He has a booming voice and is popularly known as “America’s dad”. William Henry Bill Cosby Jr. was born on 12 July, 1937, in Pennsylvania. An American comedian, TV producer, activist, actor and writer, Cosby is considered one of the most respected entertainers of his time.
He was instrumental in shaping American history with his ground-breaking sitcoms The Bill Cosby Show in the 1960s and The Cosby Show in the late 1980s. Both showcased an upper-class, wholesome, happy African-American family and avoided all stereotypes of racial inequality that were portrayed in many TV shows at the time. Instead, like Cosby has always maintained in life, he focused on family life and education, portraying positive role models – an unusual phenomenon. He also produced A Different World (1987) to echo this sentiment.
Cosby has been active in sports since childhood – he was captain of the baseball, field and track team in school. He was always clowning around in school and supported his family with odd jobs like working in supermarkets and shining shoes, which left him little time to study. When he failed in the tenth grade, he decided to join the navy instead. Soon he realised the importance of education and completed his studies through correspondence courses. Subsequently, he went on to complete his BA, MA and Ed.D. at the University of Massachusetts.
His television work has won him plenty of awards. His much-acclaimed roles include the action drama I Spy (1965), his own situation comedy TV series The Bill Cosby Show, the children’s show The Electric Company and the educational cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (Cosby also based his thesis on this for his Doctorate in Education in 1977). His most successful run was with The Cosby Show for which Cosby ensured total creative control.
Some of Cosby’s films include comedies Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let’s Do It Again and A Piece of Action (1975) with Sidney Poitier, Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) with Raquel Welch, California Suite (1978) with Jane Fonda and Michael Caine, Jack (2001) with Robin Williams, and Men of Honour (2001) with Robert De Niro.
He has also written many successful books including Fatherhood, Love and Marriage and Kids Say the Darnest Things. He has won numerous awards – two Emmys (for I Spy), a Golden Globe (for The Cosby Show) and nine Grammy Awards.
Cosby is married to Camille O. Cosby and they have five children. His son Ennis was killed in 1997 at only 27 years old. With his amazing insight into human beings, Bill Cosby is a unique comedian who has made people laugh for over five decades.
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