Willian Henry ''Bill'' Cosby Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and author. He began as a comedian at the hungry i in San Francisco. He featured heavily on kids shows.
History[]
Early Life[]
Cosby was born on July 12, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one of four sons of a woman named Anna Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr.. Cosby's father never had time for him due to how was away in the U.S. Armed Forces, spending several years serving in the theater of war in World War II.
Through out Cosby's early life, he studied at Mary Channing Wister Public School, Philadelphia's Central High School and Temple University. Some jobs that he previously worked for during his early life were selling produce, shining shoes, stocking shelves at a supermarket and working as a bartender at a club in Philadelphia.
Acting, Entertainment and Comedy Career[]
A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s CBS-TV action-spy/crime drama series, I Spy. After the cancellation of I Spy in 1968, Bill then starred in his own sitcom, NBC-TV's short-lived The Bill Cosby Show that ran for three seasons through out 1969 to 1971. He was also one of the major characters on the PBS-TV children's television series The Electric Company for its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby has also acted in a number of films.
During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in one of the decade's defining sitcoms, NBC-TV's The Cosby Show, which ran for eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. It was the number one show in America for five straight years (1985–89). The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. He also produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which became second to The Cosby Show in ratings. He starred in the CBS-TV sitcom Cosby, where he was reunited with former Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashādfrom 1996 to 2000 and hosted CBS-TV's Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons.
In 1999, Cosby created the children's animated series Little Bill that aired on Nick Jr. and Noggin from 1999 to 2004. It was based on children's books of the same name that Cosby wrote himself.