Bill Cosby
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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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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
Credits
Jack (1996)
as Lawrence Woodruff
Malcolm X (1992)
as Self (uncredited)
Ghost Dad (1990)
as Elliot Hopper
Cola Wars (2019)
as Self (archive footage)
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There (1985)
Actor
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party (1999)
Actor
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (1986)
Actor
Fat Albert (2004)
as Self
Motown Returns to the Apollo (1985)
Actor
Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989 (1989)
as Self – Host
A Piece of the Action (1977)
as Dave Anderson
Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years (1990)
as Self
Playboy's Playmate Party (1977)
Actor
The Meteor Man (1993)
as Marvin
Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party (1979)
as Self (uncredited)
Lightning in a Bottle (2004)
as Self
Bill Cosby: Walking Free (2022)
as Self (archive footage)
The Jackson 5: Goin' Back to Indiana (1971)
as Scoop Newsworthy
Lipstick & Dynamite (2005)
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977)
as Fat Albert / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
as Mother
California Suite (1978)
as Dr. Willis Panama
The Fat Albert Halloween Special (1977)
as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
Man and Boy (1971)
as Caleb Revers
Let's Do It Again (1975)
as Billy Foster
The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
as Barney Satin
Hickey & Boggs (1972)
as Al Hickey
The One, the Only... Groucho (1991)
as Self
4 Little Girls (1997)
as Self - Educator
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
as Self (archive footage)
The Pact (2006)
as Self
Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert! (1969)
as Bill / Fat Albert / Dumb Donald (voice)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
as Wardell Franklin
Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...' (1997)
as Self
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004)
as Self (archive footage)
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration (1990)
as Self
B.B. King: The Life of Riley (2012)
as Self
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (2008)
as Self
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy (2009)
as Self
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002)
as Self
Nelson Mandela Redrawn (2014)
as Self
Leonard Part 6 (1987)
as Leonard
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley (2013)
as Self
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ (2012)
as Self
Baadasssss! (2004)
as Bill Cosby
The Earth Day Special (1990)
as Cliff Huxtable
Playmate Pajama Party (1999)
as self
The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits (2006)
as Self
I Am Richard Pryor (2019)
as Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon (2017)
as Self (archive footage)
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed (2008)
as Self
The Cosby Show: A Look Back (2002)
as Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage)
Goose (2012)
Actor
Bill Cosby: Himself (1983)
as Self
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life (2006)
as Self
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story (2000)
Actor
Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration! (1990)
Actor
Keep on Keepin' On (2014)
as Self
Comedian (2002)
as Self
The Weird Harold Special (1973)
Actor
I Spy Returns (1994)
as Alexander Scott
The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World (2005)
as Self
Aesop's Fables (1971)
as Aesop
Top Secret (1978)
as Aaron Strickland
Murder at N.B.C. (1966)
Actor
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines (1986)
as Self
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis (1986)
as Self
Superstars and their Moms (1987)
as Self
In Remembrance of Martin (1986)
as Self
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street (1979)
as Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
To All My Friends on Shore (1972)
as Blue
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven (2007)
as Self
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special (1986)
as Self
Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed (1968)
as Self - Host / Narrator
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class (2005)
as Self (archive footage)
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s (2007)
as Self (archive footage)
Jack Paar: Smart Television (2003)
as Self
The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney (1994)
as Narrator
The Fat Albert Easter Special (1982)
as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
Bill Cosby: An American Scandal (2017)
as Self (archive footage)
Bill Cosby: 49 (1987)
as Self
Bill Cosby: Far From Finished (2013)
as Self
After Newtown: Guns in America (2013)
as Self
Diana! (1971)
as Self
The Shame of a City (2006)
as Self
Bicycles are Beautiful (1974)
as Self - Host
The Chocolate Princess (1974)
as Narrator
Creole Giselle (1987)
as Self - Host
Bill Cosby on Prejudice (1971)
Actor