William Henry Cosby Jr.

(/ˈkɒzbi/ KOZ-bee; born July 12, 1937) is an American former comedian,

actor, spokesman, and media personality. Cosby gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his
portrayal of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He has received numerous
awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, though many of them were revoked following
sexual assault allegations made against him in 2014.
Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco during the
1960s. Throughout the decade, he released several standup comedy records which consecutively
earned him the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album from 1965 to 1970. He also had a starring
role in the television secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968) opposite Robert Culp. Cosby made
history when he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in
1966, making him the first African American to earn an Emmy Award for acting.[1] His acting career
continued as he starred in the sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to
1971.
In 1972, using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created,
produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which
ran until 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area. Throughout the
1970s Cosby starred in various films including Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night (1974),
and Let's Do It Again (1975), and Neil Simon's California Suite (1978) alongside Richard Pryor. He
also starred in the original cast of The Electric Company alongside Rita Moreno and Morgan
Freeman from 1971 to 1973. He was also a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades, for
various products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop. Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby
produced and starred in the television sitcom The Cosby Show, which was rated as the number one
show in America from 1985 through 1989. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an
affluent African American family. Cosby produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which aired
from 1987 to 1993. He also starred in The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), the sitcom Cosby (1996–
2000) and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). He then created and produced the
animated children's program Little Bill (1999–2004). He was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom by George W. Bush in 2002.
Cosby has been the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations. Those allegations became
highly publicized in 2014 after comedian Hannibal Buress brought them back into the public spotlight
during a stand-up routine, prompting more women to come forward with accusations. Following the
allegations, media organizations pulled reruns of The Cosby Show and other television programs
featuring Cosby from syndication. In 2018, he was convicted of aggravated indecent
assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021
by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania due to violations of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th
Amendment due process rights.[2][3][4] In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually
assaulted a woman named Judy Huth.[5]

Early life and further education

Cosby was born on July 12, 1937,[6] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[7] He is one of four sons of Anna
Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr., who served as a mess steward in the U.S.
Navy.[7][8]
 Cosby as a basketball player during his Navy service in 1957
Cosby was the class president as well as captain of both the baseball and track-and-field teams
at Mary Channing Wister Public School in Philadelphia.[9][10] Teachers noted his propensity for joking
around instead of studying, and he described himself as the class clown.[11] At FitzSimons Junior
High School, Cosby acted in plays and continued to compete in sports.[citation needed] Cosby attended
Philadelphia's Central High School, a magnet school and academically rigorous college prep school,
where he ran track and played baseball, football, and basketball.[citation needed] He transferred
to Germantown High School but failed the tenth grade.[12]
In 1956,[13] Cosby enlisted in the Navy and served as a hospital corpsman at the Marine Corps Base
Quantico in Virginia; at Naval Station Argentia in Newfoundland, Canada; and at the National Naval
Medical Center in Maryland.[14] He worked in physical therapy with Navy and Marine Corps personnel
who were injured during the Korean War.[14] He served until 1960 and became a petty officer 3rd
class.
Cosby earned his high school equivalency diploma through correspondence courses[15] and was
awarded a track-and-field scholarship to Temple University in 1961.[16] At Temple, he studied physical
education while he ran track and played fullback on the college's football team.[17] Cosby began
bartending at a Philadelphia club, where he earned bigger tips by making the customers laugh. He
then began performing on stage and left his university studies to pursue a career in comedy.[18]
Cosby resumed his formal education in 1971. Temple University granted him his bachelor's
degree on the basis of what it referred to as life experience.[19] He then began graduate work
at UMass Amherst, receiving his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1972.
He returned to UMass Amherst, and in 1976, while producing Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, he
earned his Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree. His dissertation was titled An Integration of the
Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' into the Elementary School Curriculum as a
Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning.[20][21]

Career
Stand-up comedy
External audio

From Philly Projects to America's

Dad, 17:30, Newsworks, WHYY[22]

Bill Cosby: the man and the trial,

49:44, Radio Times, WHYY[23]

Cosby lined up stand-up jobs at clubs in Philadelphia and then in New York City, where he appeared
at The Gaslight Cafe beginning in 1961.[20] He booked dates in cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas,
San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. In the summer of 1963, he received national exposure
on NBC's The Tonight Show. This led to a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records which, in
1964, released his debut LP, Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right!, the first of a series of
comedy albums.[24] His album To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With was number one
on Spin magazine's list of "The 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time", calling it "stand-up
comedy's masterpiece".[25]
While many comics of the time were using the growing freedom of that decade to explore
controversial and 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. Right? So I figure this way I'm doing as much for good race relations as the next guy."[26]
In 1983, Cosby released the concert film Bill Cosby: Himself which is widely regarded as "the
greatest comedy concert film ever".[27] Cosby performed his first TV stand-up special in 30 years, Bill
Cosby: Far from Finished, on Comedy Central on November 23, 2013.[28] His last show of the "Far
from Finished" tour was performed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia
on May 2, 2015.[29] In 2014, Cosby was set to release his new standup special Bill Cosby
77 on Netflix.[30] The release of the film was canceled due to allegations of sexual assault against
Cosby.[31] His last known standup performance prior to his conviction was held at the LaRose Jazz
Club in Philadelphia on January 23, 2018.[32]
Following his release from prison in 2021, Cosby was reported to be attempting to make a post-
prison comeback. Plans for the comeback included a comedy tour that would go from the United
States to Canada to London, with Cosby's team having contacted a number of promoters and
comedy clubs about performance opportunities. It was also reported that Cosby was working on a
five-part docuseries that covers his legacy and his experience in prison, and that he was planning on
releasing a book.[33] Later in September, it was reported that Cosby put his plans for a comeback on
hold due to ongoing legal problems.[34]
Television and film
 Cosby in 1966
In 1965, Cosby was cast alongside Robert Culp in the I Spy espionage adventure series on NBC. I
Spy became the first weekly dramatic television series to feature an African American in a starring
role.[35] At first, Cosby and NBC executives were concerned that some affiliates might be unwilling to
carry the series. At the beginning of the 1965 season, four stations declined the show; they were
in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.[36] Viewers were taken with the show's exotic locales and the
authentic chemistry between the stars. It became one of the ratings hits of the season. I Spy finished
among the twenty most-watched shows that year, and Cosby was honored with three
consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.[37] When accepting his
third Emmy for the show, Cosby told the audience: "Let the message be known to bigots and racists
that they don't count!"[37]
During the series' run, Cosby continued to do stand-up comedy performances and recorded half a
dozen record albums for Warner Bros. Records. He also began to dabble in singing, recording Silver
Throat: Bill Cosby Sings in 1967.[38] In June 1968, Billboard magazine reported that Cosby had turned
down a five-year, $3.5 million contract renewal offer and would leave the label in August that year to
record for his own record label.[39]

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby