. He transferred to Germantown High School, but failed the tenth grade. William Morris Agency, retrieved May 31, 2006 Instead of repeating, he got a job as an apprentice at a shoe repair shop, which he liked, but could not see himself doing the rest of his life. Subsequently, he joined the Navy, serving at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia and at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Military.com, retrieved May 31, 2006

While serving in the Navy medical corps for four years, Cosby worked in physical therapy with some seriously injured Korean War casualties, Military.com, retrieved May 31, 2006 which helped him discover what was important to him. He immediately realized the need for an education, and finished his equivalency diploma via correspondence courses. Kennedy Center, retrieved May 31, 2006 He then won a track and field scholarship to Philadelphia's Temple University in 1961, ESPER, retrieved May 31, 2006 and studied physical education while running track and playing right halfback on the football team. However, he had continued to hone his talent for humor, joking with fellow enlistees in the service and then with college friends. When he began tending bar at the Cellar, a club in Philadelphia, to earn money, he became fully aware of his ability to make people laugh. He worked his customers and saw his tips increase, then ventured on to the stage. Verve Records, retrieved May 31, 2006

Cosby left Temple as a sophomore to pursue a career in comedy. His parents were not pleased, but he lined up gigs at clubs in Philadelphia and soon was off to New York City, where he appeared at the Gaslight Cafe starting in 1962. Later, the university would grant him his bachelor's degree on the basis of "life experience." Cosby's career took off quickly, and he lined up dates in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington DC, among others. He received national exposure on NBC's Tonight Show in the summer of 1963 and released, Very Funny Fellow ... Right!, the first of a series of popular comedy albums in 1964.

While many comics were using the growing freedom of that decade to explore controversial, sometimes risqué material, Cosby was making his reputation with humorous recollections of his childhood. Many Americans wondered about the absence of race as a topic in Cosby's stories. As Cosby's success grew he had to defend his choice of material regularly; as he argued, "A white person listens to my act and he laughs and he thinks, `Yeah, that's the way I see it too.' Okay. He's white. I'm Negro. And we both see things the same way. That must mean that we are alike..... So I figure I'm doing as much for good race relations as the next guy."

I Spy

In 1965, Cosby achieved a first for African-Americans when he costarred with Robert Culp in I Spy, an adventure show that reflected cold-war America's seemingly endless appetite for James Bond-style espionage fantasies. But Cosby's presence as the first black star of a dramatic television series made I Spy unique; Cosby and NBC executives were concerned that some affiliates might be unwilling to carry the series. At the beginning of the 1965 season, however, only four stations--in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama--declined the show. But the rest of the country was taken with the show's exotic locales and the authentic chemistry of the stars, and it became one of the ratings hits of that television season. I Spy finished among the twenty most-watched shows that year, and Cosby was honored with an Emmy award for outstanding actor in a dramatic series, as he would be again for the next two consecutive years. Although ostensibly focused on Culp's character, the show had clearly become a vehicle for his costar.

Yet throughout the series' three-year run Cosby was repeatedly confronted with the question of race. For him it was enough that I Spy portrayed two men who worked as equals despite their different races; but critics took the show to task for not having a black character engage the racial issues that inflamed the country at that time. Cosby was relieved when the series ended, enabling him to concentrate on his family (he and wife Camille had two daughters by this time) and to return to live performing.

The Bill Cosby Show and the 1970s

He still pursued a variety of television projects: as a regular guest host on The Tonight Show and the star of an annual special for NBC. He returned with another series in 1969, The Bill Cosby Show, a situation comedy that ran for two seasons. Cosby played a physical education teacher at a Los Angeles high school (he had actually majored in physical education at Temple University); while only a modest critical success, the show was a ratings hit, finishing eleventh in its first season.

After The Bill Cosby Show left the air Cosby returned to his education, actively pursuing an advanced degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. This professional interest led to his involvement in the PBS series The Electric Company, for which he recorded several segments teaching reading skills to young children. In 1972, he was back in prime time, with a variety series, The New Bill Cosby Show, but this time he met with poor ratings, and the show lasted only a season. More successful was a Saturday morning show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, hosted by Cosby and based on his own childhood, running from 1972 to 1979, then from 1979 to 1984 as The New Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Some schools used the program as a teaching tool, and Cosby himself wrote his thesis on it in order to obtain his doctorate in Education in 1977.

