View source for Bill Cosby

{{Short description|American entertainer (born 1937)}}
{{for|the 18th century British-American governor of New York|William Cosby}}
{{distinguish|Bill Cobbs|Bing Crosby}}
{{pp-blp|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name               = Bill Cosby
| image              = File:The World Affairs Council and Girard College present Bill Cosby (6343666943) (cropped to Cosby).jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Cosby in 2011
| birth_name         = William Henry Cosby Jr.
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1937|7|12}}
| birth_place        = [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, U.S.
| education          = [[Temple University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br />[[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Doctor of Education|EdD]])
| years_active       = 1961–2018
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Camille Cosby|Camille Hanks]]|January 25, 1964}}
| children           = 5, including [[Erika Cosby|Erika]] and [[Ennis Cosby|Ennis]]
| genre              = {{hlist|[[Observational comedy]]|[[surreal humor]]|[[clean comedy]]|[[deadpan]]|[[satire]]}}
| child              = 5, including [[Erika Cosby|Erika]] and [[Murder of Ennis Cosby|Ennis]]
| medium             = {{hlist|Stand-up|television|film}}
}}
'''William Henry<!-- Do not include "Bill" here per [[MOS:HYPOCORISM]] --> Cosby Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|z|b|i}} {{respell|KOZ|bee}}; born July 12, 1937) is an American former comedian, actor, and media personality. Often deemed a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry,<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2017 |title=Bill Cosby mistrial: From trailblazer to alleged assaulter |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-40315550 |access-date=January 26, 2025 |agency=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-programs/breaking-barriers/|title= Breaking Barriers|publisher= [[PBS]]|accessdate= January 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/07/bill-cosby-america-s-granddad-gets-ornery.html|title= Bill Cosby: America's granddad gets ornery|website= Slate|date= July 13, 2004|accessdate= January 26, 2025|last1= Dickerson|first1= Debra}}</ref> Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of [[Cliff Huxtable]] in the sitcom ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was [[Bill Cosby in advertising|a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades]]. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". 

Starting in 2014, dozens of [[Bill Cosby sexual assault cases|allegations of sexual assault]] were made against him. By 2018, these ended his career and sharply diminished his status as a pop culture icon.<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>

Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the [[Hungry I]] nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed [[observational comedy]] in a conversational style. He released [[Bill Cosby discography|numerous standup specials]] starting with ''[[Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right!]]'' (1963) and starred in the comedy film ''[[Bill Cosby: Himself]]'' (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most [[Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album|Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album]], with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the [[NBC]] secret-agent show ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'' (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series|Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series]], becoming the first black actor to do so.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://aaregistry.org/story/first-black-wins-emmy-award-for-best-actor/|title= Bill Cosby of 'I Spy' Series Wins TV Emmy; First Negro Cast in a Lead Role Also Co-Host at Awards Sinatra Show Voted the Best Musical Bob Hope Cited|newspaper= [[The New York Times]]|accessdate= January 26, 2025}}</ref>

Cosby made his film debut starring in ''[[Man and Boy (1971 film)|Man and Boy]]'' (1971) followed by ''[[Hickey & Boggs]]'' (1972), ''[[Uptown Saturday Night]]'' (1974), ''[[Let's Do It Again (1975 film)|Let's Do It Again]]'' (1975), ''[[A Piece of the Action (film)|A Piece of the Action]]'' (1977), ''[[Leonard Part 6]]'' (1987), and ''[[Ghost Dad]]'' (1990). He produced and starred in a series of television sitcoms such as ''[[The Bill Cosby Show]]'' (1969–1971), ''[[Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids]]'' (1972–1985) and ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992) as well as its spin-off ''[[A Different World]]'' (1987–1993), ''[[The Cosby Mysteries]]'' (1994–1995), and ''[[Cosby (TV series)|Cosby]]'' (1996–2000). He hosted ''[[Kids Say the Darndest Things]]'' (1998–2000). During his prolific career he advertised numerous products including the [[Jell-O]] [[ice pop]] treats [[Pudding Pop]].

Over 60 women have accused Cosby of various offenses, including [[rape]], [[drug-facilitated sexual assault]], [[sexual battery]], [[child sexual abuse]] and [[sexual harassment]]. Those allegations gained traction in 2014 after fellow comedian [[Hannibal Buress]] mentioned the allegations in a comedy set that went [[Viral video|viral]]. Cosby has maintained his innocence. Although he had received [[List of awards and nominations received by Bill Cosby|numerous awards]] and [[List of honorary degrees awarded to Bill Cosby|honorary degrees]], several of them were revoked following the allegations. Reruns of ''The Cosby Show'' and other programs featuring Cosby were pulled from syndication. In 2018, he was convicted of [[aggravated sexual assault]] against [[Andrea Constand v. Bill Cosby|Andrea Constand]]. He was imprisoned until the conviction was [[Vacated judgment|vacated]] in June 2021 by the [[Supreme Court of Pennsylvania]] on the grounds that Cosby's [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|5th Amendment]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]] [[Due Process Clause|due process rights]] had been violated.<ref name="nyt-overturned" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Sherman |first=Jolie |title=Vermont legal experts weigh in after Cosby freed from prison |url=https://www.news10.com/news/vt-news/vermont-legal-experts-weigh-in-after-cosby-freed-from-prison/ |agency=[[WTEN]] |date=July 1, 2021 |access-date=July 11, 2021 |archive-date=October 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018140244/https://www.news10.com/news/vt-news/vermont-legal-experts-weigh-in-after-cosby-freed-from-prison/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dale |first=Maryclaire |title=Bill Cosby released from prison after court finds due process violation |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/bill-cosbys-sex-assault-conviction-overturned-by-court |website=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=June 30, 2021 |access-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref> In 2022, Cosby was found liable for having sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was 16 years of age.<ref name=":02">{{cite web |last=Patten |first=Dominic |title=Bill Cosby Sexually Abused Judy Huth In 1970s, Civil Jury Decides – Update |website=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/bill-cosby-verdict-judy-huth-playboy-mansion-assault-trial-1235048663/ |date=June 22, 2022 |access-date=June 23, 2022}}</ref>

