Bill Cosby is a former American comedian, actor, spokesman and media personality who rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s for his breakthrough roles in television and film.
He is widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential entertainers of his time, earning the nickname “America’s Dad” for playing Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show. This sitcom depicts a middle-class African-American family in a positive and realistic way.
However, his legacy was tarnished by multiple sexual assault allegations and convictions spanning decades, leading to his imprisonment and public disgrace.
File
- Full name: William Henry Cosby Jr.
- Nickname: Bill Cosby
- Date of birth: July 12, 1937
- Age: 87 years old
- male
- Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Nationality: American
- Occupation: Former comedian, actor, spokesperson and media personality
- Height: 6 feet (1.83 m)
- Parents: Anna Pearl and William Henry Cosby Sr.
- Siblings: James, Russell and Robert
- Spouse: Camille Hanks (d. 1964)
- Children: Erika, Erinn, Ensa, Evin and Ennis
- Relationship status: Married
- Net worth: 400 million USD
Early life and education
Bill Cosby, now 86 years old, was born on July 12, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anna Pearl, a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr., a US Navy sailor.
He was the eldest of four boys and grew up in a poor and segregated neighborhood. He attended Mary Channing Wister Public School and Germantown High School, where he excelled in sports and academics.
He dropped out of high school at age 19 and joined the United States Navy in 1956, serving as a hospital corpsman for four years. He earned his high school diploma through a correspondence course and was awarded a track and field scholarship to Temple University in 1961.
He studied physical education and planned to become a teacher but dropped out after his second year to pursue a career in comedy.
He then enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and a doctorate in education in 1976.
He also received numerous honorary degrees and awards from various institutions, including Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Personal life
Bill Cosby married Camille Hanks, a psychology student, in 1964. They have five children: Erika, Erinn, Ensa, Evin and Ennis.
Their only son, Ennis, was murdered by a gunman in 1997 during a robbery. Their daughter, Ensa, died of kidney disease in 2018.
Cosby and his wife remained married despite their infidelity and legal troubles. They live in a mansion in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania and own several properties in other states.
Career
Bill Cosby began his career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1960s, performing at clubs and theaters nationwide.
He is famous for his observational and conversational style of humor, often drawing from his personal experiences and childhood memories.
He debuted in the spy series I Spy in 1965, becoming the first black actor to play a leading dramatic role on network television.
He won three Emmy Awards for his role as Alexander Scott, a secret agent who used his intelligence and charm to defeat his enemies.
He continued to appear in various television shows and films, such as The Bill Cosby Show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Kids Say the Darndest Things. He also created and produced several shows such as The Electric Company, The Cosby Mysteries and Cosby.
He was one of the most famous and highest paid entertainers of his time, earning millions of dollars from his endorsements, books, and albums.
He won nine Grammy Awards for his comedy albums and was honored with the Kennedy Center Award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Prize
Some of the awards that Bill Cosby has won throughout his career are:
- Emmy Award
- Consistently excellent performance by the actor who starred in the dramatic television series for I Spy (1966, 1967, 1968)
- Grammy Award
- Best Comedy Performance for I Started as a Child (1965)
- Best Comedy Performance for Why Is There Air? (1966)
- Best Comedy Performance for Greatness (1967)
- Best Comedy Performance for Revenge (1968)
- Best Comedy Performance for To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With (1969)
- Best Sports Comedy Performance (1970)
- Best Comedy Performance for Bill Cosby Talking to Children About Drugs (1972)
- The Electric Company’s Best Children’s Recording (1972)
- Bill Cosby’s Best Children’s Record Is Not Yourself These Days (1977)
- Kennedy Center Honors (1998)
- Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2009)
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2002)
Argumentative
Bill Cosby has been involved in a number of controversies throughout his career, but the most serious and damaging is the sexual assault scandal.
He was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women over decades, starting in the 1960s.
Some of his accusers are celebrities such as Janice Dickinson, Beverly Johnson and Andrea Constand. He denies all the allegations and claims they are part of a plot to destroy his reputation and legacy.
He was first accused of sexual assault in 2005, when Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, filed a civil lawsuit against him, alleging that he sexually harassed her at home in 2004. The case was settled out of court in 2006.
However, it was reopened in 2015 after multiple women made similar allegations and testimony from the 2005 case was unsealed, revealing that Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to women who he wants to have sex.
He was arrested and tried in 2017, but the jury could not reach a verdict. He was tried again in 2018 and found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but he appealed his sentence, arguing that it was based on faulty evidence and violated his due process rights.
In 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed with his argument. It overturned his conviction, saying he had been promised immunity from prosecution by a former district attorney in exchange for his testimony in the 2005 civil case. After serving nearly three years, he I was released from prison on June 30, 2021.
The sexual assault scandal damaged his career and reputation. His honors and awards, such as honorary degrees, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Mark Twain Prize for American Comedy, were revoked or rescinded.
His shows and projects have been canceled or removed from streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and NBC. Many of his fans and colleagues expressed disappointment and anger at his actions, while some defended him and questioned the credibility of his accusers.
He has also faced several civil lawsuits from his accusers and other legal issues, such as defamation, breach of contract and insurance disputes.
Social Media
- Instagram handle: @billcosby
- Twitter name: @BillCosby
Filming
- Saturday night in Uptown
- Let’s do it again
- Mother, Bottle & Speed
- Part of the action
- California Suite
- The Devil and Max Devlin
- Leonard Part 6
- Ghost dad
- Meteor man
Net value
According to Forbes, Bill Cosby has a net worth of $400 million, making him one of the richest comedians in the world.
He earned most of his wealth from TV shows, movies, books, albums, and endorsements.
He also invests in real estate, art and education. However, his net worth has dropped significantly due to legal fees, settlements and loss of income from canceled projects and revoked titles.
