History Creator / BILLCOSBY

--> "I said, 'But dear!' ''(imitates Lamaze breathing)'' She said, 'YOU SHUT UP!!! ''YOU'' DID THIS TO ME!'"

* WhenIWasYourAge: During ''Himself'', Bill mentions that his parents have now become grandparents, and his father will willingly give out money to his grandchildren -- but when Bill was his children's age, in response to any request for funds, the same man "would tell [Bill] his life story. And this man ''never'' told a happy story." Among other things, Bill recalls his father saying something along the lines of the usual: "I had to walk five miles to school! Uphill! Both ways! In five feet of snow! And I was thankful!"

* SecretWeapon: Buck Buck, a game about who can get dogpiled longer without falling down. Bill and his friends had crazy endurance, but so did the kids from [[WrongSideOfTheTracks "the rough part of town"]] (to the point of [[NoSell no-selling]] it)... but those kids didn't have Fat Albert.

Success in the clubs led to an impressive string of hit comedy and music albums, including the now-classic "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" and the, er, [[IncrediblyLamePun genesis]] of the similarly beloved "Noah" routine ("'''It's ''The Lord'', Noah.'''" [[CassandraTruth "Riiiiiggght!"]]). This was followed in 1965 by a groundbreaking role alongside Robert Culp in the SpyFiction {{Dramedy}} ''Series/ISpy''. It was the first time a black actor had ever starred in a television drama, and it earned Cosby the first Emmys (three total) a black actor had ever received.

William Henry "Bill" Cosby (1937-) has done just about everything there is to do in the entertainment industry. Including breaking barriers for his fellow African-American entertainers.

Naturally, in 1969, the next step was ''The Bill Cosby Show'' — no, not that one, the one that featured Cosby as Chet Kincaid, high school gym teacher. No, really, it ran two whole seasons. He even sang the theme song.

* InsaneTrollLogic: "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast," wherein, having been woken out of a sound sleep to go feed the kids breakfast, he gives his kids the chocolate cake they clamour for after rationalizing that it's ''healthy'' for them — because, after all, it has wheat and eggs and milk. And when his wife demands to know why they are eating it for breakfast, his kids pipe up, "''We'' asked for [[BlatantLies eggs and milk]]!" So his wife sends him to his room. [[{{Unishment}} Which is where he wanted to go in the first place.]]

At this undisputed high point, he was even starring in hit films with SidneyPoitier: ''Uptown Saturday Night'' and the sequel ''Let's Do It Again'', made as a rebuttal to the violent, one-dimensional {{Blaxploitation}} films then popular. Somehow, though, while that genre has emerged beloved and even homaged, Cosby's own film career... has not. By the time vanity project ''Film/LeonardPart6'' debuted in 1987, Cosby was reduced to instructing talk show audiences ''not'' to see it, by way of salvaging his big-screen reputation.

* LoopholeAbuse: "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast," wherein, having been woken out of a sound sleep to go feed the kids breakfast, he gives his kids the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin chocolate cake]] they clamour for after rationalizing that it's ''healthy'' for them — because, after all, it has wheat and eggs and milk. And when his wife demands to know why they are eating it for breakfast, his kids pipe up, "''We'' asked for [[BlatantLies eggs and milk]]!" So his wife sends him to his room. [[{{Unishment}} Which is where he wanted to go in the first place.]]
-->"[Men] are the geniuses of the house because [[ObfuscatingStupidity only someone as smart as we could fake such stupidity]]."

** Later in the same skit: "I used to think my father was an idiot because the man could not complete a full sentence... Now I understand ... had it've been a grown person, you'd have cursed: 'What the [[ClusterFBomb foul filth foul foul filth filth filth foul foul! And you're filth and foul!]]' But you talk to your child, [[SelfCensoring you censor yourself]], and you say, 'What the... Get your... I'll bust... Get outta my face!'"

** Later in the same skit: "I used to think my father was an idiot because the man could not complete a full sentence... Now I understand ... had it've been a grown person, you'd have cursed: 'What the foul filth foul foul filth filth filth foul foul! And you're filth and foul!' But you talk to your child, you censor yourself, and you say, 'What the... Get your... I'll bust... Get outta my face!'"

