Bill Cosby
Known for: Acting
William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American 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 Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72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 of 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
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host
1962
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest
2014
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
1961
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Great Performances
Self
1971
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Series
The Cosby Show
Heathcliff Huxtable
1984
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
Late Night with David Letterman
Self
1982
Series
Touched by an Angel
Phil
1994
Series
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Series
Meet the Press
1947
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Series
A Different World
Heathcliff Huxtable
1987
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
Becker
Hilton Lucas (uncredited)
1998
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
1968
Series
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
1983
Series
Dinah!
Self
1974
Series
The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950
Series
Basketball: A Love Story
Self (archive footage)
2018
Series
The Midnight Special
Self
1972
Series
The Jay Leno Show
Self - Guest
2009
Series
Cosby
Hilton Lucas
1996
Series
The Electric Company
The Milk Man
1971
Series
Zone interdite
Self
1993
Series
I Spy
Alexander Scott
1965
Series
The Flip Wilson Show
Self
1970
Series
The Dean Martin Show
1965
Series
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Comedian
1964
Series
Entertainment Tonight
Self
1981
Series
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
1978
Series
The Bill Cosby Show
Chet Kincaid
1969
Series
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert Robertson
1972
Series
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Mushmouth
1972
Series
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Bill Cosby
1972
Series
Cher
Self
1975
Series
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self
1996
Series
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
1973
Series
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949
Series
The David Susskind Show
Self
1959
The Don Knotts Show
Self
1970
Series
The Cosby Mysteries
Guy Hanks
1994
Series
Ruby Wax Meets
1996
Film
Jack
Lawrence Woodruff
1996
Series
When Ruby Wax Met...
Self (archive footage)
2021
Film
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1969
Film
The Meteor Man
Marvin
1993
Film
The Earth Day Special
Cliff Huxtable
1990
Film
Cola Wars
Self (archive footage)
2019
Film
Ghost Dad
Elliot Hopper
1990
Kids Say the Darndest Things
Host
1998
Film
California Suite
Dr. Willis Panama
1978
Film
Fat Albert
Self
2004
Series
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self
1975
Film
Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother
1976
Film
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Self
2012
Film
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
1970
Film
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
2002
Series
Of Black America
1968
Film
The One, the Only... Groucho
Self
1991
Film
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Self
2009
Cos
1976
Film
Baadasssss!
Bill Cosby
2004
The New Bill Cosby Show
Self - Host
1972
Film
Goose
2012
Film
Let's Do It Again
Billy Foster
1975
Film
4 Little Girls
Self - Educator
1997
Film
Comedian
Self
2002
Series
We Need to Talk About Cosby
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Leonard Part 6
Leonard
1987
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
Self
1990
Film
Uptown Saturday Night
Wardell Franklin
1974
Film
I Am Richard Pryor
Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
2019
Film
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
2004
Film
Lightning in a Bottle
Self
2004
Film
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
Self
1986
Film
Keep On Keepin' On
Self
2014
Film
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Self
2012
Film
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party
1999
Film
The Devil and Max Devlin
Barney Satin
1981
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
Self (archive footage)
2007
Film
The Fat Albert Christmas Special
Fat Albert / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1977
Film
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
Self
2008
Film
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
1979
Film
A Piece of the Action
Dave Anderson
1977
Film
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Self
2014
Film
Bill Cosby: Far From Finished
Self
2013
Series
The Case Against Cosby
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Top Secret
Aaron Strickland
1978
Film
Hickey & Boggs
Al Hickey
1972
Film
Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration!
1990
Film
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class
Self (archive footage)
2005
Film
I Spy Returns
Alexander Scott
1994
Film
The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits
Self
2006
Film
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Self
2013
Film
Bill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon
Self (archive footage)
2017
Film
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis
Self
1986
Film
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven
Self
2007
Film
Bill Cosby: Walking Free
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World
Self
2005
Film
Superstars and their Moms
Self
1987
Film
Diana!
Self
1971
Aesop's Fables
Aesop
1971
Film
Creole Giselle
Self - Host
1987
Film
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage)
2002
Film
Playboy's Playmate Party
1977
Film
In Remembrance of Martin
Self
1986
Murder at N.B.C.
1966
Film
Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life
Self
2006
Film
Man and Boy
Caleb Revers
1971
Film
The Fat Albert Easter Special
Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1982
Film
Bill Cosby: Himself
Self
1983
Film
The Jackson 5: Goin' Back to Indiana
Scoop Newsworthy
1971
Film
The Shame of a City
Self
2006
Film
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
1985
Film
Lipstick & Dynamite
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2005
Film
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
Self
2008
Film
The Fat Albert Halloween Special
Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
1977
Film
The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney
Narrator
1994
Film
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Self
2003
Film
Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party
Self (uncredited)
1979
Film
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
Self
1986
Film
To All My Friends on Shore
Blue
1972
Film
The Pact
Self
2006
Film
Sesame Street: 20 Years ... and Still Counting!
Self - Host
1989
Film
Bill Cosby: An American Scandal
Self (archive footage)
2017
Film
The Weird Harold Special
1973
Film
Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed
Self - Host / Narrator
1968
Bicycles are Beautiful
Self - Host
1974
Film
After Newtown: Guns in America
Self
2013
Film
The Chocolate Princess
Narrator
1974
Film
Bill Cosby: 49
Self
1987
Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...'
Self
1997
Film
Bill Cosby on Prejudice
1971