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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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