== Early life and further education ==
William Henry Cosby Jr. was born on July 12, 1937,<ref>{{cite magazine |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Monitor |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=1215 |page=20}}</ref> in Philadelphia.<ref name=filmref/> He is one of four sons of Anna Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr., who served as a [[Culinary specialist (United States Navy)|mess steward]] in the [[U.S. Navy]].<ref name="filmref">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby Biography (1937–) |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/57/Bill-Cosby.html |work=Filmreference.com |access-date=September 18, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Pylant |first=James |title=A Glimpse at Bill Cosby's Virginia Roots |url=http://www.genealogymagazine.com/billcosby.html |url-status=dead |magazine=Genealogy Magazine|date=June 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091026024735/http://www.genealogymagazine.com/billcosby.html |archive-date=October 26, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:1957 December 23 US Navy Medicine photo of Bill Cosby.jpg|upright|thumb|Cosby as a basketball player during his Navy service in 1957]]
Cosby was the class president as well as captain of both the baseball and track-and-field teams at [[Mary Channing Wister Public School]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby Trivia |url=http://www.tv.com/bill-cosby/person/4026/trivia.html |url-status=dead |work=TV.com |access-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208211219/http://www.tv.com/bill-cosby/person/4026/trivia.html |archive-date=February 8, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sof |first=Eric |title=Bill Cosby |url=https://special-ops.org/military/veteran/us-navy-bill-cosby-military-service/ |url-status=dead |work=Spec Ops |date=December 28, 2016 |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702180420/https://special-ops.org/military/veteran/us-navy-bill-cosby-military-service/ |archive-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref> Teachers noted his propensity for joking around instead of studying, and he described himself as the class clown.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Cosby and Me |url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-lens/2006/12/bill_cosby_and_me.html |url-status=dead |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 11, 2007 |access-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705132705/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-lens/2006/12/bill_cosby_and_me.html |archive-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref> Cosby attended Philadelphia's [[Central High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)|Central High School]], a [[magnet school]] and academically rigorous college [[University-preparatory school|prep school]], where he [[ran track]] and played baseball, [[American football|football]], and basketball.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} He transferred to [[Germantown High School (Philadelphia)|Germantown High School]] but failed the tenth grade.<ref name="William Morris Agency">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140221193501/http://www.wma.com/bill_cosby/bio/BILL_COSBY.pdf William Morris Agency]. Retrieved July 15, 2015</ref>

In 1956,<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- byline just says staff --> |title=Bill Cosby's honorary chief status revoked amid controversy |url=http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2014/12/04/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-navy-chief-honor-revoked/19897577/ |work=Navy Times |date=December 4, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref> Cosby enlisted in the Navy and served as a [[hospital corpsman]] at the [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] in [[Virginia]]; at [[Naval Station Argentia]] in [[Newfoundland]], Canada; and at the [[National Naval Medical Center]] in [[Maryland]].<ref name="Military.com">{{cite web |title=Famous Veterans: Bill Cosby |url=http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-bill-cosby.html?file=trans_bill_cosby.htm |url-status=live |work=Military.com |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610122829/http://www.military.com/Careers/Content1?file=trans_bill_cosby.htm&area=Content |archive-date=June 10, 2007}}</ref> He worked in [[physical therapy]] with Navy and [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] personnel who were injured during the [[Korean War]].<ref name="Military.com"/> He served until 1960 and became a petty officer 3rd class.

Cosby earned his high school equivalency diploma ([[HSED]]) through correspondence courses<ref name="Kennedy Center">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |publisher=[[The Kennedy Center]] |access-date=February 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216143109/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |archive-date=February 16, 2007}}</ref> and was awarded a track-and-field scholarship to [[Temple University]] in 1961.<ref name="ESPER">[https://web.archive.org/web/20030914222430/http://esperstamps.org/t61.htm "Bill Cosby"]. Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections. Retrieved February 10, 2014.</ref> At Temple, he studied physical education while he ran track and played [[Fullback (gridiron football)|fullback]] on the college's football team.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vecsy |first=George |title=Cosby Can Laugh Now, but Football Was Serious Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/sports/05vecsey.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 4, 2010 |access-date=January 30, 2019}}</ref> Cosby began bartending at a Philadelphia club, where he earned bigger tips by making the customers laugh. He then began performing on stage and left his university studies to pursue a career in comedy.<ref name="Verve Records">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?ob=per&aid=2842 |website=vervemusicgroup.com |publisher=[[Verve Records]]}}{{dead link|date=July 2019| bot= medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Cosby resumed his formal education in 1971. Temple University granted him his [[bachelor's degree]] on the basis of what it referred to as life experience.<ref>{{cite web |last=Holznagel |first=Fritz |title=From Dropout to Doctorate: A Bill Cosby Educational Timeline |url=http://www.who2.com/blog/2010/12/from-dropout-to-doctorate-a-bill-cosby-educational-timeline |work=Who2 Biographies |date=December 5, 2010 |access-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018095941/http://www.who2.com/blog/2010/12/from-dropout-to-doctorate-a-bill-cosby-educational-timeline |url-status=dead }}</ref> He then began graduate work at [[University of Massachusetts Amherst|UMass Amherst]], receiving his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1972.

He returned to UMass Amherst, and in 1976, while producing ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'', he earned his [[Doctor of Education]] (Ed.D.) degree. His [[dissertation]] was titled ''An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning''.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>[https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4218&context=dissertations_1#:~:text=1%2D1%2D1976-,An%20integration%20of%20the%20visual%20media%20via%20Fat%20Albert%20and,vehicle%20to%20achieve%20increased%20learning.&text=WILLIAM%20HENRYCOSBY%2C%20JR.&text=WILLIAM%20HENRY%20COSBY%2C%20JR. An integration of the visual media via Fat Albert and the Cosby kids into the elementary school curriculum as a teaching aid and vehicle to achieve increased learning]</ref>

==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. On July 28, 1964, 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 magazine |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/ |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=March 27, 2019 |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 |date=August 19, 1967}}</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 a 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 having five consecutive No. 1 ratings in its eight-season run.<ref name="Bryant2001">{{cite book|editor-first1=Jennings |editor-first2=J. Alison |editor-last1=Bryant |editor-last2=Bryant |date=2001|title=Television and the American Family|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc|doi=10.4324/9781410600172|page=209|isbn=9781410600172}}</ref><ref name="Tueth2005">{{cite book|last=Tueth|first=Michael|title=Laughter In The Living Room: Television Comedy And The American Home Audience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBRvw2pvjFoC&pg=PA165|year=2005|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-0-8204-6845-7|page=165}}</ref>

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>

{{Quote box
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| quote = First of all and lastly, I'm good—that's all—I'm good. I don't rewrite their material. I take it and I ''make'' it.
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| salign = right
}}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.

