Bill Cosby Quote

William Henry Cosby Jr. ( KOZ-bee; born July 12, 1937) is an American former comedian, actor, spokesman, and media personality. Cosby gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He has received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, although many of them were revoked following sexual assault allegations made against him in 2014.
Born in Philadelphia, Cosby enlisted in the Navy and served as a hospital corpsman, and earned his high school equivalency diploma through correspondence courses and was awarded a track-and-field scholarship to Temple University in 1961. He began his career as a stand-up comic at the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco in 1961. Throughout the 1960s, Cosby released several standup comedy records which consecutively earned him the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album from 1965 to 1970. He also had a starring role in the television secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968) opposite Robert Culp, and made history when Cosby won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1966, making him the first African American to earn an Emmy Award for acting. Cosby's acting career continued as he starred in the sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to 1971.
In 1972, using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which ran until 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area. Cosby resumed his formal education in 1971, receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1972 and his Doctor of Education degree in 1976. Throughout the 1970s Cosby starred in various films including Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night (1974), and Let's Do It Again (1975), and Neil Simon's California Suite (1978) alongside Richard Pryor. He also starred in the original cast of The Electric Company alongside Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman from 1971 to 1973. He was also a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades, for various products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop.
Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in the television sitcom The Cosby Show, which was rated as the number one show in America from 1985 through 1989. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African American family. Cosby produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which aired from 1987 to 1993. His 1983 comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself was well regarded by comedians and critics, with some calling it the greatest stand up concert movie ever. Cosby also starred in The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), the sitcom Cosby (1996–2000) and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). He then created and produced the animated children's program Little Bill (1999–2004). Cosby was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2002; Barack Obama revealed in 2014 there is no precedent for revoking the medal and government doesn't have that mechanism.
Cosby has been the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations. Those allegations became highly publicized in 2014 after comedian Hannibal Buress brought them back into the public spotlight during a stand-up routine, prompting more women to come forward with accusations. Following the allegations, media organizations pulled reruns of The Cosby Show and other television programs featuring Cosby from syndication. In 2018, he was convicted of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights being violated. In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually assaulted a woman named Judy Huth when she was 16.