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Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby

Acting · Production · Crew · Writing

Born July 12, 1937, Philadelphia, PA, USA

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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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.

Filmography

Appearances as themselves (79)
  • 2022Bill Cosby: Walking Free — Self (archive footage)
  • The Case Against Cosby — Self (archive footage)
  • We Need to Talk About Cosby — Self (archive footage)
  • When Ruby Wax Met... — Self (archive footage)
  • 2019Cola Wars — Self (archive footage)
  • 2019I Am Richard Pryor — Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
  • Basketball: A Love Story — Self (archive footage)
  • 2017Bill Cosby: An American Scandal — Self (archive footage)
  • 2017Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon — Self (archive footage)
  • 2014Keep on Keepin' On — Self
  • 2014Nelson Mandela Redrawn — Self
  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self - Guest
  • 2013After Newtown: Guns in America — Self
  • 2013Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley — Self
  • 2012B.B. King: The Life of Riley — Self
  • 2012Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ — Self
  • The Jay Leno Show — Self - Guest
  • 2009Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy — Self
  • 2008Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed — Self
  • 2008Miles Davis: Kind of Blue — Self
  • 2007Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s — Self (archive footage)
  • 2007Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven — Self
  • 2006Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life — Self
  • 2006The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits — Self
  • 2006The Pact — Self
  • 2006The Shame of a City — Self
  • 2005Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class — Self (archive footage)
  • 2005Lipstick & Dynamite — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • 2005The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World — Self
  • 2004Lightning in a Bottle — Self
  • 2004TV in Black: The First Fifty Years — Self (archive footage)
  • 2003Jack Paar: Smart Television — Self
  • The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
  • 2002Comedian — Self
  • 2002NBC 75th Anniversary Special — Self
  • 1999Playmate Pajama Party — self
  • 19974 Little Girls — Self - Educator
  • 1997Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...' — Self
  • The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self
  • Zone interdite — Self
  • 1991The One, the Only... Groucho — Self
  • 1990Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years — Self
  • 1990Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration — Self
  • 1989Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989 — Self – Host
  • 1987Creole Giselle — Self - Host
  • 1987Superstars and their Moms — Self
  • 1986In Remembrance of Martin — Self
  • 1986Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special — Self
  • 1986Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis — Self
  • 1986TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines — Self
  • Reading Rainbow — Self - Narrator (voice)
  • Late Night with David Letterman — Self
  • Entertainment Tonight — Self
  • 1979A Walking Tour of Sesame Street — Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • 1979Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party — Self (uncredited)
  • The Kennedy Center Honors — Self
  • Cher — Self
  • Doug Henning's World of Magic — Self
  • 1974Bicycles are Beautiful — Self - Host
  • Dinah! — Self
  • The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
  • The Midnight Special — Self
  • The New Bill Cosby Show — Self - Host
  • 1971Diana! — Self
  • Great Performances — Self
  • 1970King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis — Self (archive footage)
  • The Don Knotts Show — Self
  • The Flip Wilson Show — Self
  • 1968Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed — Self - Host / Narrator
  • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In — Self (uncredited)
  • The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
  • The Hollywood Palace — Self - Comedian
  • The Merv Griffin Show — Self
  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self, Self - Guest Host
  • The Mike Douglas Show — Self - Co-Host
  • The David Susskind Show — Self
  • The Bob Hope Show — Self
  • The Emmy Awards — Self
  • The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
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