== Legal issues ==
{{Main|Bill Cosby sexual assault cases}}

=== 1965–1996 allegations ===
The earliest allegation against Cosby dates back to December 1965: in 2005, Kristina Ruehli came forward as [[John Doe|Jane Doe]] #12 in the [[Andrea Constand v. Bill Cosby|Andrea Constand]] case and alleged that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her at that time in his Beverly Hills home. Further, Ruehli said she had told her boyfriend about the incident, and had told her daughter in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no by-line.--> |date=November 24, 2014 |title=Cosby accuser: I had 2 drinks, went blank |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2014/11/24/newday-cosby-accuser-kristina-ruehli.cnn/video/playlists/new-day-top-clips/ |access-date=December 30, 2015}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, Joan Tarshis told freelance reporter John Milward about an alleged sexual assault by Cosby. Milward did not write about the allegations.<ref name="washpost">{{cite news |last=Roig-Franzia |first=Manuel |date=November 22, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby's legacy, recast: Accusers speak in detail about sexual-assault allegations |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bill-cosbys-legacy-recast-accusers-speak-in-detail-about-sexual-assault-allegations/2014/11/22/d7074938-718e-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html |access-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> In 1996, ''[[Playboy Playmate|Playboy]]'' [[Playboy Playmate|Playmate]] [[Victoria Valentino]] gave a videotaped interview in which she made sexual assault allegations against Cosby. The interview was conducted for an exposé on the lives of ''Playboy'' models, which was never published.<ref name="washpost" />

After the allegations resurfaced in 2014, [[Wendy Williams]] recalled that during [[The Wendy Williams Show|her radio show]] in 1990, she referred to sexual assault allegations against Cosby that had been published in the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' tabloid. Williams said Cosby called her boss in the middle of the broadcast demanding that Williams be fired.<ref name="ferrier_enquirer">{{cite web |date=November 21, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby Allegedly Tried to Get Wendy Williams Fired for Mentioning the Rape Accusations in 1990 |work=VICE |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-time-bill-cosby-tried-to-ruin-wendy-williamss-career-for-bringing-up-rape-allegations-allegedly-878/ |access-date=November 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K12WIUL-NtQ&t=19m44s ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (November 19, 2014)], clip telling her story about her 1990 ''Dishing The Dirt'' radio show (on 98.7 Kiss in New York) where she had discussed Cosby allegations as reported in ''The National Enquirer'', with Cosby personally phoning her station manager demanding that she be fired.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUtiT9MMCEQ&t=3m51s 'Bill Cosby Guilty'], clip from ''[[The Wendy Williams Show]]'' (published to YouTube on April 27, 2018).</ref>

=== Later allegations and investigations (2000–2006) ===
On February 1, 2000, according to a statement provided by Detective Jose McCallion of the [[New York County, New York|New York County]] [[District Attorney]]'s [[Special Victims Unit|Special Victims Bureau]], Lachele Covington, who was 20 years old at the time, filed a criminal complaint against Cosby alleging that on January 28, 2000, at his Manhattan townhouse, he had tried to put her hands down his pants and then [[Indecent exposure|exposed himself]]. Covington also alleged that Cosby grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hands down her pants. Cosby was questioned and insisted "it was not true". The [[New York City Police Department]] (NYPD) referred her complaint to the D.A., but they declined to prosecute.<ref name="radaronline_secretly">{{cite news |date=November 18, 2014 |title=More Cosby Claims: New Accuser Secretly Told Cops About Unwanted 'Sexual Contact' With Bill—Read The Shocking Police Report |url=http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/11/bill-cosby-rape-claims-lachele-covington-police-report/}}</ref>

In January 2004, Andrea Constand, a former [[Temple University]] employee, accused Cosby of drugging and fondling her; however, in February 2005, [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]], Pennsylvania's District Attorney said there would be no charges due to insufficient credible and admissible evidence.<ref name="cbc.ca_1.579908">{{cite news |date=November 8, 2006 |title=Cosby, Canadian woman settle lawsuit over alleged assault |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/cosby-canadian-woman-settle-lawsuit-over-alleged-assault-1.579908 |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> Constand then filed a [[civil claim]] in March 2005, with thirteen women as potential witnesses if the case went to court.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news |date=July 3, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby Fast Facts |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/24/us/bill-cosby-fast-facts/ |access-date=November 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name="WPost">{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Soraya Nadia |date=October 31, 2014 |title=Is the world starting to turn against Bill Cosby? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/31/after-jian-ghomeshi-is-the-world-finally-starting-to-turn-against-bill-cosby/ |access-date=November 16, 2014}}</ref> Cosby [[Court settlement|settled out of court]] for an undisclosed amount in November 2006.<ref name="cnn" /> After learning that charges were not pursued in the Constand case, California lawyer Tamara Lucier Green, the only publicly named woman in the prior case, came forward with allegations in February 2005 that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in the 1970s.<ref name="WoolfGuardian">{{cite web |last1=Woolf |first1=Nicky |date=December 16, 2014 |title=The Bill Cosby sexual abuse claims—accusation by accusation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/24/the-bill-cosby-sexual-abuse-claims-accusation-by-accusation |access-date=May 24, 2015 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name="philadelphiamagazine">{{cite news |last=Fiorillo |first=Victor |date=November 17, 2014 |title=Q&A: New Bill Cosby Accuser Joan Tarshis |work=[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]] |url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/11/17/bill-cosby-rape-sexual-assault-joan-tarshis/ |access-date=November 18, 2014}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=November 14, 2014 |title=Cosby Is Off Another Show as Rape Accusations Swirl |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/business/media/appearance-by-bill-cosby-with-david-letterman-canceled-as-rape-allegations-swirl.html |access-date=November 16, 2014}}</ref> Cosby's lawyer said Cosby did not know her and that the events did not happen.<ref name="cnn2014">{{cite news |last=Leopold |first=Todd |date=November 12, 2014 |title=Rape allegations won't go away for Bill Cosby |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/11/showbiz/tv/bill-cosby-rape-allegations/ |access-date=November 16, 2014}}</ref>

In a July 2005 ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' interview, Beth Ferrier, one of the anonymous "Jane Doe" witnesses in the Constand case, alleged that in 1984 Cosby had drugged her coffee and she awoke with her clothes partially removed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Egan|first=Nicole Weisensee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news-beth-ferrier-int/34429482/|title=Another Cosby accuser speaks out|work=Philadelphia Daily News|date=June 23, 2005|access-date=May 31, 2025|via=Newspapers.com|page=10}}</ref> In 2005, Shawn Upshaw Brown, a woman with whom Cosby admitted to having an extramarital affair in the 1970s, claimed in the ''National Enquirer'' that Cosby drugged and raped her the last time the two were together sexually. Brown is the mother of [[Autumn Jackson]], who claims to be Cosby's illegitimate daughter. Jackson was convicted in 1997 of [[extortion]] after she threatened to make the claims public in the ''[[Globe (tabloid)|Globe]]'' tabloid. In 2015, Brown went into more detail with her renewed allegations in an interview.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Ryan |date=November 26, 2014 |title=Cosby mistress claims comedian drugged and raped her, fathered her daughter |publisher=AOL News |url=http://www.aol.com/article/2014/11/26/cosby-mistress-claims-comedian-drugged-and-raped-her-fathered-daughter/20999599/ |access-date=January 17, 2015}}</ref>

