Editing Bill Cosby (section)

==Career==

=== Stand-up comedy ===
{{external media | width = 210px | float = left | headerimage= | caption = Cosby in 1965
| audio1 = [https://whyy.org/episodes/ep-01-from-philly-projects-to-americas-dad/ From Philly Projects to America's Dad], 17:30, [[WHYY-FM|Newsworks, WHYY]]<ref name="whyy1">{{cite web |title=Cosby Unraveled |url=http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/104216 |url-status=dead |work=Newsworks |publisher=[[WHYY-FM]] |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529125715/http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/104216 |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
| audio2 = [https://whyy.org/episodes/bill-cosby-man-trial-2/ Bill Cosby: the man and the trial], 49:44, [[Radio Times]], [[WHYY-FM|WHYY]]<ref name="whyy2">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby: the man and the trial |url=http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2017/05/24/bill-cosby-man-trial/ |url-status=dead |work=[[Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane]] |publisher=[[WHYY-FM|WHYY]] |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727064314/http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2017/05/24/bill-cosby-man-trial/ |archive-date=July 27, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
}}
Cosby lined up stand-up jobs at clubs in Philadelphia and then in New York City, where he appeared at [[The Gaslight Cafe]] beginning in 1961.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |last=Ghare |first=Madhavi |title=Bill Cosby Biography |url=http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bill-cosby-biography.html |url-status=usurped |website=Buzzle.com |access-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802144531/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bill-cosby-biography.html |archive-date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> He booked dates in cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. In the summer of 1963, he received national exposure on [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Tonight Show]]''. This led to a recording contract with [[Warner Bros. Records]] which, in 1964, released his debut LP, ''[[Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right!]]'', the first of a series of comedy albums.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby |url=https://api.discogs.com/artists/202258 |website=Discogs}}</ref> His album ''[[To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With]]'' was number one on [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'' magazine]]'s list of "The 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time", calling it "stand-up comedy's masterpiece".<ref>{{cite web |date=November 1, 2011 |title=SPIN's 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time |url=http://www.spin.com/2011/11/spins-40-greatest-comedy-albums-all-time/9/ |location=San Francisco, CA |magazine=[[Spin magazine|SPIN]]}}</ref>

[[File:Bill Cosby Comedy Show from 2011 in Aberdeen, WA.jpg|thumb|Cosby performing in 2011.|left]]

Cosby's comedy genres included [[observational comedy]], satire, [[Surreal humour|surreal humor]] and [[deadpan]]. While many comics of the time were using the growing freedom of that decade to explore controversial and sometimes risqué material, Cosby was making his reputation with humorous recollections of his childhood. Many Americans wondered about the absence of race as a topic in Cosby's stories. As Cosby's success grew, he had to defend his choice of material regularly; as he argued, "A white person listens to my act and he laughs and he thinks, 'Yeah, that's the way I see it too.' Okay. He's white. I'm Negro. And we both see things the same way. That must mean that ''we are alike. Right?'' So I figure this way I'm doing as much for good [[race relations]] as the next guy."<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Ronald L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cosbylifeofcomed00smit/page/57 |title=Cosby: The Life of a Comedy Legend |date=1997 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |isbn=978-1-57392-126-8 |location=Amherst, NY |page=[https://archive.org/details/cosbylifeofcomed00smit/page/57 57]}}</ref>