Also during the 1970s, Cosby and other African American actors, including Sidney Poitier, joined forces to make some successful comedy films which countered the violent "blaxploitation" films of the era. Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Let's Do It Again (1975) were generally praised, but much of Cosby's film work has fallen flat. Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) costarring Raquel Welch and Harvey Keitel; A Piece of the Action, with Poitier; and California Suite, a compilation of four Neil Simon plays; were all panned. In addition, Cos (1976) an hour-long variety show featuring puppets, sketches, and musical numbers, was canceled within the year. Cosby was also regular on children public programs starting in the 70's hosting the "Picture Pages" segments which lasted into the early 80s.

The Cosby Show and the 1980s

Cosby's greatest television success came in 1984 with the debut of The Cosby Show. For Cosby the new situation comedy was a response to the increasingly violent fare the networks usually offered. Cosby insisted on and got total creative control of the series, and he was involved in every aspect of the series. Not surprisingly, the show had parallels to Cosby's actual family life: like the characters Cliff and Claire Huxtable, Cosby and his wife Camille were college educated, financially successful, and had five children. Essentially a throwback to the wholesome family situation comedy, The Cosby Show was unprecedented in its portrayal of an intelligent, affluent, nonstereotypical African-American family.

Much of the material from the pilot and first season of The Cosby Show was taken from his then popular video Himself, released in 1983. The series was an immediate success, debuting near the top of the ratings and staying there for most of its long run. The familiar question of relevance came up again but was more or less drowned out by praise for the series. People Magazine called the show "revolutionary," and Newsday concurred that it was a "real breakthrough." Cosby's formula for success, as had been the case throughout his career, was to appeal to the common humanity of his audience rather than to the racial differences that might divide it.

In 1987, Cosby attempted to return to the big screen with the spy spoof Leonard Part 6. Unfortunately, Cosby realised during production that the film was not going to be what he wanted and publicly denounced it, warning audiences to stay away on talk shows.

In the 1990s

After The Cosby Show went off the air in 1992, Cosby embarked on a number of other projects, including the ill-fated series I Spy Returns (1994) and The Cosby Mysteries (1996). He also made appearances in two more film flops, The Meteor Man (1993); and Jack (1996); in addition to being interviewed in Spike Lee's 4 Little Girls (1997), a documentary about the racist bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama, church in 1963. Also in 1996, he started up a new show for CBS, Cosby, again costarring Phylicia Rashad, his onscreen wife on The Cosby Show (early on she replaced Telma Hopkins). Cosby co-produced the show for Carsey-Werner Productions. The show was based on a cynical British program called One Foot in the Grave, but Cosby lightened the humor. It centered on Cosby as Hilton Lucas, an iconoclastic senior citizen who tries to find a new job after being "downsized," and in the meantime, gets on his wife's nerves. The late Madeline Kahn costarred as Rashad's goofy business partner. In addition, Cosby in 1998 became the host of Kids Say the Darndest Things. After four seasons, Cosby was cancelled. The last episode aired April 28, 2000. Cosby continued to work with CBS through a development deal and other projects.

His wellspring of creativity became manifest again with a series for preschoolers, Little Bill, which made its debut on Nickelodeon in 1999. The network renewed the popular program in November of 2000. In 2001, at an age when many give serious consideration to retirement, Cosby's agenda included the publication of a new book, as well as delivering the commencement addresses at Morris Brown College and at Ohio State University. Also that year he signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to develop a live-action feature film centering on the hilarious and popular Fat Albert character from his 1970s cartoon series. Fat Albert was released in theaters in December of 2004.

Personal life

Cosby met his wife, the former Camille Hanks, while he was performing stand-up in Washington D.C., in the early 1960s, and she was a student at the University of Maryland. They married on January 25, 1964, and had five children: daughters Erika Ranee, Erinn Chalene, Ensa Camille, and Evin Harrah, and son Ennis William. Tragically, Ennis was killed on January 16, 1997, shot while changing a flat tire on the side of a Los Angeles freeway. In 1998, a jury found teenage gang member Mikail Markhasev guilty of the random crime. Around the same time, fans were startled when a 22-year-old woman, Autumn Jackson, tried to extort $40 million from Cosby, claiming he was her biological father. He admitted to having a one-time fling with Jackson's mother and had provided money to the family until Jackson turned 18, though he disputed the paternity claim from the start. She was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to 26 months in prison; two accomplices were sentenced to five years and three months. The convictions were overturned in June 1999 on a technicality. The case was retried later, and the convictions were returned.