On June 9, 2006, [[Philadelphia (magazine)|''Philadelphia'' magazine]] published an article by Robert Huber, titled "Dr. Huxtable & Mr. Hyde",<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Huber |first=Robert |date=June 9, 2006 |title=Dr. Huxtable & Mr. Hyde |url=https://www.phillymag.com/articles/2006/06/09/dr-huxtable-mr-hyde/ |magazine=Philadelphia |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |publisher=Metro Corp. |access-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112232745/https://www.phillymag.com/articles/2006/06/09/dr-huxtable-mr-hyde/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which gave graphic detail about Constand's allegations, and the similar stories told by Green and Ferrer about how they stated that they too were drugged and sexually assaulted. With these severe allegations against Cosby, Huber wrote: "His lawyers have gotten it pushed to the back burner, down to a simmer, and maybe it will amount to nothing, yet there is also the possibility that it will bubble up to destroy him."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwqMST1KTcQ Reporter who saw Cosby's scandal coming], Bob Huber interviewed about his 2006 magazine article that highlighted Cosby allegations (2014 CNN report, uploaded to YouTube on Nov 30)</ref> The article also presented Barbara Bowman, who had come forward after having read about Constand's story, saying she could not sit in silence any longer. Details of Bowman's similar drug and sexual assault allegations were published in the magazine's November 1, 2006, issue. Bowman reported two incidents that happened around early 1986, wherein she was eighteen years old and working as an aspiring model and actress after her agent had introduced her to Cosby and he had become her good friend and mentor, saying that she escaped his attacks, returned home to Denver and Cosby thereafter subverted her career.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Huber |first=Robert |date=November 1, 2006 |title='Cosby Threw Me on the Bed', In a follow-up to our June profile of Bill Cosby, another woman steps forward with allegations against him. |url=https://www.phillymag.com/articles/2006/11/01/cosby-threw-me-on-the-bed/ |magazine=Philadelphia |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |publisher=Metro Corp. |access-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426083437/https://www.phillymag.com/news/2006/11/01/cosby-threw-me-on-the-bed/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Hannibal Buress remarks (October 2014) ===
[[File:7.29.12HannibalBuressByEzmosis.jpg|thumb|179x179px|In a 2014 stand-up act, [[Hannibal Buress]] (pictured) publicly accused Cosby of rape]]
On October 16, 2014, as part of a comedy routine in Philadelphia, [[Hannibal Buress]] addressed Cosby's legacy of "talk[ing] down" to young black men about their mode of dress and lifestyle. Buress criticized the actor's public moralizing by saying: "Yeah, but you raped women, Bill Cosby, so that kind of brings you down a couple notches."

The audience appeared to respond to Buress's accusation as an incredulous joke, then he encouraged everyone to search "Bill Cosby rape" on Google when they got home. Buress had been using the same Cosby routine for the previous six months with little response,<ref name="cbs_buress">{{cite news |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Who is Hannibal Buress, and why did he call Bill Cosby a 'rapist'? |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-is-hannibal-buress-and-why-did-he-call-bill-cosby-a-rapist/ |access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref> but word of the October performance spread rapidly after being posted on [[Philadelphia (magazine)|''Philadelphia'']] magazine's website.<ref name="VultureTimelineOfAccusations">{{cite web |last1=Giles |first1=Matt |last2=Jones |first2=Nate |date=March 3, 2015 |title=A Timeline of the Abuse Charges Against Bill Cosby [Updated] |url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/timeline-of-the-abuse-charges-against-cosby.html |access-date=April 24, 2015 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |publisher=Vulture.com}}</ref><ref name="PhillyMagBuressRoutineVideo">{{cite web |last1=McQuade |first1=Dan |date=October 17, 2014 |title=Hannibal Buress on Bill Cosby: You're a Rapist |url=http://www.phillymag.com/ticket/2014/10/17/hannibal-buress-bill-cosby-rapist/ |access-date=April 24, 2015 |work=Philadelphia Magazine |publisher=Phillymag.com |quote=He gets on TV, 'Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the 80s! I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom!' Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches.}}</ref><ref name="LATimesReBuressRole">{{cite news |last1=Braxton |first1=Greg |date=November 24, 2014 |title=Comic Hannibal Buress is low-key on his role in Bill Cosby firestorm |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-hannibal-buress-20141124-story.html#page=1 |access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> Media coverage intensified, with numerous publications tackling the question of how Cosby had managed to maintain, as Buress called it in his routine, a "teflon image" despite more than a decade of public sexual abuse accusations.<ref name="nbc_cosby_why">{{cite news |date=November 17, 2014 |title=Why Are Old Assault Claims Against Bill Cosby Back? |work=CBS News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/why-are-old-assault-claims-against-bill-cosby-back-n250161 |access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="accusertable_bowman">{{cite news |date=November 13, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby raped me. Why did it take 30 years for people to believe my story? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/13/bill-cosby-raped-me-why-did-it-take-30-years-for-people-to-believe-my-story/ |access-date=September 30, 2015}}* '''Accompanying video''': {{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Erin |last2=McKenna |first2=Ewen |date=November 13, 2014 |title='I will not live in silence anymore' about Bill Cosby |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/national/i-will-not-live-in-silence-anymore-about-bill-cosby/2014/11/13/d7aad67c-6b88-11e4-bafd-6598192a448d_video.html |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>

Shortly afterward, ''[[USA Today]]'' reported that either Cosby or his representative posted a request for Twitter followers to "Go ahead. [[Internet meme|Meme]] me!" The tweet was deleted after a large number of the submitted memes made reference to the accusations against Cosby.<ref>{{cite web |last=Durando |first=Jessica |date=November 10, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby meme generator backfires on social media |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/11/10/bill-cosby-meme-generator/18832081/ |access-date=April 30, 2018 |work=USA Today}}</ref>