His last fling at prime-time television was the 1996–2000 sitcom... wait for it... ''Cosby'', in which he played a lovable ''elderly'' curmudgeon in a scenario loosely based on the Britcom ''OneFootInTheGrave''.

The 1970s saw the re-emergence of William H. Cosby Jr., who had gone back to school to earn his doctorate in education. ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'', a hit (12-season!) animated take on the old routines featuring his friends in the projects, and ''[=PicturePages=]'', short interactive educational skits as part of ''CaptainKangaroo'', were the most prominent initial results of this new interest. Also included were memorable guest-starring stints on both ''Series/SesameStreet'' and ''Series/TheElectricCompany''.

* WhenIWasYourAge: During ''Himself'', Bill mentions that his parents have now become grandparents. He then talks about where now his father would willingly give out money to his grandchildren, when Bill was his children's age, this man "would tell [Bill] his life story. And this man ''never'' told a happy story." Among other things, Bill recalls his father saying something along the lines of the usual: "I had to walk five miles to school! Uphill! Both ways! In five feet of snow! And I was thankful!"
** Bill says that no matter how much his father suffered, he'd always say, "And I was thankful to get it!" For thirty years, Bill claims, all his father had to eat was dirt. "And I was thankful to eat that dirt!"
** [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Another time, Bill recalled asking his father for a dollar for his school picnic. His father replied by saying how he once killed a grizzly bear with his loose-leaf notebook.]]

* StandUpComedy: Which eventually turned into "sit-down comedy", as Cosby took to performing while seated in a chair.
** There's a story floating around that he got his start in comedy doing bits in clubs which frequently had low ceilings and no stage. So he would do his routine on top of a table where everyone could see him, but since there wasn't clearance for him to stand he sat on a chair to do his bit, and it stayed with him later in his career.

---> '''Noah:''' Yes?

--> ''And mothers are always more interested in the condition of your underwear than your body if you're ever in an accident. And they tell you that; "I hope for my sake if you're ever in an accident, you have on clean underwear." Well, I thought that's what an accident was! Look; you're driving a truck. Here comes another truck, gonna hit you. Now, whether you hit the truck or not, you're going to have soiled underwear. Because first you say it, then you do it! Now comes your mother to the hospital; "Did he have on clean underwear?"''

This is how the current generation (or two) knows him best: as Cliff Huxtable in the classic SitCom ''TheCosbyShow'', which lasted from 1984 to 1992 on Creator/{{NBC}} and was again based around his old routines, this time those featuring his own family. At loose ends (largely due to by-now hopeless typecasting as that same curmudgeon) once it left the air, he took on the TV equivalent of odd jobs, hosting ''KidsSayTheDarndestThings'' and the 1992 revival of ''YouBetYourLife''. He also dabbled in detective drama (the ''Bill Cosby Mysteries'', natch) for the ''ABC Mystery Movie'' revival, and created the animated {{Nickelodeon}} series ''WesternAnimation/LittleBill'' and ''{{Fatherhood}}''.

Bill Cosby (1937-) has done just about everything there is to do in the entertainment industry. Including breaking barriers for his fellow African-American entertainers.

Success in the clubs led to an impressive string of hit comedy and music albums, including the now-classic "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" and the, er, [[IncrediblyLamePun genesis]] of the similarly beloved "Noah" routine ("'''It's ''The Lord'', Noah.'''" [[CassandraTruth "Riiiiiggght!"]]). This was followed in 1965 by a groundbreaking role alongside Robert Culp in the crime drama ''I Spy''. It was the first time a black actor had ever starred in a television drama, and it earned Cosby the first Emmys (three total) a black actor had ever received.

The 1970s saw the re-emergence of William H. Cosby Jr., who had gone back to school to earn his doctorate in education. ''FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'', a hit (12-season!) animated take on the old routines featuring his friends in the projects, and ''[=PicturePages=]'', short interactive educational skits as part of ''CaptainKangaroo'', were the most prominent initial results of this new interest. Also included were memorable guest-starring stints on both ''Series/SesameStreet'' and ''TheElectricCompany''.