Editing Bill Cosby (section)

=== 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>