In 1983, Cosby released the live comedy performance film ''[[Bill Cosby: Himself]],'' in which he gave his views ranging from marriage to parenthood. The film also showcased Cosby's conversational style of stand-up comedy; for most of the performance, Cosby was seated center-stage, only getting up to emphasize a joke. Nearly all of Cosby's routine in the film concerned the trials and tribulations of parenting, frequently illustrated with anecdotes involving his own family. Many of the comedic routines presented in the film were precursors to Cosby's most popular sitcom, ''[[The Cosby Show]]''. The film was well regarded by comedians and critics, with some calling it "the greatest stand up concert movie ever."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Penn |first=Nathaniel |date=May 22, 2013 |title=Comedians Salute the Stand-Up Comedy Classic Bill Cosby: Himself |url=https://www.gq.com/story/bill-cosby-himself-30th-anniversary-june-2013 |magazine=[[GQ]] |location=New York City |access-date=January 30, 2019}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' placed Cosby's concert film ''Bill Cosby: Himself'' as number{{nbsp}}8 on its list of "The 25 Best Stand-Up Specials of All Time", acknowledging the significance of the film while still saying: "Yes, it's damned near impossible to watch anything the tainted comedian has done and not think of the headlines, the heckling, the revelations and what is, by any definition, monstrous behavior."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=July 29, 2015 |title=Divine Comedy: 25 Best Stand-Up Specials and Movies |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/divine-comedy-25-best-stand-up-specials-and-movies-20150729/bill-cosby-himself-1983-20150729 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> They also placed Cosby at number{{nbsp}}8 on their list of "The Best Stand-up Comics of All Time", saying: "Bill Cosby is not likely to perform again; listening to his records will never have that gentle, sweet sense of nostalgia for anyone; and while it is impossible to disconnect the performer from the man, scrubbing his name from the annals of stand-up would be impossible."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 14, 2017 |title=50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/50-best-stand-up-comics-of-all-time-w464199/bill-cosby-w464254 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330003204/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/50-best-stand-up-comics-of-all-time-w464199/bill-cosby-w464254 |archive-date=March 30, 2018 |access-date=November 24, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>

Cosby performed his first TV stand-up special in 30 years, ''Bill Cosby: Far from Finished'', on [[Comedy Central]] on November 23, 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil |author-link=Neil Genzlinger |date=November 22, 2013 |title=The Art of Burning Rubber vs. Steady Wins the Race |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/arts/television/comparing-tv-specials-from-bill-cosby-and-sarah-silverman.html}}</ref> His last show of the "Far from Finished" tour was performed at the [[Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre]] in Atlanta on May 2, 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kenneally |first=Tim |date=May 4, 2015 |title=Bill Cosby Battles Hecklers at Atlanta Performance: 'Stop it! This Is Our Show' |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.boston.com/entertainment/celebrity/2015/05/04/bill-cosby-battles-hecklers-atlanta-performance-stop-this-our-show/RPCHbthiLrHsjpHaSpMfsI/story.html}}</ref> In 2014, Cosby was set to release his new standup special ''[[Bill Cosby 77]]'' on [[Netflix]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=August 14, 2014 |title=Netflix Adds Bill Cosby Stand-Up Special to Comedy Lineup |url=https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/netflix-adds-bill-cosby-stand-up-special-to-comedy-lineup-1201282813/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120163330/http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/netflix-adds-bill-cosby-stand-up-special-to-comedy-lineup-1201282813/ |archive-date=November 20, 2014 |location=Los Angeles, California |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> The release of the film was canceled due to [[Bill Cosby sexual assault cases|allegations of sexual assault against Cosby]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Holloway |first=Daniel |date=July 28, 2015 |title=Netflix Chief Ted Sarandos on Bill Cosby Special: 'I Don't Think it's Appropriate to Release That' |url=https://www.thewrap.com/bill-cosby-netflix-chief-ted-sarandos/ |access-date=January 30, 2019 |website=[[TheWrap]] |publisher=TheWrap News Inc. |location=Los Angeles, California}}</ref> His last known standup performance prior to his conviction was held at the LaRose Jazz Club in Philadelphia on January 23, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=January 23, 2018 |title=Bill Cosby Makes Surprise Stand-Up Appearance Ahead Of Retrial |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/23/579884670/bill-cosby-returns-to-stand-up-in-philly-ahead-of-2nd-trial}}</ref>