=== Additional assault allegations ===
After Buress's remarks came to the attention of journalist Joan Tarshis, in November 2014,<ref name="Hughes">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Jason |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby Is a 'Serial Rapist', Accuser Joan Tarshis Tells CNN's Don Lemon (Video) |url=https://tv.yahoo.com/news/bill-cosby-accuser-joan-tarshis-alleges-did-much-092100511.html |access-date=November 19, 2014}}</ref> model [[Janice Dickinson]],<ref name="Bueno">{{cite news |last=Bueno |first=Antoinette |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Janice Dickinson Details Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Accusations: He Raped Me |work=Entertainment Tonight |url=http://www.etonline.com/news/154076_janice_dickinson_details_alleged_bill_cosby_sexual_assault/ |access-date=November 18, 2014}}</ref> actress [[Louisa Moritz]],<ref name="Fox News">{{cite news |date=November 21, 2014 |title=Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla Ferrigno accuses Bill Cosby of assault; more come forward |publisher=Fox News Channel |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lou-ferrignos-wife-carla-ferrigno-accuses-bill-cosby-of-assault-more-come-forward/ |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> actor [[Lou Ferrigno]]'s wife Carla,<ref name="Fox News" /> Florida nurse Therese Serignese,<ref name="huffpost-serignese">{{cite news |date=November 20, 2014 |title=Therese Serignese, Florida Nurse, Says Bill Cosby Drugged and Raped Her in 1976 |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/therese-serignese-bill-cosby-rape-victim_n_6188270.html |access-date=November 23, 2014}}</ref> ''Playboy'' Playmates Valentino<ref name="d7074938">{{cite news |last=Roig-Franzia |first=Manuel |date=November 22, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby's legacy, recast: Accusers speak in detail about sexual-assault allegations |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bill-cosbys-legacy-recast-accusers-speak-in-detail-about-sexual-assault-allegations/2014/11/22/d7074938-718e-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> and Sarita Butterfield,<ref name="Butterfield">{{cite news |date=November 23, 2014 |title=Playboy bunny claims Bill Cosby tried to kiss, fondle her |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/playboy-bunny-claims-bill-cosby-kiss-fondle-article-1.2020517 |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> actress [[Michelle Hurd]],<ref name="DailyBeastListofAccusersNov20143">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Marlow |date=November 24, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby's Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004 |newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/24/bill-cosby-s-long-list-of-accusers-so-far-17-alleged-sexual-assault-victims-between-1965-2004.html |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> and eleven other women<ref name="DailyBeastListofAccusersNov20143" /> also made accusations of alleged assaults by Cosby committed against them between 1965 and 2004.<ref name="MyUser_The_New_York_Times_November_20_2014c">{{cite news |last1=Bowley |first1=Graham |last2=Manly |first2=Lorne |date=November 20, 2014 |title=7th Accuser Joins Claims of Assault by Bill Cosby |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/business/7th-accuser-joins-claims-of-assault-by-bill-cosby.html |access-date=November 20, 2014}}</ref> [[Charlotte Laws]] wrote a November 2014 article published by ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'' accusing Cosby of assaulting a friend of hers, with whom she subsequently had lost contact.<ref name="Laws">{{cite news |last=Laws |first=Charlotte |date=November 30, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby and drugging: My 34-year-old secret |work=Salon |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/11/30/bill_cosby_and_drugging_my_34_year_old_secret/ |access-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref> The following month, in a ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' article, model [[Beverly Johnson]] alleged that she was drugged by Cosby during a 1986 [[audition]], and that she knew other women with similar accounts.<ref name="Vanity_Johnson">{{cite magazine |date=December 11, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby Drugged Me. This Is My Story. |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/12/bill-cosby-beverly-johnson-story |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref>

Cosby's attorney said Dickinson's account differed from prior accounts she had given of the incident and released a statement that said in part: "Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment."<ref name="Littleton">{{cite news |last=Littleton |first=Cynthia |date=November 19, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby Lawyer Disputes Janice Dickinson's Rape Claim |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/bill-cosby-lawyer-disputes-janice-dickinsons-rape-claim-1201360149}}</ref> A follow-up statement dismissed the allegations as "unsubstantiated" and an example of "media vilification".<ref name="MyUser_The_Washington_Post_November_23_2014z">{{cite news |last=Singer |first=Martin D. |title=Statement by Martin D. Singer, attorney for Bill Cosby |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/lifestyle/statement-by-martin-d-singer-attorney-for-bill-cosby/1469 |access-date=November 23, 2014 |archive-date=November 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125061238/http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/lifestyle/statement-by-martin-d-singer-attorney-for-bill-cosby/1469/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> A joint statement from Cosby and Constand, who had received a civil settlement in 2006, clarified the statement released a few days prior by stating that it did not refer to Constand's case, which was resolved years ago.<ref name="billcosby.com/2014/11/1744">{{cite web |date=November 17, 2014 |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://billcosby.com/2014/11/1744/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141202001407/http://billcosby.com/2014/11/1744/ |archive-date=December 2, 2014 |access-date=December 1, 2014 |publisher=BillCosby.com}}</ref>

In January 2015, Cindra Ladd alleged that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1969.<ref name="Fisher">{{cite web |last=Fisher |first=Luchina |date=January 27, 2015 |title=Bill Cosby Faces New Accuser, Cindra Ladd |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/bill-cosby-faces-accusations/story?id=28516908 |work=[[Good Morning America]]}}</ref> In May 2015, Lili Bernard claimed that Cosby sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, and that she had been interviewed by police in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], regarding the allegation. Because the state of New Jersey has no [[statute of limitations]] for rape, Bernard hoped charges would be brought, but media reports noted that "it wasn't clear{{nbsp}}...if what [Bernard] says happened to her happened in New Jersey."<ref name="Puente">{{cite news |last1=Puente |first1=Maria |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Cosby accuser aims for criminal charges |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/05/01/new-cosby-accuser-aims-for-criminal-charges/26720395/ |access-date=May 2, 2015}}</ref>

On July 27, 2015, ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine's cover featured images of 35 women sitting in chairs with the last chair empty, suggesting there may be more victims who have not come forward yet. The 35 women told "their stories about being assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the culture that wouldn't listen". Eleven other women known to ''New York'' who alleged sexual assault by Cosby declined to be photographed and interviewed for the feature.<ref name="nymagexpose">{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Noreen |date=July 26, 2015 |title='I'm No Longer Afraid': 35 Women Tell Their Stories About Being Assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the Culture That Wouldn't Listen |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |url=https://nymag.com/thecut/2015/07/bill-cosbys-accusers-speak-out.html |access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref> According to ''[[Vox (website)|Vox]]'', the stories span "more than five decades" and are "remarkably similar, typically involving the comedian offering a woman a cup of coffee or some sort of alcoholic beverage—which may be spiked with drugs—and allegedly sexually assaulting the victim as she's impaired or unconscious."<ref name="Lopez">{{cite web |last=Lopez |first=German |date=July 26, 2015 |title=35 Bill Cosby accusers posed for one defiant, powerful magazine cover |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/7/26/9044867/bill-cosby-new-york-magazine |access-date=July 27, 2015 |publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref>

