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IMDbPro

Bill Cosby

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Bill Cosby
A documentary that follows jazz legend Clark Terry over four years to document the mentorship between Terry and 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin as the young man prepares to compete in an elite, international competition.
Play trailer2:15
Keep on Keepin' On (2014)
31 Videos
99+ Photos
Bill Cosby is one of the world's most well-known entertainers and comedians. William Henry Cosby, Jr. was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anna Pearl (Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby, Sr., a U.S. Navy sailor. After tenth grade, Cosby joined the Navy and completed high school through a correspondence course. He later took up an athletics scholarship at Temple University, supporting himself during his studies by tending bar, where his easy-going style and witty joking with the clientèle prompted suggestions that he try stand-up comedy. This he did and was soon to be discovered by the legendary Carl Reiner.

In his early twenties, he appeared on many well-known variety programs including The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). His big break came in 1965 when he appeared as "Alexander Scott" in I Spy (1965), winning numerous Emmys for his performance. He later appeared in The Bill Cosby Show (1969), playing a teacher, although originally the show only lasted for two years. He then created a Filmation cartoon based on many of his high school buddies including Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, Mushmouth, and others: the show was, of course, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972). The theme was humorous but also focused on Cosby's more educational side. He studied for many years during his career in the 1960s and 1970s, and he received a doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts. Cosby also starred in some highly successful movies such as Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976), and California Suite (1978). During his early years he also made some comedy albums that sold very well; his most notable comedy song being "Little Old Man." He was one of the original cast members of The Electric Company (1971), and he was featured in the series Pinwheel (1976) during the late 1970s and then appeared in the mediocre The Devil and Max Devlin (1981).

In 1984, 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids' stopped production, and The Cosby Show (1984) commenced. The show was originally intended to follow a blue-collar family, but finally ended up portraying a white-collar family. It was originally rejected by ABC, accepted by a then-floundering NBC, and was an almost instant success. From 1985 to 1987 the show broke viewing records, with Cosby becoming perhaps the strongest driving force in television during the eighties. Despite this great success, he arguably created his own downfall. The Cosby Show led what was considered by many at that time to be the best night of television: the line-up included Night Court (1984), Hill Street Blues (1981), and Family Ties (1982), which all followed The Cosby Show.

Cosby was dissatisfied with the way minorities were portrayed on television. He produced the TV series A Different World (1987) and insisted that this program should follow the Cosby Show, rather than Family Ties. A Different World was set in an historically Black college and concentrated on young people and education. Impact was felt on the show immediately; at its peak, the Cosby Show logged an estimated 70 million viewers. However, after the scheduling reshuffle, the show lost roughly 20% of its massive audience. However, Cosby was still riding high in the early nineties until massive competition from The Simpsons (1989).

The Cosby Show finally ended in 1992, conceding to The Simpsons (1989), with the final production considered to be one of the highest-rated shows of the season and featured a pleading Cosby asking for peace in riot-torn Los Angeles during the height of the Rodney King riots. Cosby never seemed able to top the success of the Cosby Show; his film Leonard Part 6 (1987) was considered to be one of the worst American films in history and may have contributed in part to his downfall as a film actor, along with his performance in Ghost Dad (1990). He did attempt a minor comeback in 1996 starring in the Robin Williams film Jack (1996), which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola; and in another show, Cosby (1996), (starring Phylicia Rashad, who appeared as his wife in the previous Cosby Show). Since then he has produced films such as Men of Honor (2000), and shows including Little Bill (1999).

Sadly, his son Ennis was murdered in 1997. Throughout the years, Bill Cosby has taken a socially conscious tone, often associated with family values, coupled with a distinctly urban spin on his style.
BornJuly 12, 1937
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    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 12, 1937
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 5 Primetime Emmys

Photos377

Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in Television (1988)
Bill Cosby in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Jophery C. Brown, and Johnny Sekka in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Harold Nicholas, and George Reynolds in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, and Richard Pryor in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Bill Cosby and Ketty Lester in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Known for

Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
The Cosby Show
7.4
TV Series
  • Dr. Heathcliff 'Cliff' Huxtable
Bill Cosby in Leonard Part 6 (1987)
Leonard Part 6
2.1
  • Leonard Parker
  • 1987
Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in I Spy (1965)
I Spy
7.2
TV Series
  • Alexander Scott
The Bill Cosby Show (1969)
The Bill Cosby Show
6.2
TV Series
  • Chet Kincaid

