Bill Cosby

Cosby married TV producer Camille Hanks on January 25, 1964. They have five children. Cosby suffered a huge personal loss when his only son, Ennis, was murdered in 1997. His daughter Ensa died of renal disease in 2018. Cosby has three grandchildren. He has homes in Shelburne and Cheltenham.

Cosby voiced his opinion about the need for African–American people to aim for higher education. He stated that several black middle-class parents were not aware of proper parenting. Cosby faced severe criticism for his negative remarks about black families.

In the mid-2010s, Cosby faced serious allegations of sexual misconduct. More than 50 women came forward with various charges against Cosby, including charges of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, and child sexual abuse. Some of the incidents took place in the 1960s. Although Cosby vehemently denied the allegations, he later admitted to casual sex and the use of sedative pills. The trial was dismissed several times. However, in 2018, the court convicted Cosby on three counts of sexual assault. This was a huge setback for Cosby’s career. Channels such as ‘NBC’ canceled contracts with him. Several honorary degrees awarded to him were rescinded.

Bill Cosby was born William Henry Cosby Jr., on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, William Henry Cosby Sr., was a mess steward in the ‘US Navy,’ and his mother, Anna Pearl, worked as a maid. Cosby had three younger brothers. Being the eldest, Cosby took care of the needs of his siblings. One of his brothers, James, died at the age of 8.

Cosby attended several schools in his early years. He was the baseball captain at the ‘Mary Channing Wister Public School’ in Philadelphia. Later, he attended the ‘Fitzsimons Junior High School’ and the ‘Central High School.’ He was active in sports and drama in both the schools. While in school, Cosby was also interested in comedy. He was known as the “class clown.” He also did part-time jobs to support his family. Cosby failed to clear tenth grade at the ‘Germantown High School’ and subsequently quit the school.

In 1956, Cosby joined the ‘US Navy’ and served as a hospital corpsman for several years. While in the navy, Cosby completed a correspondence course to earn a high-school equivalency diploma. In 1961, he received a track and field scholarship to attend ‘Temple University.’ He left the ‘US Navy’ to pursue his university studies. At ‘Temple University,’ Cosby played for the college football team.

While attending ‘Temple University,’ Cosby worked as a bartender in a club. He soon realized that he had the ability to make people laugh. He quit the university, to pursue a career in comedy. Cosby started his career as a stand-up comedian in several clubs in Philadelphia. In 1961, Cosby joined the ‘The Gaslight Cafe’ in New York City. Cosby became popular and started doing shows in several cities.

In 1963, Cosby appeared on the ‘NBC’ show ‘The Tonight Show.’ The show gave him national exposure. After this, he signed a contract with the ‘Warner Bros. Records,’ for releasing comedy albums. In 1964, Cosby released his debut comedy album, ‘Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow…Right!’ In 1968, he released the album ‘To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With.’ It secured the number one spot on ‘Spin’s list of ‘The 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time.’ Cosby’s albums were famous for the humorous recollections of his childhood days. He, however, stayed away from topics related to racial discrimination.

In 1965, Cosby bagged his first TV role in the ‘NBC’ adventure series ‘I Spy.’ Cosby played ‘Scott,’ an undercover spy. With this, Cosby became the first African–American actor to be cast in a lead role. Thus, the producers were initially concerned about the show’s acceptance by the public. However, the show was a success and ran for three seasons. Cosby won the ‘Emmy Award’ for the ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series’ for three consecutive years.

In 1967, Cosby showcased his talent in music by releasing the musical comedy album ‘Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings.’ In 1969, Cosby starred in the comedy series ‘The Bill Cosby Show,’ which was aired for two seasons on ‘NBC.’ The show featured Cosby as ‘Chet Kincaid,’ a physical education teacher in a school. It was a light-hearted comedy and was moderately successful. The show had many African–American performers. After the show went off air, Cosby continued his formal education and began his graduate education at the ‘University of Massachusetts.’

In 1972, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animation series ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.’ It was based on Cosby’s experiences as a child, and every episode had a lesson for children. Cosby lent his voice to several characters, including the protagonist, ‘Fat Albert.’ The show was highly popular among kids. It ran successfully from 1972 to 1979. The later versions of the show appeared as ‘The New Fat Albert Show’ and ‘The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.’

In 1997, Cosby filed an extortion case against Autumn Jackson. Jackson had claimed to be Cosby’s daughter from a past love affair and had demanded money for keeping the matter secret. Cosby refused the claim and was ready for a paternity test. The court found Jackson guilty of trying to extort $40 million, and she was sentenced to 26 months in prison.