Bill Cosby
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 12, 1937 (age 89)
- Birthplace
- 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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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
Bill Cosby: Walking Free
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
We Need to Talk About Cosby
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
The Case Against Cosby
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
When Ruby Wax Met...
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
I Am Richard Pryor
Movie · as Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
Cola Wars
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Basketball: A Love Story
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Bill Cosby: An American Scandal
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Keep on Keepin' On
Movie · as Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Movie · as Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Movie · as Self
Bill Cosby: Far From Finished
Movie · as Self
After Newtown: Guns in America
Movie · as Self
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Movie · as Self
Goose
Movie
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Movie · as Self
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Movie · as Self
The Jay Leno Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
Movie · as Self
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
Movie · as Self
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven
Movie · as Self
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Pact
Movie · as Self
The Shame of a City
Movie · as Self
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life
Movie · as Self
The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits
Movie · as Self
Lipstick & Dynamite
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World
Movie · as Self
Fat Albert
Movie · as Self
Baadasssss!
Movie · as Bill Cosby
Lightning in a Bottle
Movie · as Self
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Movie · as Self
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Comedian
Movie · as Self
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Movie · as Self
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Movie · as Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage)
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
Movie
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party
Movie
Playmate Pajama Party
Movie · as self
Becker
TV · as Hilton Lucas (uncredited) · 1 ep
Kids Say the Darndest Things
TV · as Host · 64 eps
4 Little Girls
Movie · as Self - Educator
Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...'
Movie · as Self
Jack
Movie · as Lawrence Woodruff
Cosby
TV · as Hilton Lucas · 97 eps
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Ruby Wax Meets
TV · 1 ep
I Spy Returns
Movie · as Alexander Scott
The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney
Movie · as Narrator
Touched by an Angel
TV · as Phil · 2 eps
The Cosby Mysteries
TV · as Guy Hanks · 18 eps
The Meteor Man
Movie · as Marvin
Zone interdite
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Malcolm X
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV · as Self - Guest · 3 eps
The One, the Only... Groucho
Movie · as Self
Ghost Dad
Movie · as Elliot Hopper
Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration!
Movie
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
Movie · as Self
The Earth Day Special
Movie · as Cliff Huxtable
Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years
Movie · as Self
Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989
Movie · as Self – Host
Leonard Part 6
Movie · as Leonard
Bill Cosby: 49
Movie · as Self
Superstars and their Moms
Movie · as Self
Creole Giselle
Movie · as Self - Host
A Different World
TV · as Heathcliff Huxtable · 3 eps
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
Movie · as Self
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
Movie · as Self
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis
Movie · as Self
In Remembrance of Martin
Movie · as Self
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
Movie
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
Movie
Motown Returns to the Apollo
Movie
The Cosby Show
TV · as Heathcliff Huxtable · 197 eps
Bill Cosby: Himself
Movie · as Self
Reading Rainbow
TV · as Self - Narrator (voice) · 1 ep
The Fat Albert Easter Special
Movie · as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
Late Night with David Letterman
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Devil and Max Devlin
Movie · as Barney Satin
Entertainment Tonight
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
Movie · as Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
California Suite
Movie · as Dr. Willis Panama
Top Secret
Movie · as Aaron Strickland
The Kennedy Center Honors
TV · as Self · 1 ep
A Piece of the Action
Movie · as Dave Anderson
The Fat Albert Christmas Special
Movie · as Fat Albert / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
The Fat Albert Halloween Special
Movie · as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
Playboy's Playmate Party
Movie
Mother, Jugs & Speed
Movie · as Mother
Cos
TV · 9 eps
Let's Do It Again
Movie · as Billy Foster
Cher
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Doug Henning's World of Magic
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Uptown Saturday Night
Movie · as Wardell Franklin
The Chocolate Princess
Movie · as Narrator
Bicycles are Beautiful
Movie · as Self - Host
Dinah!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Weird Harold Special
Movie
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Hickey & Boggs
Movie · as Al Hickey
To All My Friends on Shore
Movie · as Blue
The New Bill Cosby Show
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
TV · as Fat Albert Robertson, Bill Cosby, Mushmouth · 110 eps
The Midnight Special
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Man and Boy
Movie · as Caleb Revers
Aesop's Fables
Movie · as Aesop
The Jackson 5: Goin' Back to Indiana
Movie · as Scoop Newsworthy
Bill Cosby on Prejudice
Movie
Diana!
Movie · as Self
The Electric Company
TV · as The Milk Man · 260 eps
Great Performances
TV · as Self · 2 eps
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Don Knotts Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Flip Wilson Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Movie · as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert!
Movie · as Bill / Fat Albert / Dumb Donald (voice)
The Bill Cosby Show
TV · as Chet Kincaid · 52 eps
Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed
Movie · as Self - Host / Narrator
Of Black America
TV · 7 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 3 eps
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV · as Self (uncredited) · 4 eps
Murder at N.B.C.
Movie
I Spy
TV · as Alexander Scott · 82 eps
The Dean Martin Show
TV · 1 ep
The Hollywood Palace
TV · as Self - Comedian · 2 eps
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self, Self - Guest Host · 11 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self - Co-Host · 3 eps
The David Susskind Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Bob Hope Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Emmy Awards
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Meet the Press
TV · 1 ep