Bill Cosby
- Acting
- July 12, 1937 · Philadelphia, PA, USA
Biography
William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American actor, comedian, and convicted sex offender. He got his start as a nightclub stand-up comic before landing a starring role in the action show I Spy (1965-1968). After various film and television roles, Cosby's greatest success came when he produced and starred in The Cosby Show (1984-1992), a popular sitcom that highlighted the experiences and growth of an upper-middle-class African-American family. Due to this role, he was widely dubbed "America's Dad." After the show ended, he produced and starred in multiple other shows and films. He was a sought-after spokesman from the 1960s until the early 2000s, endorsing a number of products including Jell-O, Kodak film, Ford, Texas Instruments, and Coca-Cola. Cosby has received several awards including 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Daytime Emmy Awards, 9 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to television (2002), and several honorary degrees from colleges and universities. Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72 honorary degrees. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled him as a member of the Actors Branch in May 2018. Approximately 60 women have accused Cosby of various forms of sexual assault in alleged incidents spanning from 1965 to 2008. These allegations became highly publicized in 2014, leading to several civil suits and criminal investigations for cases that had not yet reached the statute of limitations. Many networks, including NBC, removed reruns of The Cosby Show from their schedules. In April 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three-to-ten years in prison for multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021 due to violation of a prior prosecutorial agreement that Cosby's previous civil suit testimony—in which he admitted to giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with—would not be used in the criminal trial. He was released from prison later that month after serving almost three years of the sentence and maintains his innocence in all accusations. As of August 2021, there is still one known active civil suit against Cosby.
Known for
Filmography
- The Case Against Cosby · Self
- Bill Cosby: Walking Free · Self
- We Need to Talk About Cosby · Self
- When Ruby Wax Met... · Self
- Cola Wars · Self
- I Am Richard Pryor · Self
- Basketball: A Love Story · Self
- Bill Cosby: An American Scandal · Self
- Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon · Self
- Nelson Mandela Redrawn · Self
- Keep on Keepin' On · Self
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon · Self
- Bill Cosby: Far From Finished · Self, Executive producer
- Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley · Self
- After Newtown: Guns in America · Self
- B.B. King: The Life of Riley · Self
- Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ · Self
- Goose
- The Jay Leno Show · Self
- Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy · Self
- Miles Davis: Kind of Blue · Self
- Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed · Self
- Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven · Self
- Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s · Self
- The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits · Self
- Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life · Self
- The Shame of a City · Self
- The Pact · Self
- Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class · Self
- Lipstick & Dynamite · Self
- The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World · Self
- Fat Albert · Self, Writer
- Fatherhood · Producer, Creator
- Baadasssss! · Bill Cosby
- Lightning in a Bottle · Self
- TV in Black: The First Fifty Years · Self
- Jack Paar: Smart Television · Self
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show · Self
- Comedian · Self
- The Cosby Show: A Look Back · Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage), Writer
- NBC 75th Anniversary Special · Self
- Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey · Producer
- Men of Honor · Executive producer
- The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
- Little Bill · Executive producer, Creator
- Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party
- Playmate Pajama Party · Self
- Becker · Hilton Lucas (uncredited)
- Kids Say the Darndest Things · Host
- 4 Little Girls · Self
- Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...' · Self
- Cosby · Hilton Lucas, Producer
- Jack · Lawrence Woodruff
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show · Self
- Ruby Wax Meets
- Cigars!: The New Rage! · Thanks
- Touched by an Angel · Phil
- The Cosby Mysteries · Guy Hanks
- I Spy Returns · Alexander Scott, Executive producer
- The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney · Narrator
- The Meteor Man · Marvin
- Zone interdite · Self
- Malcolm X · Self, Thanks
- Here and Now · Producer
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno · Self
- The One, the Only... Groucho · Self
- Ghost Dad · Elliot Hopper
- Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration!
- Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years · Self
- The Earth Day Special · Cliff Huxtable
- Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration · Self
- Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989 · Self
- Creole Giselle · Self
- Leonard Part 6 · Leonard, Story
- A Different World · Heathcliff Huxtable, Writer
- Superstars and their Moms · Self
- Bill Cosby: 49 · Self, Writer
- Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis · Self
- TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines · Self
- In Remembrance of Martin · Self