On September 17, 2015, [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]] broadcast the documentary ''Cosby: The Women Speak'', a program in which thirteen alleged victims were interviewed.<ref name="A&E">{{cite news |date=September 17, 2015 |title=Cosby: The Women Speak |publisher=[[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]] |url=http://www.aetv.com/shows/cosby-the-women-speak |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Pilkington">{{cite news |last=Pilkington |first=Ed |date=September 18, 2015 |title=Bill Cosby back in the spotlight as 13 alleged victims give TV interviews |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/18/bill-cosy-back-in-the-spotlight-as-13-alleged-victims-give-tv-interviews |access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref> By October 24, nearly sixty women had claimed they were sexually abused by Cosby,<ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite web |last1=Puente |first1=Maria |date=October 24, 2015 |title=Two more Cosby accusers go public as total nears 60 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/10/23/two-more-cosby-accusers-go-public-total-nears-60/74477228/ |access-date=January 18, 2016 |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> and the terms "[[sociopath]]"<ref name="DailyBeastListofAccusersNov20143" /> and "[[serial rapist]]"<ref name="Holley2">{{cite news |last=Holley |first=Peter |date=December 1, 2014 |title=Colleges cut ties with Bill Cosby as the list of women accusing him of sexual assault hits 20 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style-blog/wp/2014/11/28/colleges-cut-ties-with-bill-cosby-as-the-list-of-women-accusing-him-of-sexual-assault-hits-20/ |access-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hughes" /><ref name="Thistlethwaite">{{cite news |last=Thistlethwaite |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Bill Cosby: Race, Gender and Serial Rape Denial |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-susan-brooks-thistlethwaite/bill-cosby-race-gender-an_b_7746964.html |access-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref> were used to describe him. Jewell Allison, one of Cosby's accusers, described him as a "sociopath"<ref name="DailyBeastListofAccusersNov20143" /> and stated: "We may be looking at America's greatest serial rapist that ever got away with this for the longest amount of time. He got away with it because he was hiding behind the image of Cliff Huxtable."<ref name="Holley2" />

=== Aftermath ===
[[File:Bill Cosby Protest in Kitchener, Ontario (15604932994).jpg|thumb|Demonstrators protesting against Cosby in [[Kitchener, Ontario]], Canada|226x226px]]Cosby has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintained his innocence. In November 2014, he responded to a question about the allegations and said: "I don't talk about it."<ref name="maya">{{cite news|last1=Rhodan|first1=Maya|title=Bill Cosby on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Talk About It'|url=https://time.com/3596545/cosby-responds-rape-allegations-ap-video/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 20, 2014|access-date=December 6, 2015}}</ref> In past interviews that were made public, Cosby declined to discuss the accusations.<ref name="KFORTV" /> However, he told ''[[Florida Today]]'': "People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."<ref name="KFORTV">{{cite news|title=Bill Cosby defiant about answering sexual assault allegations|url=http://kfor.com/2014/11/23/bill-cosby-defiant-about-answering-sexual-assault-allegations|publisher=KFOR-TV|date=November 23, 2014 |access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref> In May 2015, he said: "I have been in this business 52 years and I've never seen anything like this. Reality is a situation and I can't speak."<ref name="theweek_555357">{{cite magazine|first=Stephanie|last=Talmadge|title=Bill Cosby addresses sexual misconduct allegations for the first time|url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/555357/bill-cosby-addresses-sexual-misconduct-allegations-first-time|magazine=[[The Week]]|date=May 15, 2015|access-date=May 16, 2015}}</ref>

In the wake of the allegations, numerous organizations have severed ties with Cosby, and honors and titles that were previously awarded to him have been revoked. Reruns of ''The Cosby Show'' and other shows featuring Cosby have also been pulled from syndication by many organizations. Twenty-five colleges and universities have rescinded honorary degrees.<ref name="Holley">{{cite news |last=Holley |first=Peter |date=December 1, 2014 |title=Colleges cut ties with Bill Cosby as the list of women accusing him of sexual assault hits 20 |newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style-blog/wp/2014/11/28/colleges-cut-ties-with-bill-cosby-as-the-list-of-women-accusing-him-of-sexual-assault-hits-20/ |access-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref>

In July 2015, PAVE: Promoting Awareness and Victim Empowerment, a nonprofit group focusing on sexual assault prevention, launched a [[We the People (petitioning system)|WhiteHouse.gov petition]], calling upon President [[Barack Obama]] to revoke Cosby's [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (which Cosby received from President [[George W. Bush]] in July 2002).<ref name="whitehouse petition">{{cite news |date=July 8, 2015 |title=Asked About Cosby Scandal, Obama Weighs In on a Sexual Violence Discussion |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/247230-group-calls-on-obama-to-strip-bill-cosbys-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |access-date=January 29, 2016 |newspaper=The Hill}}</ref> Later the same month, in response to a question at a news conference, President Obama said:

{{blockquote|There's no precedent for revoking a medal. We don't have that mechanism. And, as you know, I tend to make it a policy not to comment on the specifics of cases where there might still be, if not criminal, then civil, issues involved. ''[long pause]'' I'll say this, if you give a woman, or a man for that matter, without his or her knowledge, a drug, and then have sex with that person without consent, that's rape. And I think this country, any civilized country, should have no tolerance for rape.<ref name="nytob">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/us/obama-wades-into-growing-sexual-scandal-surrounding-bill-cosby.html|title=Asked About Cosby Scandal, Obama Weighs In on a Sexual Violence Discussion |last=Shear |first=Michael |date=July 16, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 16, 2015}}</ref>}}