=== Television and film ===
[[File:Bill Cosby 1965.JPG|thumb|268x268px|Cosby in 1965]]
In 1965, Cosby was cast alongside [[Robert Culp]] in the ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'' espionage adventure series on [[NBC]]. ''I Spy'' became the first weekly dramatic television series to feature an African American in a starring role.<ref name="The Atlantic on Cosby Conservatism">{{cite web |last=Coates |first=Ta-Nehisi |author-link=Ta-Nehisi Coates |title='This Is How We Lost to the White Man': The audacity of Bill Cosby's black conservatism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/05/-this-is-how-we-lost-to-the-white-man/306774/ |work=[[The Atlantic Monthly]] |date=May 2008 |access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> At first, Cosby and NBC executives were concerned that some affiliates might be unwilling to carry the series. At the beginning of the 1965 season, four stations declined the show; they were in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Andrew Grant |date=2015 |title=1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-250-05962-8 |page=220 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QI3BAAAQBAJ&q=ispy+Georgia%2C+Florida%2C+and+Alabama&pg=PA220 |access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> Viewers were taken with the show's exotic locales and the authentic chemistry between the stars. It became one of the ratings hits of the season. ''I Spy'' finished among the twenty most-watched shows that year, and Cosby was honored with three consecutive [[Emmy Award]]s for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series]].<ref name="New Yorker Profile">{{cite magazine |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |author-link=Kelefa Sanneh |date=September 15, 2014 |title=The Eternal Paternal Bill Cosby's never-ending tour |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/15/eternal-paternal |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327165830/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/15/eternal-paternal |archive-date=2019-03-27 |access-date=April 24, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> When accepting his third Emmy for the show, Cosby told the audience: "Let the message be known to bigots and racists that they don't count!"<ref name="New Yorker Profile"/>

During the series' run, Cosby continued to do stand-up comedy performances and recorded half a dozen record albums for Warner Bros. Records. He also began to dabble in singing, recording ''[[Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings]]'' in 1967.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Billboard |title=Album Reviews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ykEAAAAMBAJ&q=Silver%20Throat%3A%20Bill%20Cosby%20Sings&pg=PT1 |publisher= |date=August 19, 1967 |language=en}}</ref> In June 1968, [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' magazine]] reported that Cosby had turned down a five-year, $3.5{{nbsp}}million contract renewal offer and would leave the label in August that year to record for his own record label.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Cosby to Exit WB in August to Join Own Record Firm|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 1, 1968|page=1}}</ref>
[[File:Bill Cosby I Spy 1966.jpg|left|thumb|264x264px|Cosby in 1966]]
In July 1968, Cosby narrated ''Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed'', a [[CBS]] documentary addressing the representation of black people in popular culture.<ref name="Jenkins1998">{{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Henry|author-link=Henry Jenkins|title=The Children's Culture Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjJ91GtLta8C&pg=PA146|access-date=August 18, 2016|year=1998|publisher=[[NYU Press]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-8147-4231-0|pages=146–147}}</ref> [[Andy Rooney]] wrote the Emmy-awarded script<ref name="CharlieRooney2010">{{cite book |last1=Charlie |first1=Charlie |last2=Rooney |first2=Andrew A.|title=Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit{{snd}}Real Truth from Real Couples About Lasting Love|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EoYLu7e_ucC&pg=PR4|access-date=August 31, 2016|year= 2010 |publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com, Limited |isbn=978-1-4587-5960-3|page=4}}</ref> for Cosby to read.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rooney|first=Andy|author-link=Andy Rooney|title=Black, white, nation weeps for the Great Bill Cosby|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1907&dat=19970125&id=M98xAAAAIBAJ&pg=1813,1279921|access-date=September 1, 2016|work=The Daily Reporter |date=January 25, 1997}}</ref> [[Georgetown University]] professor [[Michael Eric Dyson]] said it was one of "the rare exceptions when Cosby took off the gloves and blinders, to discuss race in public with candor and discernment".<ref name="Dyson2008">{{cite book|last=Dyson|first=Michael Eric|author-link=Michael Eric Dyson|title=Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqJwmw4CusIC&pg=PT121|access-date=August 18, 2016|year=2008|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-7867-2207-5 |page=121}}</ref> Due to its popularity and controversial nature, it was rebroadcast less than a month later.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sergio|title=Bill Cosby's Forgotten 'Militant' Documentary – 'Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/07/bill-cosbys-forgotten-militant-documentary-black-history-lost-stolen-or-strayed-watch-it-now-159418/ |website=[[IndieWire]] |access-date=August 19, 2016|date=July 1, 2014|format=video}}</ref>

