Bill Cosby
Born
July 12, 1937 (87 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Philadelphia, PA, USA
William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer 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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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 of 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.
The Case Against Cosby
Self (archive footage) · (2 episodes)
2022
Bill Cosby: Walking Free
Self (archive footage)
2022
We Need to Talk About Cosby
Self (archive footage) · (4 episodes)
2022
When Ruby Wax Met...
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2021
Cola Wars
Self [Archival Footage]
2019
I Am Richard Pryor
Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
2019
Basketball: A Love Story
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2018
Bill Cosby: An American Scandal
Self (archive footage)
2017
Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon
Self (archive footage)
2017
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Self
2014
Keep On Keepin’ On
Self
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
Bill Cosby: Far From Finished
Himself
2013
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Self
2013
After Newtown: Guns in America
Self
2013
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Self
2012
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Self
2012
Goose
2012
The Jay Leno Show
Self · (1 episode)
2009
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Self
2009
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
Himself
2008
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
Self
2008
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven
Self
2007
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
Self (archive footage)
2007
The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits
Self
2006
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life
Self
2006
The Shame of a City
Self
2006
The Pact
Himself
2006
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class
Self (archive footage)
2005
Lipstick & Dynamite
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2005
The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World
Self
2005
Fat Albert
Self
2004
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Al Hickey in Hickey & Boggs (archive footage)
2004
The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
Leonard Parker (archive footage)
2004
Baadasssss!
himself
2004
Lightning in a Bottle
Self
2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
2004
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Self
2003
Comedian
Self
2002
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage)
2002
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
2002
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000
Becker
Hilton Lucas (uncredited) · (1 episode)
1998
Kids Say the Darndest Things
Host · (64 episodes)
1998
4 Little Girls
Self - Educator
1997
Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...'
Self
1997
Cosby
Hilton Lucas · (97 episodes)
1996
Jack
Lawrence Woodruff
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self · (1 episode)
1996
Ruby Wax Meets
(1 episode)
1996
Touched by an Angel
Phil · (2 episodes)
1994
The Cosby Mysteries
Guy Hanks · (18 episodes)
1994
I Spy Returns
Alexander Scott
1994
The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney
Narrator
1994
The Meteor Man
Marvin
1993
Zone interdite
Self · (1 episode)
1993
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(4 episodes)
1992
The One, the Only... Groucho
Self
1991
Ghost Dad
Elliot Hopper
1990
Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration!
1990
The Earth Day Special
Dr. Cliff Huxtable
1990
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
Self
1990
Sesame Street: 20 Years ... and Still Counting!
Himself - Host
1989
Leonard Part 6
Leonard
1987
A Different World
Cliff Huxtable
1987
A Different World
Heathcliff Huxtable · (3 episodes)
1987
Superstars and their Moms
Self
1987
Bill Cosby: 49
Himself
1987
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis
Self
1986
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
Self
1986
In Remembrance of Martin
Self
1986
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
Self
1986
The Cosby Show
Heathcliff Huxtable · (197 episodes)
1984
Reading Rainbow
Himself - Narrator (voice) · (1 episode)
1983
Bill Cosby: Himself
Himself
1983
The Fat Albert Easter Special
Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1982
Late Night with David Letterman
Self · (2 episodes)
1982
Entertainment Tonight
Self · (1 episode)
1981
The Devil and Max Devlin
Barney Satin
1981
Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party
Self (uncredited)
1979
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
1979
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self · (1 episode)
1978
California Suite
Dr. Willis Panama
1978
Top Secret
Aaron Strickland
1978
The Fat Albert Christmas Special
Fat Albert / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1977
The Fat Albert Halloween Special
Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1977
A Piece of the Action
Dave Anderson
1977
Cos
(9 episodes)
1976
Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother
1976
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self · (1 episode)
1975
Let's Do It Again
Billy Foster
1975
Cher
Self · (1 episode)
1975
Dinah!
Self · (1 episode)
1974
Uptown Saturday Night
Wardell Franklin
1974
The Chocolate Princess
Narrator
1974
The Weird Harold Special
1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · (1 episode)
1973
Hickey & Boggs
Al Hickey
1972
The New Bill Cosby Show
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1972
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Bill Cosby · (110 episodes)
1972
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert Robertson · (110 episodes)
1972
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Mushmouth · (110 episodes)
1972
The Midnight Special
Self · (1 episode)
1972
The Midnight Special
Self / Host · (1 episode)
1972
To All My Friends on Shore
Blue
1972
Aesop's Fables
Aesop
1971
The Electric Company
The Milk Man · (780 episodes)
1971
Goin' Back to Indiana
Scoop Newsworthy
1971
Man and Boy
Caleb Revers
1971
Diana!
Self
1971
Great Performances
Self · (2 episodes)
1971
Bill Cosby on Prejudice
1971
The Flip Wilson Show
Self · (1 episode)
1970
The Don Knotts Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1970
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
1970
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1969
The Bill Cosby Show
Chet Kincaid · (52 episodes)
1969
Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed
Self - Host / Narrator
1968
Of Black America
(7 episodes)
1968
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · (3 episodes)
1968
Murder at N.B.C.
1966
The Dean Martin Show
(1 episode)
1965
I Spy
Alexander Scott · (82 episodes)
1965
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Comedian · (2 episodes)
1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(1 episode)
1963
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (11 episodes)
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host · (13 episodes)
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host · (3 episodes)
1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · (5 episodes)
1961
The David Susskind Show
Self · (1 episode)
1959
The Bob Hope Show
Self · (1 episode)
1950
The Emmy Awards
Self · (2 episodes)
1949
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948
Meet the Press
(1 episode)
1947