Cosby, as of 2005, maintains a home in Shelburne, Massachusetts.

Honors

Political views

  • Bill Cosby's sociopolitical views, especially about the black community, are complex and have often been reduced to a simplistic representation. He has a long history of endeavors to advance African-Americans, which he sometimes tries to accomplish by being critical of African-Americans. He opposes Affirmative Action on the premise that it does the African American community more harm than good.

  • The media was not very accepting of Cosby's Pound Cake Speech with Richard Leiby of the Washington Post saying "Bill Cosby was anything but politically correct in his remarks Monday night at a Constitution Hall bash commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision," (Leiby, Richard).

  • He was the first bigtime entertainer to cancel an appearance in Cincinnati after a boycott was called in response to the 2001 Cincinnati Riots. His support of this cause encouraged other stars to follow.

  • Cosby has been critical of African-Americans regarding those who hold low standards and allowing fatherless single parent households, high crime rates, and high illiteracy rates. He encouraged a more proactive effort from African-Americans to reduce those problems. He expanded upon his remarks in San Jose, California during an event to promote the Read-2-Lead Classic. The way his speeches were portrayed by popular media provoked a great deal of anger from some African-Americans.

  • Cosby was the impetus for the formation of ARISE Detroit! when, in a January 13, 2005, speech at Wayne County Community College he challenged black Detroiters to stop blaming white people for problems they could solve themselves. "It's not what they're doing to us. It's what we're not doing," the entertainer told the audience of nearly 2,000 people. A little more than a year later, ARISE Detroit was formed to address this issue. *

The Pound Cake Speech and other comments on moral values

In May 2004 after receiving an award at the celebration of the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which was the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that outlawed school segregation (Wu, Frank H.), Cosby made public remarks critical of those Blacks who put higher priorities on sports and fashion than on education and self-improvement. He has made a plea for African American families to educate their children on the many different aspects of American culture (Baker). According to Washington Times, he has had a long history of endeavors to advance African Americans (DeBose, Brian).

In "Pound Cake," Cosby, whose doctorate degree is in education, asks that African American parents begin teaching their children better morals at a younger age. He directed this address to the leaders in the lower and middle economic classes of the African American community. Cosby told reporters of the Washington Times, "Parenting needs to come to the forefront. If you need help and you don't know how to parent, we want to be able to reach out and touch" (DeBose, Brian).

The U.S. national media focused on limited content and, without any national opinion polls or quantitative study, declared his speech was divisive and suggested that Cosby was addressing all blacks.(see main article). Other African-American leaders such as Jesse Jackson, have made similar public comments that a particular subset of blacks are their own worst enemy (Segregated Expectations, USA Today).

Cosby again came under sharp criticism, and again he was largely unapologetic for his stance. He made similar remarks during a speech on July 1 at a Rainbow Coalition meeting commemorating the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. During that speech, he admonished Blacks for not assisting or concerning themselves with the individuals who are involved with crime or have counter-productive aspirations. He further described those who needed attention as "Blacks (who) had forgotten the sacrifices of those in the Civil Rights Movement." The talk was interrupted several times by applause and received praise from leaders such as Jesse Jackson.

Cosby and jazz

Since his youth in 1950s Philadelphia, Cosby has been a fan and supporter of jazz music. He hosted at his home the 1983 wedding of jazz innovator Miles Davis and actress Cicely Tyson, and on The Cosby Show he wrote the fathers of both Cliff Huxtable and his wife to be aged jazz musicians.

Controversy

  • In January 2005 a woman alleged she was drugged and fondled by Cosby in May 2004. In a statement from Cosby's publicist, Cosby's attorney said, "the charges are categorically false and we have no further comment." Pennsylvania authorities found "insufficient credible and admissible evidence" to support the woman's claims, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor.

  • In February 2005 a second woman, California lawyer Tamara Green (nee Lucier), came forward alleging that in the 1970s she was drugged and groped by Cosby. Cosby's attorney has denied any merit to the allegations, stating "Mr. Cosby does not have any knowledge of a woman named Tamara Green or Tamara Lucia."

    While prosecutors have declined to press charges against Cosby, the first accuser has filed a federal civil suit against the performer. Attorneys for the woman suing Bill Cosby for sexual assault claim that at least ten other women are prepared to testify about "prior similar sexual assaults and/or drugging incidents" perpetrated by the comedian.