[[Tetragrammaton Records]], a division of the Campbell, Silver, Cosby (CSC) Corporation—the Los Angeles–based production company founded by Cosby, his manager Roy Silver, and filmmaker Bruce Post Campbell—produced films as well as records, including Cosby's television specials, the ''[[Fat Albert]]'' cartoon special and series, and several motion pictures. CSC hired Artie Mogull as President of the label. Tetragrammaton was fairly active during 1968–69 but ceased trading during the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |title=TetragrammatonAlbum Discography |url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/la/tetragrammaton/tetragrammaton.html |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref>

Throughout the 1960s Cosby pursued a variety of additional television projects and appeared as a regular guest host on ''The Tonight Show'' and as the star of an annual special for NBC. In 1969, he returned with another series, ''[[The Bill Cosby Show]]'', a situation comedy that ran for two seasons. Cosby played a physical education teacher at a Los Angeles high school. While only a modest critical success, the show was hit with ratings, finishing eleventh in its first season. Cosby was lauded for using African American performers such as [[Lillian Randolph]], [[Moms Mabley]], and [[Rex Ingram (actor)|Rex Ingram]] as characters. According to commentary on the Season{{nbsp}}1 DVDs for the show, Cosby was at odds with NBC over his refusal to include a [[laugh track]] in the show, as he felt viewers had the ability to find humor for themselves when watching a TV show.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

For the [[PBS]] series ''[[The Electric Company (1971 TV series)|The Electric Company]]'', Cosby recorded several segments teaching reading skills to young children.<ref>{{cite web |last=Blair |first=Elizabeth |title=50 years ago, 'The Electric Company' used comedy to boost kids' reading skills |url=https://news.azpm.org/p/news-npr/2021/10/25/202413-50-years-ago-the-electric-company-used-comedy-to-boost-kids-reading-skills/ |website=Arizona Public Media |date=October 25, 2021 |access-date=October 26, 2021}}</ref> Cosby resumed his formal education in 1971; he began graduate work at [[University of Massachusetts Amherst|UMass Amherst]]. In 1972, he was back in prime time with a variety series, ''[[The New Bill Cosby Show]]''. However, this show lasted only a season. More successful was a [[Saturday-morning cartoon]], ''[[Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids]]'', hosted by Cosby and based on his own childhood. That series ran from 1972 to 1979, then ran as ''The New Fat Albert Show'' in 1979, and finally ran as ''The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids''. Cosby would use his experience producing ''Fat Albert'' in his educational endeavors; his [[dissertation]] for his [[Doctor of Education|Ed. D.]] at UMass Amherst discussed the use of ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' as a teaching tool in elementary schools.

During the 1970s, Cosby and other African-American actors, including [[Sidney Poitier]], joined forces to make successful [[comedy film]]s to counter the violent "[[blaxploitation]]" films of the era, such as ''[[Uptown Saturday Night]]'' in 1974, ''[[Let's Do It Again (1975 film)|Let's Do It Again]]'' in 1975, and ''[[A Piece of the Action (film)|A Piece of the Action]]'' in 1977. He also starred in ''[[Mother, Jugs & Speed]]'', co-starring ''[[Raquel Welch]]'' and ''[[Harvey Keitel]]'' in 1976. In 1978, he starred in ''[[California Suite (film)|California Suite]]'', a compilation of four [[Neil Simon]] plays.