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Rodfellows Movie (2020)
    The Rodfellows Movie
    • (uncredited)
  • A Very Cosby Thanksgiving (2013)
    A Very Cosby Thanksgiving
    • (voice)
  • Kenan Thompson in Fat Albert (2004)
    Fat Albert
  • Sylvia's Path
    • (voice)
  • Xavier Pritchett in Little Bill (1999)
    Little Bill
    • (voice)
  • Bill Cosby, Madeline Kahn, Doug E. Doug, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, and Phylicia Rashad in Cosby (1996)
    Cosby
  • Terry Farrell, Ted Danson, Alex Désert, Shawnee Smith, and Hattie Winston in Becker (1998)
    Becker
    • (uncredited)
  • Valerie Bertinelli, Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese in Touched by an Angel (1994)
    Touched by an Angel
  • Robin Williams in Jack (1996)
    Jack
  • The Cosby Mysteries (1994)
    The Cosby Mysteries
  • I Spy Returns (1994)
    I Spy Returns
  • The Cosby Mysteries (1994)
    The Cosby Mysteries
  • Robert Townsend in The Meteor Man (1993)
    The Meteor Man
  • Christopher Knight and Sherwood Schwartz in Bradymania: A Very Brady Special (1993)
    Bradymania: A Very Brady Special
  • Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
    The Cosby Show

Writer

  • Bill Cosby: A Juggling Tribute
  • Bill Cosby: 77
  • A Very Cosby Thanksgiving (2013)
    A Very Cosby Thanksgiving
  • Bill Cosby: Far from Finished (2013)
    Bill Cosby: Far from Finished
    • (uncredited)
  • Fatherhood (2004)
    Fatherhood
  • Kenan Thompson in Fat Albert (2004)
    Fat Albert
    • (as William H. Cosby Jr. Ed.D.)
  • Xavier Pritchett in Little Bill (1999)
    Little Bill
    • ...
  • Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
    The Cosby Show: A Look Back
  • Bill Cosby: Mr. Sapolsky, with Love
    • (as William H. Cosby)
  • Jasmine Guy, Sinbad, Darryl M. Bell, Charnele Brown, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Lou Myers, Cree Summer, and Glynn Turman in A Different World (1987)
    A Different World
    • (creator, as William Cosby Jr. Ed.D.)
  • Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
    The Cosby Show
    • (creator)
  • Bill Cosby in Leonard Part 6 (1987)
    Leonard Part 6
  • Bill Cosby: 49 (1987)
    Bill Cosby: 49
  • Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972)
    Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
  • Bill Cosby: Himself (1983)
    Bill Cosby: Himself
    • (as William H. Cosby Jr.)

Music Department

  • Fatherhood (2004)
    Fatherhood
  • Xavier Pritchett in Little Bill (1999)
    Little Bill
  • Bill Cosby, Madeline Kahn, Doug E. Doug, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, and Phylicia Rashad in Cosby (1996)
    Cosby
  • Jasmine Guy, Sinbad, Darryl M. Bell, Charnele Brown, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Lou Myers, Cree Summer, and Glynn Turman in A Different World (1987)
    A Different World
  • You Bet Your Life
  • Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
    The Cosby Show
  • Pete's Place
    • (1983)
  • Bill Cosby: Himself (1983)
    Bill Cosby: Himself
  • Jack Narz and Johnny Olson in Now You See It (1974)
    Now You See It
    • (uncredited)
  • The Bill Cosby Show (1969)
    The Bill Cosby Show

Videos31

Bill Cosby: A Juggling Tribute
Full Movie 3:52
Bill Cosby: A Juggling Tribute
The Cosby Show: Clip -- Cliff's Eating Habits
Clip 1:04
The Cosby Show: Clip -- Cliff's Eating Habits
Liberty, Friends, and the Pursuit of Education
Clip 3:07
Liberty, Friends, and the Pursuit of Education
Trailer
Trailer 2:35
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 0:55
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:44
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 0:30
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Uptown Saturday Night
Trailer 2:09
Uptown Saturday Night
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Trailer 1:12
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
A Piece of the Action
Trailer 2:08
A Piece of the Action
The Savoy King
Trailer 2:24
The Savoy King

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Last.fm
    • MySpace
    • July 12, 1937
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    • Camille O. CosbyJanuary 25, 1964 - present (5 children)
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    TV commercial: City of Philadelphia.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Biographical Movies
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 6 Portrayals
    • 6 Interviews
    • 155 Articles
    • 4 Pictorials
    • 29 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Wife Camille O. Cosby (nee Hanks) is related to Tom Hanks, and both share lineage with Abraham Lincoln through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks.
  • Quotes
    [on his murdered son, Ennis] He was my hero.
    • Stories of his childhood and fatherhood
    • Cosby
      (1996)
      $1,000,000 /episode (1996)

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