==== Trial, conviction, and conviction overturn ====
{{Infobox court case
| name = Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. William H. Cosby, Jr.
| court = Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
| image = 
| imagesize = 150px
| imagelink = 
| imagealt = 
| caption = Seal of the Court
| full name = 
| date decided = April 26, 2018
| verdict = [[aggravated indecent assault]] 
| citations = Commonwealth v. Cosby, CP-46-CR-00008386-2015 (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 2018
| ECLI = 
| transcripts = 
| judges = Steven O'Neill
| number of judges = 
| decision by = 
| concurring = 
| dissenting = 
| concur/dissent = 
| prior actions = 
| appealed from = 
| appealed to = [[Supreme Court of Pennsylvania]]
| subsequent actions = 
| related actions = 
| opinions = 
| keywords = <!-- {{Hlist|...}} -->
| italic title = no
}}
With the exception of Andrea Constand's allegations, most of the sexual assault allegations against Cosby have fallen outside of the [[statute of limitations|statutes of limitations]] for [[criminal prosecution]].<ref name="WintonR">{{cite news|first1=Richard|last1=Winton|title=Bill Cosby's admission on Quaaludes may spur lawsuits against him, legal experts say|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bill-cosby-deposition-20150707-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 7, 2015|access-date=July 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ax|first1=Joseph|last2=Stempel|first2=Jonathan|date=June 30, 2021|title=Bill Cosby home from prison after court reverses sexual assault conviction|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bill-cosbys-sexual-assault-conviction-is-overturned-2021-06-30/|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> Numerous [[civil lawsuit]]s have been brought against him.<ref name="WintonR" /><ref name="AIG_Lawsuit">{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/bill-cosby-tells-judge-insurer-threatening-defense-against-135010455.html|title=Bill Cosby Tells Judge That Insurer Is Threatening His Defense Against Accusers|magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=September 15, 2015|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref> Attorney [[Gloria Allred]] has represented 33 of Cosby's alleged victims. In July 2015, some of the court records from [[Andrea Constand]]'s 2005 civil suit against Cosby were unsealed and released to the public. The full transcript of his deposition was also released to the media by a court reporting service. In his testimony, Cosby admitted to [[casual sex]] with a series of young women involving the recreational use of the [[sedative]] [[methaqualone]] (Quaalude); he further acknowledged that his dispensation of the prescription drug was illegal.<ref name="Moghe">{{cite news |last=Moghe |first=Sonia |title=Cosby deposition: Quaaludes came from L.A. gynecologist |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/us/cosby-deposition-quaaludes/ |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=July 24, 2015 |access-date=July 26, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYT71815">{{cite news|first1=Graham|last1=Bowley|first2=Sydney|last2=Ember|title=Bill Cosby, in Deposition, Said Drugs and Fame Helped Him Seduce Women |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/arts/bill-cosby-deposition-reveals-calculated-pursuit-of-young-women-using-fame-drugs-and-deceit.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 18, 2015|access-date=July 19, 2015|quote=...{{nbsp}}he presented himself in the deposition as an unapologetic, cavalier playboy, someone who used a combination of fame, apparent concern and powerful sedatives in a calculated pursuit of young women{{nbsp}}... He admitted to giving young women Quaaludes at that time 'the same as a person would say have a drink', he said, but not without their knowledge.}}</ref><ref name="Allred_33_AllegedVictims">{{cite news|first=Rodney|last=Ho|title=Gloria Allred wins Cobb Energy Bill Cosby concert protest case|url=http://radiotvtalk.blog.myajc.com/2016/09/09/gloria-allred-wins-cobb-energy-bill-cosby-concert-protest-case/|publisher=MyAgc|date=September 9, 2016|access-date=September 9, 2016|archive-date=September 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911013439/http://radiotvtalk.blog.myajc.com/2016/09/09/gloria-allred-wins-cobb-energy-bill-cosby-concert-protest-case/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On April 26, 2018, following a jury trial, Cosby was found guilty of three counts of [[aggravated indecent assault]] against Andrea Constand. An initial trial on the charges had ended in a mistrial when the jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Eric|last1=Levenson|first2=Aaron|last2=Cooper|title=Bill Cosby guilty on all three counts in indecent assault trial|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/26/us/bill-cosby-trial/index.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=April 26, 2018|access-date=April 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Kate|last=Reilly|url=https://time.com/4346387/bill-cosby-andrea-constand-sex-assault-accusation/ |title=What Makes This Bill Cosby Accusation Different From Others |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=May 16, 2018 |access-date=August 17, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Millhiser" /> On September 25, 2018, he was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison and a $25,000 fine, together with court costs of both trials.<ref name="NewYorkTimes">{{cite news|last1=Bowely|first1=Graham|last2=Coscarelli|first2=Joe|date=September 25, 2018|title=Bill Cosby, Once a Model of Fatherhood, Is Sentenced to Prison|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/arts/television/bill-cosby-sentencing.html|access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="BBCNews">{{cite news|date=September 25, 2018|title=Cosby sentenced to prison for sex assault|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45644374|access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="ABCNews">Francescani, Chris; Hutchinson, Bill (September 25, 2018). [https://abcnews.go.com/US/da-asks-judge-give-bill-cosby-maximum-sentence/story?id=58063006 "Bill Cosby sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison with no bail during appeals"]. [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]. Retrieved September 26, 2018.</ref> After a brief period in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Cosby was moved to a state prison, [[SCI Phoenix]] in [[Skippack Township, Pennsylvania]], on September 25, 2018, where he was confined to a single cell.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Meg|last1=Wagner|first2=Brian|last2=Ries|first3=Jessie|last3=Yeung|first4=Eric|last4=Levenson|url=https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/bill-cosby-sentencing/index.html|title=Bill Cosby sentenced to 3 to 10 years|publisher=[[CNN]] |date=September 25, 2018|access-date=September 26, 2018|quote=On Tuesday afternoon, Bill Cosby [...]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/bill-cosby-now-inmate-nn7687-placed-in-single-cell/ar-AAAFunS?li=BBnb7Kz |title=Bill Cosby, now inmate NN7687, placed in single cell |publisher=[[MSN]] |date=September 26, 2018 |access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> On January 28, 2019, Cosby was moved from administrative segregation into the general population.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Cosby, isolated no more, joins other inmates in prison |first=Graham |last=Bowley |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=February 6, 2019 |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2019/02/06/bill-cosby-isolated-no-more-joins-other-inmates-in-prison.html|quote=But last week authorities moved him from so-called administrative segregation to join the general population in a wing that houses other inmates, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.}}</ref> On December 10, 2019, the verdict was upheld by the [[Pennsylvania Superior Court]] on the initial level of appeal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Cosby loses appeal on sex-crimes conviction |first=Maria |last=Puente |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=December 10, 2019 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/12/10/bill-cosby-loses-appeal-sex-crimes-conviction/4383819002/}}</ref>