Cosby also hosted ''[[Cos (TV series)|Cos]]'' in 1976. In addition, he produced an hour-long variety show featuring puppets, sketches, and musical numbers. It was during this season that ABC decided to take advantage of this phase of Cosby's career, by joining with [[Filmation]] producers of ''Fat Albert'' to create live-action segments starring Cosby, for the 1972 animated film ''[[Journey Back to Oz]]''; it subsequently aired in syndication. Cosby was also a regular on children's [[Public broadcasting|public television]] programs starting in the 1970s, hosting the "[[Picture Pages]]" segments that lasted into the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series |date=1985 |publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] |location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=0-8108-1651-2 |pages=393–394}}</ref>[[File:Bill Cosby Reminds Us That We Can All Be Scientists (cropped).jpg|thumb|226x226px|Cosby wearing a sweater in 1990, similar to the ones he wore on ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' in the role of [[Cliff Huxtable]]]]
Cosby's greatest television success came in September 1984 with the debut of ''The Cosby Show''. Cosby, an advocate for family-oriented humor, co-produced the series, held creative control and involved himself in every aspect of production. Plots were often based on ideas that Cosby suggested while in meetings with the writing staff.<ref name="People Magazine article (December 10, 1984)">{{cite web|title=People Magazine article |date=December 10, 1984|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089368,00.html|website=People |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> The show had parallels to Cosby's actual family life: like the characters [[Cliff Huxtable|Cliff]] and [[Clair Huxtable]], Cosby and his wife [[Camille Cosby|Camille]] were college-educated and financially successful, and they had five children. On the show, Cosby played the role of an [[obstetrician]]. Much of the material from the pilot and first season of ''The Cosby Show'' was taken from his video ''Bill Cosby: Himself'',{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} released in 1983. The series was an immediate success, debuting near the top of the ratings and staying there for most of its eight-season run.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In 1987, Cosby attempted to return to film with the spy spoof ''[[Leonard Part 6]]''. Although Cosby himself was the producer and wrote the story, he realized during production that the film was not going to be what he wanted and publicly denounced it, warning audiences to stay away.<ref name=yahoobio>{{cite web|publisher=Yahoo! Movies |title=Bill Cosby |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800036559/bio |access-date=July 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521044901/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800036559/bio |archive-date=May 21, 2010}}</ref> The film was however marked the first project for Columbia to be greenlighted by studio executive David Puttman.<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 9, 1986|title=Cosby To Produce, Star In Pic For Col|page=4|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> Later in the 1980s, Cosby served as an advisor to the [[Los Angeles Student Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite book |year= 1994 |title=National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival |location=The Directors Guild Theatre |pages=10–11}}<!-- is this the program broschure?--></ref><ref>{{cite book |year= 1991 |title=Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival |location=The Directors Guild Theatre |page=3}}<!-- is this the program broschure?--></ref>

After ''The Cosby Show'' went off the air in 1992, Cosby embarked on a number of other projects, which included a [[revival (television)|revival]] of the classic [[Groucho Marx]] game show ''[[You Bet Your Life#1992 Bill Cosby version|You Bet Your Life]]'' (1992–93), the [[Television movie|TV movie]] ''[[I Spy Returns]]'' (1994), and ''[[The Cosby Mysteries]]'' (1994). In the mid-1990s, he appeared as a detective in [[black-and-white]] [[film noir]]-themed commercials for [[Turner Classic Movies]]. During this time, he reunited with [[Sidney Poitier]] starring in ''[[Ghost Dad]]'' (1990) and appeared in minor roles in [[Robert Townsend (actor)|Robert Townsend]]'s superhero comedy ''[[The Meteor Man (film)|The Meteor Man]]'' (1993), and [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s coming of age film ''[[Jack (1996 film)|Jack]]'' (1996). In addition, he was interviewed in [[Spike Lee]]'s [[HBO]] project ''[[4 Little Girls]]'' (1997), a documentary about the [[16th Street Baptist Church bombing|1963 racist bombing]] of a church in [[Birmingham, Alabama]] which injured 22 people, killing four girls.

Also in 1996, he started up a new show for CBS, ''[[Cosby (TV series)|Cosby]]'', again co-starring [[Phylicia Rashād]], his onscreen wife on ''The Cosby Show''. Cosby co-produced the show for [[Carsey-Werner Productions]]. It centered on Cosby as Hilton Lucas, an iconoclastic [[senior citizen]] who tries to find a new job after being [[Layoff|downsized]] and, in the meantime, gets on his wife's nerves. [[Madeline Kahn]] co-starred as Rashād's goofy business partner Pauline. Cosby was hired by CBS to be the official spokesman of its Detroit affiliate [[WWJ-TV]] during an advertising campaign from 1995 to 1998. Cosby also hosted a CBS special, ''[[Kids Say the Darndest Things]]'', on February 6, 1995, which was followed after as a full-season show, with Cosby as host, from January 9, 1998, to June 23, 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |year= 2007 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present |edition=9 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |pages=736–737}}</ref> After four seasons, ''Cosby'' was canceled. Its last episode aired April 28, 2000. ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' was terminated the same year.