Albums

  • Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow, Right! (1963)
  • I Started Out as a Child (1964)
  • Why Is There Air? (1965)
  • Wonderfulness (1966)
  • 8:15 12:15 (1967)
  • Revenge (1967)
  • Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings (1967)
  • Little Ole Man (single) (1967)
  • 200 M.P.H. (1968)
  • Bill Cosby Sings Hooray for the Salvation Army (1968)
  • To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With (1968)
  • It's True! It's True (1969)
  • Hikky Burr (Part 1/Part 2) (single) (1969)
  • The Best of Bill Cosby (1969)
  • Badfoot Brown & the Bunions Bradford Funeral Marching Band (1970)
  • Sports (1970)
  • More of the Best of Bill Cosby (1970)
  • For Adults Only (1971)
  • Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs (1971)
  • When I Was a Kid (1971)
  • Inside the Mind of Bill Cosby (1972)
  • Fat Albert (1973)
  • Bill (1973)
  • At Last Bill Cosby Really Sings (1974)
  • Bill Cosby Is Not Himself These Days (1976)
  • Disco Bill (1977)
  • My Father Confused Me...What Must I Do? What Must I Do? (1977)
  • Bill's Best Friend (1978)
  • Himself (1982)
  • Hardheaded Boys (EP) (1985)
  • Those of You With or Without Children, You'll Understand (1986)
  • Excerpts from Those of You With or Without Children, You'll Understand (EP) (1986)
  • Where You Lay Your Head (1990)
  • Oh, Baby (1991)
  • At His Best (1992)
  • Hello Friend: To Ennis, With Love (1997)
  • 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Bill Cosby (2001)
  • The Bill Cosby Collection (2004)

Books

  • Fatherhood (1986) - ISBN 0425097722
  • Time Flies (1987) - ISBN 0553277243
  • Love and Marriage (1989) - ISBN 0553284673
  • Childhood (1991) - ISBN 0399136479
  • Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998) - ISBN 0553581260
  • ''Congratulations! Now What? A Book for Graduates (1999) - ISBN 0786865725
  • Cosbyology: Essays and Observations from the Doctor of Comedy (2001) - ISBN 0786868104
  • I Am What I Ate...and I'm Frightened!!! (2003) - ISBN 0060545739
  • Friends of a Feather (2003) - ISBN 0060091479

Trivia

  • Cosby is an avid cigar smoker, which he attributes to his comedy idol Groucho Marx.
  • Cosby likes fountain pens *.
  • Cosby is a member of Omega Psi Phi.
  • Cosby continues to speak at seminars to high school students around the U.S. about the benefits of community college.
  • Like Bob Newhart and Brian Regan, Cosby does not use profanity in his act (one exception being his segment about cocaine from Bill Cosby Himself, which includes one well-placed swear, another bring in For Adults Only when he says "hell" and "damn" several times).
  • Cosby has been spoofed in some episodes of animated comedies like The Simpsons, Kids Next Door, South Park, Family Guy, Minoriteam, The Boondocks and, most recently, House of Cosbys.
  • Eddie Murphy, Aries Spears, Kenan Thompson , and Adam Sandler, have parodied Bill Cosby numerous times on television often making fun of his way of talking, his edorsements of Jell-O pudding pops, and the facial expressions he usually makes.
  • If you watch one of the later seasons of The Cosby Show, you will notice that Cliff (Bill Cosby) wears a small blue pin in each episode. If you look closely you'll see the initials "SDjr" on the pin. Cosby wore this as a tribute to his friend Sammy Davis, Jr., who died that year.

References

  • Baker Jr., Ray L. "The Self Hate Crimes of Bill Cosby." 12, January 2005.
  • DeBose, Brian. "Cosby urges leaders to aid black families." The Washington Times. September 9, 2004
  • Leiby, Richard. "Publications with a Cannes-Do Attitude." Washington Post. 19 May 2004: 3.
  • Morano, Marc. "Bill Cosby was hounded by President Nixon." World Entertainment News Network. 1 May 2000. 2 Mar 2006. www.imdb.com
  • "Segregated Expectations" USA Today. May 15 2003: 12.
  • Wu, Frank H. "Brown at 50: Keeping Promises." Black Issues in Higher Education. May 20 2004: 49

Notes

External links

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