Bill Cosby: American actor and comedian (born 1937)

He was also a regular star of movies and television. He was known for creating and starring in The Cosby Show.

Bill Cosby
Cosby in 2011
Born	William Henry Cosby Jr. (1937-07-12) July 12, 1937 (age 86) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Temple University (1971) University of Massachusetts, Amherst, M.Ed. (1973) Ed.D. (1976)
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian, musician, author
Years active	1961–2018
Spouse	Camille Hanks (m. 1964)
Children	5, including Erika Cosby and Ennis Cosby
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up comedy, film, television
Genres	Observational comedy, satire, surreal humor, deadpan
Website	billcosby.com

In 2018, Cosby went to prison because of many sexual assault allegations.

He got out of prison in 2021, because the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania found that the justice system had made a mistake in the process of convicting him.

Early life

Cosby was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied at Temple University.

Cosby was the class president and a captain of the baseball team.

 

Career

He is the creator of such shows as Filmation's animated Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, NBC's The Cosby Show (in which he played a doctor named Heathcliff Huxtable) and Nick at Nite's Fatherhood (with Blair Underwood).

On television, he starred in the 1960s spy spoof I Spy, and has also advertised Jell-o and other products.

In 1983, Cosby released the concert film Bill Cosby. Cosby performed his first TV stand-up special in 30 years.

On the big screen, he appeared in Leonard Part 6 (1987), Ghost Dad (1990), and The Meteor Man (1993).

On May 2, 2015, his last show of the "Far from Finished" tour was performed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.

His last known standup performance before his conviction was held at the LaRose Jazz Club in Philadelphia on January 23, 2018.

Bill Cosby was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Personal life

Cosby married Camille Hanks Cosby in 1964. Together, they have five children: Erika, Erinn, Ennis, Ensa and Evin. Cosby lives in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Cosbys have three grandchildren.

Since 2016, Cosby has been legally blind, as a result of keratoconus.

Cosby and his wife have collected more than three hundred works of African-American art since 1967.

Sexual assault charges

As of December 30, 2015, numerous civil lawsuits are active against Cosby, and he faces one felony charge of aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; a warrant was issued for his arrest. This charge is based on the 2005 allegations of a January 2004 incident. He was released on a $1 million dollar bail later that day.

In 2014, Cosby was set to release his new standup special Bill Cosby 77 on Netflix. The release of the film was canceled due to allegations of sexual assault against Cosby.

Cosby's trial started on June 5, 2017. He was found guilty of three counts of assault on April 26, 2018, and was sentenced to 3–10 years in prison in late September 2018. He used lawyer Thomas Mesereau.

Cosby got out of prison on 30 June 2021, because the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania found that the justice system had made a mistake in the process of convicting him. In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to not hear the case about Cosby getting out of prison.

Discography

Comedy albums

Music albums

Compilations

Singles

Filmography

Books

• Cosby, Bill (1986). Fatherhood. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-23410-8. OCLC 15686687.
• Cosby, Bill (1987). Time Flies. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-24040-6. OCLC 16081611.
• Cosby, Bill (1989). Love and Marriage. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-24664-4. OCLC 18984758.
• Cosby, Bill (1991). Childhood. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-13647-4. OCLC 23650310.
• Cosby, Bill (1998). Kids Say the Darndest Things. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-11043-2. OCLC 39498709.
• Cosby, Bill (1999). Congratulations! Now What?: A Book for Graduates. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-6572-7. OCLC 40979923.
• Allen, Dwight William; Cosby, Bill (2000). American Schools: The $100 Billion Challenge. New York: IPublish.com. ISBN 978-0-7595-5000-1. OCLC 48915448.
• Cosby, Bill; Booth, George (2001). Cosbyology: Essays and Observations from the Doctor of Comedy. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-6810-0. OCLC 46359836.
• Cosby, Bill (2003). I Am What I Ate. and I'm Frightened!!!: And Other Digressions from the Doctor of Comedy. New York: HarperEntertainment. ISBN 978-0-06-054573-4. OCLC 52387894.
• Cosby, Bill; Cosby, Erika (2003). Friends of a Feather: One of Life's Little Fables. New York: Harper Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-06-009147-7. OCLC 52206847.
• Cosby, Bill; Poussaint, Alvin F. (2007). Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-59555-092-7. OCLC 153581209.
• Cosby, Bill (2011). I Didn't Ask to Be Born (But I'm Glad I Was). New York: Center Street. ISBN 978-0-89296-920-3. OCLC 707964887.

• 1969: Received his third Man of the Year award from Harvard University's performance group the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.^[source?]
• 1991: Induction into the Television Hall of Fame.^[source?]
• 1998: Received the Kennedy Center Honor.
• 2002: The Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to television^[source?]
• 2002: The scholar Molefi Kete Asante included him in his book The 100 Greatest African Americans.
• 2003: The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.^[source?]
• 2005: In a British poll broadcast on Channel 4 to find the Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top-50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
• 2010: Received the Lone Sailor Award by the United States Navy Memorial.
• 2009: Presented with the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.^[source?]
• 2011: Made an honorary Chief Petty Officer (Hospital Corpsman) in the United States Navy. The Navy revoked this award on December 4, 2014.

Emmys

Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series – Primetime Emmys
1966 I Spy – Alexander Scott
1967 I Spy – Alexander Scott
1968 I Spy – Alexander Scott

Outstanding Variety Or Musical Program – Primetime Emmys
1969 The Bill Cosby Special

Grammys

Best Comedy Performance – Grammy Awards
1965 I Started Out as a Child
1966 Why Is There Air?
1967 Wonderfulness
1968 Revenge
1969 To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With
1970 Sports
1987 Those of You with or Without Children, You'll Understand

Best Recording for Children – Grammy Awards
1971 The Electric Company – Cast member
1972 Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs

Honorary degrees

Cosby has been awarded at least 57 honorary degrees since 1985. Several of these honorary degrees have been rescinded due to allegations of sexual assault and/or immoral behavior:

• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Boston University, May 18, 2014 (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Marquette University, May 19, 2013. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from The University of San Francisco, May 18, 2012. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Oberlin College, May 1, 2010. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, December 5, 2008.
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Carnegie Mellon University, May 20, 2007; he was also the keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony.
• Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, May 8, 2004. Cosby was also the host of the school's 60th Anniversary Concert in January 2006.
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Wilkes University, May 2004.(Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Baylor University, September 4, 2003, at the "Spirit Rally" for the Baylor and Central Texas communities. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Yale University, May 26, 2003.
• Honorary Degree in 2003 from Sisseton Wahpeton College for his contributions to minority education.^[source?]
• Honorary Doctorate from West Chester University of Pennsylvania during the 2003 graduation ceremony.^[source?]
• Honorary Doctorate from Paine College in 2003.
• Honorary Doctorate from Drew University during the 2002 graduation ceremony. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Haverford College, May 2002.
• Honorary Degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Cincinnati in 2001.^[source?]
• Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Fordham University in 2001. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctorate from Goucher College, 2001. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Tufts University, 2000. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctorate from Amherst College, May 1999. (Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa) (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctorate from Colgate University, May 22, 1999; he was also the keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony.
• Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, May 8, 1998.
• Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut, and served as the commencement speaker, May 18, 1996. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Swarthmore College, 1995. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 1992. (Rescinded)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania, 1990. He also served as the commencement speaker in May 1997.
• Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Brown University, May 1985. (Rescinded)