A series for [[preschool]]ers, ''[[Little Bill]]'', created by Cosby as a semi-biographical representation of his childhood growing up in Philadelphia, made its debut on [[Nickelodeon]] in 1999. The network renewed the popular program in November 2000. In 2001, Cosby's agenda included the publication of a new book, as well as delivering the [[commencement address]]es at [[Morris Brown College]],<ref>{{cite news |date=August 2001 |title=Who Were Our 2001 College Commencement Speakers? (A sampling) |work=The Black Excel Newsletter |quote=Bill Cosby (actor and TV personality) spoke at Morris Brown College |url=http://www.blackexcel.org/august-2001.htm |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref> [[Ohio State University]],<ref>{{cite web|date=Spring 2001 |title=The Ohio State University Commencement Address by Bill Cosby |publisher=The Ohio State University |url=https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/54007 |last1=Cosby |first1=Bill |hdl=1811/54007 }}</ref> and at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]].<ref name="rpi_grad">{{cite news |date=May 12, 2001 |title=Cosby Urges Rensselaer Graduates: Be Honest, Be Humble |location=Albany, New York |url=http://news.rpi.edu/luwakkey/459 |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref> Also that year, he signed a deal with [[20th Century Fox]] to develop a live-action feature film centering on the popular Fat Albert character from his 1970s cartoon series. Co-written and executive produced by Cosby, ''[[Fat Albert (film)|Fat Albert]]'' was released in theaters in December 2004. Cosby makes an appearance in the film as himself.

In May 2007, Cosby spoke at the commencement of [[High Point University]].<ref>{{cite web |date=Spring 2015 |title=Commencement 2015: Previous Graduation Speakers |publisher=High Point University |quote=2007 Commencement Ceremony: Bill Cosby |url=http://www.highpoint.edu/commencement/previous-graduation-speakers-highlights/ |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref> In the summer of 2009, Cosby hosted a comedy gala at [[Montreal]]'s ''[[Just for Laughs]]'', the largest comedy festival in the world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Georgia |date= March 16, 2007 |title=Five top comedy festivals around the world |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/mar/16/scotland.canada.australia |access-date=June 5, 2013}}</ref> During this time he also made an appearance in [[Mario Van Peebles]] film ''[[Baadasssss!]]'' in 2003.

=== Advertising ===
[[File:1976 Ford Advertisement with Bill Cosby Hot Rod November 1976 (28580301533) (cropped).jpg|thumb|230x230px|Cosby in a 1976 Ford advertisement]]
Cosby was a popular spokesperson for advertising from the 1960s{{spaced ndash}}before his first starring television role{{spaced ndash}}until the early 2000s. He started with [[White Owl]] cigars, and later endorsed [[Jell-O]] pudding and gelatin, [[Del Monte Foods|Del Monte]], [[Ford Motor Company]], [[Coca-Cola]] (including [[New Coke]]), [[American Red Cross]], [[Texas Instruments]], [[E. F. Hutton & Co.]], [[Kodak]], and the [[1990 United States census]]. {{As of|2002}}, Cosby held the record for being the longest-serving celebrity spokesperson for a product, through his work with Jell-O. In 2011, he won the President's Award for Contributions to Advertising from the [[Advertising Hall of Fame]].

Cosby was one of the first black people to appear in the United States as an advertising spokesperson. He was known for his appeal to white consumers in the second half of the 20th century, in an industry seen as slow to accept diversity.<ref name="adage-2009">{{cite magazine |last=Miley |first=Marissa |title=Black Agency Employees Paid 20% Less Than Whites |url=http://adage.com/article/news/study-ad-agencies-exhibit-pervasive-racial-discrimination/133638/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822115640/http://adage.com/article/news/study-ad-agencies-exhibit-pervasive-racial-discrimination/133638/ |archive-date=August 22, 2016 |quote=Referencing Nat King Cole's comment that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark, Mr. Mehri said, 'They're going to be afraid of the sunshine we're going to bring to the industry.' |journal=[[Advertising Age]] |date=January 8, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |oclc=39911225}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In spite of making contradictory soft drink pitches and endorsing a disgraced financial company, he continued to be considered effective and believable. In the 1980s, studies found Cosby the "most familiar" and "most persuasive" spokesperson, to the point where Cosby attributed his wealth to these contracts primarily, over his television series.

