Bill+Cosby

media type="google" key="-6742570111593872788&hl=en&fs=true" width="400" height="326" **__ The Story of Bill Cosby __** By Liam __ A Star is born __ Bill Cosby was born in Germantown, Philadelphia on July 12, 1937. Cosby was the first born child of Anna and Bill Cosby Sr. Cosby’s childhood home was a small apartment in a dark part of Germantown that was nicknamed “The Jungle” which didn’t make sense because Germantown was very peaceful and calm. Bill Cosby Sr. made a good living as a welder. When he finally made enough money the Cosbys moved to a new building known as the Richard Allen Homes or “the projects”. __ The Projects __ Soon more children were born which meant harder working for Bill Cosby Sr. “The projects” didn’t have a bathtub or shower so the kids had to bathe in a big bucket filled with hot water. Cleaning clothes was harder, since “The projects” was next to railroad tracks, when Mrs. Cosby went out to dry clothes trains would roar by and make them dirty again. Years later Bills little brother died of rheumatic fever which drove Bill Cosby Sr. crazy and made him join the Navy.

__ I Spy __ When Bill was a grown man a TV producer named Sheldon Leonard chose him to be on his new show “I Spy”. “I Spy” made Bill the first black actor to star in a drama series and what made it better was that his partner Robert Culp was white and since there was no legal racial segregation in the north this was very unusual, and so Bill and Robert became the first actors to work as equals with a black and a white actor. “I Spy” was a big hit, so big it won Bill the Emmy award for best leading actor in a dramatic series three years in a row.

__ The Cosby Show __ In 1984 the first all black sitcom that showed professional black family behavior premièred on TV. This show was called “The Cosby Show”. “The Cosby Show” was a very popular show in the 1980’s, in fact the show ranked #1 on the ratings for five whole seasons. The show was so popular people everywhere commented, even Coretta Scott King (Martian Luther King Jr. wife) said “The show is certainly the most positive portrayal of black family life that has ever been broadcast. Still the show was not loved by everyone, In fact a man named Dr. Alvin Poussaint said “One program can’t show all respect of black experience any more than one can show all aspects of the white community”. Something tells me he was one of the only people that said that about the show. __ Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids __ In 1972 the first children’s cartoon that didn’t have violence aired on the morning cartoons on CBS, ABC, and NBC. The show was called “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids”. Sadly fat Albert only lasted for five years, but in those five years Fat Albert became a hero by keeping children all over America safe and well behaved. Of course the show had some specials, especially on holidays like Halloween and Christmas. In 1977 Fat Albert had its last season and came back in 1981 as “The new Fat Albert show” with many more morals to learn. __ Bill Cosby Today __ Today Bill Cosby is on many TV shows such as “Good Morning America”, “Oprah”, and of course “The Tonight Show”. The only show left that still has him is the famous “The Cosby Show” On CBS. Cosby is currently 71 years old and has trouble with his vision. He is still loved by millions of people and he will be forever. That’s the story of Bill Cosby.

Works Cited Herbert, Solomon J. Bill Cosby. New York: Chelsea House, 1992. Schuman, Michael. Bill Cosby actor and comedian. Springfield, N.J: Enslow, 1995.