WWilliam Henry Cosby Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and convicted sex offender. Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the hungry i in San Francisco during the 1960s. He then landed a starring role in the television show I Spy, followed by his own sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which ran until 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area. Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in about half a dozen films, and he occasionally returned to film later in his career. In 1976, he earned his Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His dissertation discussed the use of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as a teaching tool in elementary schools.
WAmerican comedian Bill Cosby was a popular spokesperson for advertising from the 1960s – before his first starring television role – until the early 2000s. He started with White Owl cigars, and later endorsed Jell-O pudding and gelatin, Coca-Cola, Texas Instruments, E. F. Hutton & Co., Kodak, and the 1990 United States Census. As of 2002, Cosby held the record for being the longest-serving celebrity spokesperson for a product, through his work with Jell-O. In 2011, he won the President's Award for Contributions to Advertising from the Advertising Hall of Fame.
WAndrea Constand v. William H. Cosby Jr. is a civil suit filed in March 2005 and resolved with an undisclosed cash settlement in November 2006. It was later revealed that the amount paid to Constand was $3.38 million. The case was filed by Andrea Constand, a former college and Canadian national team basketball player, against comedian and entertainer Bill Cosby, concerning a sexual assault that occurred a year prior in Cosby's home in January 2004 while Constand was working for Temple University women's basketball team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At that time, no criminal charges were filed.
WThe Bill Cosby Show is an American sitcom television series, that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co starring role with Robert Culp in I Spy.
WCosby is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000. The program starred Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighborly friend, Pauline, until her death in 1999. The series is loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave airing on BBC from 1990 to 2001. This was also the second and final sitcom that Madeline Kahn made for The Carsey-Werner Company, her first being Oh Madeline in 1983.
WThe Cosby Mysteries is an American mystery drama television series that starred Bill Cosby that aired on NBC from September 21, 1994 to April 12, 1995. It is the first television series to star Cosby since The Cosby Show and lasted one season (1994–1995). Actor/rapper Mos Def appeared in several episodes.
WThe Cosby Show is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
WCamille Olivia Cosby is an American television producer, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her. Cosby has avoided public life, but has been active in her husband's businesses as a manager, as well as involving herself in academia and writing. In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Ph.D. in 1992.
WEnnis William Cosby, the only son of American comedian Bill Cosby, was murdered on January 16, 1997, near Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California. He was shot in the head by 18-year-old Mikhail Markhasev in a failed robbery attempt. Cosby was 27 years old.
WThe New Bill Cosby Show is an American variety television series aired in the United States by CBS as part of its 1972–73 lineup.
WAmerican comedian Bill Cosby has been the subject of publicized sexual assault allegations, with the earliest incidents allegedly taking place in the mid-1960s and his conviction for aggravated indecent assault happening in 2018. He has been accused by numerous women of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct. Assault allegations against Cosby became more public after a stand-up routine by comedian Hannibal Buress became popular in October 2014, alluding to Cosby's covert sexual misbehavior; thereafter, many additional claims were made. The dates of the alleged incidents have spanned from 1965 to 2008 in ten U.S. states and in one Canadian province.