Bill Cosby
1937
Cosby, Bill
(b. July 12, 1937, Germantown, Pa.), African American comedian whose multifarious talent, friendliness, and commitment to positive values led him to become a preeminent television celebrity in the 1980s and a performer admired by both whites and blacks.Born in a poor section of
Philadelphia, Bill Cosby left home for a stint in the U.S. Navy that lasted from 1956 to 1960. He studied at Temple University but dropped out to devote his time to stand-up comedy. After establishing his name on the night-club circuit in 1963, Cosby auditioned successfully to fill a guest spot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. An instant success, Cosby became the first African American to host the program regularly. In 1965 he became the first black person to have a starring role on a predominantly white television drama, appearing alongside Robert Culp on the program I Spy. Because of Cosby's Emmy Award-winning success on I Spy, many fans considered him "The Jackie Robinson of Television."As a rising
television celebrity, Cosby starred in his own program, The Bill Cosby Show (1969-1971), in which he played a high school basketball coach, Chet Kincaid. The Kincaid character neither pandered to white stereotypes nor expressed a black militant doctrine. In the mid-1970s Cosby returned to school, earning a doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Meanwhile he continued his television career with The New Bill Cosby Show (1972-1973), a comedy and variety program, and Cos (1976). An animated Saturday morning feature, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1977), delivered messages of rectitude and personal responsibility. Both Fat Albert and Cosby's frequent cameos on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program The Electric Company reflected his interest in children and education.In the 1980s, Cosby combined his paternal interests with the sophisticated humor of his prime-time career on the hit program The Cosby Show (1984-1992). The Cosby Show ranked third in Nielsen ratings its first season and held the number-one slot for three years. It created a glowing embodiment of the American middle-class dream and drew the attention of 38 million people. Cosby's vision of Dr. Cliff Huxtable, his beautiful lawyer wife, and their five handsome, successful children included jokes and conflicts that transcended race. While some critics claimed that The Cosby Show failed to address the reality of black America — or, worse, depicted successful blacks as assimilated blacks — others lauded its positive presentation of family values.
While The Cosby Show debunked racial stereotypes on screen, Cosby fought discrimination within the television industry. Cosby took advantage of the show's tremendous success, demanding a large role in its production. He hired black writers and directors and invited black celebrities, such as
Dizzy Gillespie and Judith Jamison, to make guest appearances; he contracted Professor Alvin Poussaint, the African American professor of psychiatry from Harvard University, as an adviser; and he hung the artwork of black artist Varnette Honeywood on the walls of the set.The Cosby Show marked the apex of Cosby's public celebrity and financial success, but his accomplishments extend beyond it. In addition to his numerous television ventures, Cosby has continued to perform live and has released more than two dozen comedy albums, many of which have won him Grammy Awards. He also has written a number of books, including the best-selling Fatherhood (1986) and Love and Marriage (1989), and several children's books in the Little Bill series for early readers. Throughout his career Cosby has endorsed the products of Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Eastman Kodak, E. F. Hutton, and Jell-O.
Cosby's commitment to education has been persistent. In the 1980s he and his wife made frequent donations to African American colleges. In 1989 they gave their biggest gift, of $20 million, to
Spelman College. Cosby's philanthropy has benefited many other African American organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the United Negro College Fund, the National Sickle-Cell Foundation, and the National Council of Negro Women.Contributed By:
Eric Bennett