Cosby's first advertisement was for White Owl cigars. His agent approached them in 1965, before the debut of ''I Spy'', but after several appearances on the late-night talk program ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', a signifier of success in American comedy. He told agent Norman Brokaw of [[William Morris Agency]] that he liked their tagline, "We're going to get you."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitaker |first1=Mark |title=Cosby: His Life and Times |date=September 16, 2014 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1451697995 |page=269}}</ref> Cosby later said there were no commercials "with a black person holding something, buying a product, so the absence of pictures, in retrospect, said a lot". Despite the stigma among advertisers around using a black spokesperson, sales of the product rose.<ref name="AAFPresidentsAward2">{{cite news |last=Crain |first=Rance |date=28 March 2011 |title=Bill Cosby Looks Back on His Life in Commercials |url=http://adage.com/article/news/bill-cosby-back-life-commercials/149599/ |access-date=12 August 2011 |newspaper=Ad Age |location=New York NY}}</ref> According to an entry in ''Ad Age Encyclopedia'', the public acceptance of Cosby and Robert Culp appearing as equals on ''I Spy'' made it possible for advertisers to show black people and white people together in their commercials.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 September 2003 |title=Archetype/Stereotype |url=http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/archetype-stereotype/98323/ |access-date=30 January 2013 |newspaper=Ad Age Encyclopedia |location=New York NY}}</ref>

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}}In 1974, Cosby began promoting Jell-O pudding for [[General Foods]].<ref name="companion3">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew F. |title=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-988576-3 |location=New York NY}}</ref> Cosby said comedian [[Jack Benny]], whose program the brand sponsored, was the only previous spokesman for Jell-O,<ref name="dougshow2">{{cite web |title=Cosby Part 5 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kUmDYdiYj4 |access-date=3 December 2011 |work=Doug Miles and Don Henderson's radio show |publisher=WSLR Radio Sarasota}}</ref> but [[Kate Smith]], [[Lucille Ball]], and [[Andy Griffith]] have also pitched the brand.<ref name="wiley3">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Holly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gUGOKH5cHnwC&q=jello+bill+cosby&pg=PA58 |title=Frommer's 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers |date=8 April 2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-48064-9 |page=58}}</ref> In previous campaigns since the brand's launch in 1902, it was targeted towards parents rather than to children, a practice from which the company departed in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Stephanie |date=19 November 2001 |title=Jell-O sales jiggle downward; X-treme products readied |url=http://adage.com/article/news/jell-o-sales-jiggle-downward-x-treme-products-readied/33243/ |access-date=30 January 2013 |newspaper=Advertising Age |location=New York NY}}</ref> Cosby's early commercials were created at the [[VMLY&R|Young & Rubicam]] advertising agency by Curvin O'Reilly. Cosby's Jell-O Pudding commercials were not permitted to be used in child directed television because celebrity endorsements were prohibited in advertising to children. Sales immediately responded to the Cosby advertising with growth after what had been a long decline. In 1979, General Foods introduced [[Pudding Pop]]s, the company's first frozen dessert product. With Cosby as spokesperson, it sold US$100 million its first year. After introducing Gelatin Pops and frozen Fruit Bars, the company's frozen desserts sales reached $300 million.<ref>{{cite book |last=McMath |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6PfR0mu3ZSgC&q=jello+bill+cosby&pg=PT28 |title=What Were They Thinking?: Marketing Lessons You Can Learn from Products That Flopped |date=27 April 2011 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-0-307-79364-5 |page=256}}</ref> Cosby was engaged to promote the flagging Jell-O gelatin product line in the mid-1980s, when General Foods introduced a holdable Jell-O product called "Jigglers".<ref>{{cite news |last=Spackman |first=Christy |date=17 August 2012 |title=Mormonism's Jell-O Mold |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/08/jell_o_and_mormonism_the_stereotype_s_surprising_origins_.html |access-date=26 January 2013 |newspaper=Slate.com |location=Washington DC}}</ref> Sales increased seven percent during the first year of the promotion.<ref name="companion3"/>

