William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr., Ed.D was
born on July 12, 1937. Bill Cosby is one of the United States' most
popular and admired entertainers, known for his wit and warmth both
onstage and off. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start working
clubs and making comedy albums, then moved into television with a
vanguard role in the 1960s action show I Spy. He later starred in his
own series, The Bill Cosby Show, in the early 1970s, and created the
humorous educational cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about
a group of young friends growing up in the city.
Cosby also acted in numerous films, although none has received the
acclaim of his television work. During the 1980s, Cosby produced and
starred in one of the decade's defining cultural products, The Cosby
Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and featured a middle-class African
American family without resorting to the kinds of vulgar stereotypes
previously seen among African American characters in prime-time
television. Though some argued that The Cosby Show ignored the issues of
racial inequity still prevalent in society, others maintained that it
showcased positive role models.
The late 1990s brought trouble for Cosby, first in early 1997 with the
death of his only son, Ennis, who was shot to death on a Los Angeles
freeway in a random act of violence. Also that year, he was dragged into
a court case that involved a young woman who was charged with extortion
in claiming that he was her biological father-a shocking accusation that
Cosby denied. Cosby admitted to having a one-time affair with the
woman's mother.