Cosby appeared in commercials for Coca-Cola's 1979 campaign, "Have a Coke and a Smile," and made a guest appearance at the Great Get-Together, a major bottlers' convention held that year.<ref name="GodCountryCoke-3462">Pendergrast, p. 346</ref><ref name="GodCountryCoke-324">Pendergrast, p. 324</ref> This campaign continued into 1981. Cosby returned as Coca-Cola's spokesperson in its 1982 "Coke Is It" campaign,<ref name="GodCountryCoke-3462">Pendergrast, p. 346</ref> a series of commercials mocking the [[Pepsi Challenge]].<ref name="GodCountryCoke-3462" /> Cosby continued to be a Jell-O spokesman through the 1990s. He was present for the lighting of the brand's first billboard in New York's [[Times Square]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 June 1998 |title=Jell-O in Big Apple |url=http://adage.com/article/news/jell-o-big-apple/65650/ |access-date=30 January 2013 |newspaper=Advertising Age |location=New York NY}}</ref> In 1999, Cosby's 25th year as spokesman for Jell-O, was also the final year he appeared in its advertising. The company distributed 120,000 copies of his picture book series, ''[[Little Bill (book series)|Little Bill]]'', into American public libraries.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 April 1999 |title=Cosby, Jello mark 25th anniversary |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sWowAAAAIBAJ&pg=4814,9410687&dq=little+bill+jello&hl=en |access-date=3 December 2011 |newspaper=Rome News-Tribune |location=Rome, Georgia}}</ref>  Despite the transitions of advertising agencies{{refn|[[Young & Rubicam Advertising]] had the Jell-O account since 1926, but lost it to [[Draftfcb|FCB]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/08/business/media-business-advertising-giants-engage-battle-for-billings-daimlerchrysler.html?pagewanted=2|last=Elliott|first=Stuart|title=Giants Engage in Battle for Billings as DaimlerChrysler Conducts Assignment Review|newspaper=New York Times|date=8 September 2000|access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref>|group=note}} and despite the 1989 merger of General Foods into [[Kraft]], the then-newly merged company Kraft General Foods let Cosby remain with Jell-O as their spokesperson.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 September 2003 |title=Kraft Foods |url=http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/kraft-foods/98739/ |access-date=30 January 2013 |newspaper=Advertising Age |location=New York NY}}</ref>  He appeared at the [[Utah State Senate]] in 2001 to designate Jell-O [[List of Utah state symbols|the official state snack]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Swinyard |first=Kersten |date=1 February 2001 |title=Jell-O jiggles its way through Senate vote |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/822795/Jell-O-jiggles-its-way-through-Senate-vote.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131435/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/822795/Jell-O-jiggles-its-way-through-Senate-vote.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=26 January 2013 |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Deseret UT}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Griggs |first=Brandon |title=Utah Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff |date=1 October 2007 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-0-7627-4386-5 |page=68 |chapter=Hello, Jell-o! |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXi0RNY7MmIC&q=jello+bill+cosby&pg=PA68}}</ref> and made a promotional visit to the [[Jell-O Gallery]] in 2004.<ref name="wiley3"/> In 2010, Cosby returned to Jell-O as executive producer for the company's "Hello Jell-O" campaign. In return, the brand sponsored his weekly web show ''[[OBKB]]'', a children's interview series similar to ''[[Kids Say the Darndest Things]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fredrix |first=Emily |date=16 May 2010 |title=Bill Cosby & Jell-O: Together Again |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/bill-cosby-jell-o-togethe_n_578592.html |access-date=3 December 2011 |work=The Huffington Post |publisher=TheHuffingtonPost.com}}</ref> As of 2002, Cosby's time with Jell-O was considered the longest-standing celebrity endorsement in American advertising history.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cross |first=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecgiAQAAIAAJ&q=jello+bill+cosby |title=A century of American icons: 100 products and slogans from the 20th century consumer culture |date=30 September 2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-31481-0}}</ref>

Cosby has not appeared in advertising roles since the widespread publicization of his sexual assault allegations in 2014.