On June 23, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear a further level of appeal of Cosby's sexual assault conviction based on questions about testimony from a witness being "more prejudicial than probative". The court would hear his appeal on arguments of whether it was proper for the judge to allow five [[Witness|prosecution witnesses]] to testify in the case about prior, unrelated instances of sexual assault, and to permit the jury to learn of a [[Deposition (law)|deposition]] in which Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to other women in the past to facilitate sexual encounters. The court also agreed to review whether Cosby's rights were violated by being prosecuted in the Constand matter, after a former prosecutor had informed Cosby that he would not be prosecuted for the assault, resulting in Cosby's agreeing to testify without claiming his self-incrimination privilege in his accuser's civil lawsuit.<ref>{{cite news |last=Li |first=David K. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bill-cosby-allowed-appeal-sexual-assault-conviction-pennsylvania-supreme-court-n1231900 |title=Bill Cosby allowed to appeal sexual assault conviction before Pennsylvania Supreme Court |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=June 23, 2020 |access-date=June 23, 2020}}</ref>

On June 30, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby's conviction, citing violations of his due process rights.<ref name="Millhiser" /> According to Justice [[David Wecht]], "Even though society has a strong interest in prosecuting crimes, it has an even stronger interest in ensuring that the constitutional rights of the people are vindicated."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/arts/television/bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-why.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/arts/television/bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-why.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|title=Bill Cosby's Release From Prison, Explained|first=Charlie|last=Savage|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 1, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The following situation was cited: previously in February 2005, District Attorney [[Bruce Castor]] declared in a press release that due to insufficient evidence rendering a conviction "unattainable", he "declines to authorize the filing of criminal charges" against Cosby regarding allegations Andrea Constand made against him.<ref name="Millhiser">{{cite news |last1=Millhiser |first1=Ian |title=The court decision freeing Bill Cosby, explained as best we can |url=https://www.vox.com/22557691/bill-cosby-pennsylvania-released-commonwealth-david-wecht-andrea-constand-metoo-sexual-assault |access-date=July 1, 2021 |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=June 30, 2021}}</ref> Castor said he did so to compel Cosby to testify in a civil lawsuit, brought by Constand, without the right to not incriminate himself as accorded by the [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiss |first=Debra |title=Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction is overturned because of initial district attorney's decision |url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bill-cosbys-sex-assault-conviction-is-overturned-because-of-initial-das-decision |access-date=July 4, 2021 |work=[[ABA Journal]] |date=June 30, 2021}}</ref> so that Constand could win [[damages]] from Cosby.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Maryclaire |last2=Richer |first2=Alanna |title=Why Bill Cosby's conviction was overturned |url=https://apnews.com/article/why-was-bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-2a65ec25c153fbd1c24b1c58a2b6e583 |access-date=July 7, 2021 |publisher=Associated Press |date=July 1, 2021}}</ref> Cosby testified that he had given Constand [[Benadryl]], and that he had separately provided [[Quaaludes]] to women he wanted to have sex with.<ref>{{cite news |last=Madani |first=Doha |title=60 women accused Bill Cosby. His conviction had been considered a big win for #MeToo |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/60-women-accused-bill-cosby-his-conviction-had-been-considered-n1272864 |access-date=July 4, 2021 |publisher=NBC News |date=July 1, 2021}}</ref> Cosby settled the civil lawsuit by paying $3.38 million.<ref name="nyt-overturned" /> Six of the seven Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices interpreted Castor's 2005 press release as a promise not to prosecute Cosby,<ref name="Millhiser" /> which led Cosby to provide testimony in his civil lawsuit that was later used as key evidence in his criminal trial;<ref name="nyt-overturned">{{cite news|last=Bowley|first=Graham|date=June 30, 2021|title=Bill Cosby to Be Freed as Court Overturns His Sex Assault Conviction|website=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/arts/television/bill-cosby-release-conviction.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/arts/television/bill-cosby-release-conviction.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=June 30, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> thus, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded that Cosby's due process rights were violated.<ref name="Millhiser" /> The court further barred prosecution of Cosby "on these particular charges".<ref name="nyt-overturned" />

Cosby was released from prison on the same day that his conviction was overturned.<ref name="nyt-overturned" /> He had served nearly three years before Pennsylvania's Supreme Court overturned his conviction.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=Court Opinions and Postings {{!}} Supreme Court {{!}} Courts {{!}} Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania |url=https://www.pacourts.us/courts/supreme-court/court-opinions|access-date=July 11, 2021|publisher=www.pacourts.us}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/06/30/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-conviction-overturned/|title=Bill Cosby released from prison after sexual assault conviction vacated by Pennsylvania Supreme Court|newspaper=The Washington Post|first1=Sonia|last1=Rao|first2=Paul|last2=Farhi|first3=Manuel|last3=Roig-Franzia|date=June 30, 2021|access-date=June 30, 2021}}</ref> In November 2021, the District Attorney filed papers with the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] seeking to have the Court consider whether to overturn the decision of the state supreme court. Cosby's attorney filed a response in late January 2022, urging the Supreme Court to decline review. On March 7, 2022, the court declined to review the decision of the Pennsylvania court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/bill-cosby-supreme-court-fcee33c9b309e0e5253b76a18e8325ac|title=Court declines review of Cosby decision|date=March 7, 2022 |publisher=Associated Press|access-date=March 7, 2022}}</ref>

Cosby's legal issues continued following his release from prison. In 2014, Judy Huth had filed a civil suit against Cosby in California, alleging that he had sexually assaulted her in 1975, when she was 16 years old. The trial began in 2022, and the jury ruled in Huth's favor. Cosby was ordered to pay $500,000 in compensatory damages.<ref name=":02"/>

== Legacy ==

=== Influence on other comedians ===
Before the 2014 allegations, younger, well-established comics like [[Jerry Seinfeld]] had credited Cosby as an innovator both as a practitioner of stand-up comedy, as well as a person who paved the way for comics to break into sitcom television.

Seinfeld said of Cosby: "He opened a door for all of us, for all of the networks to even consider that this was a way to create a character, was to take someone who can hold an audience just by being up there and telling their story. He created that. He created the whole idea of taking a quote-unquote 'comic' and developing a TV show just from a persona that you see on stage."<ref name="GQ Bill Cosby Himself Tribute">{{cite web |last=Penn |first=Nathaniel |date=May 2013 |title=The 30th Anniversary of Bill Cosby: Himself – An All-Star Stand-Up Salute |url=https://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201306/bill-cosby-himself-30th-anniversary-june-2013 |location=New York City |magazine=[[GQ]] |access-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-date=June 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627200202/http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201306/bill-cosby-himself-30th-anniversary-june-2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Comedian [[Larry Wilmore]] also saw a connection between ''Bill Cosby: Himself'' and the later success of ''The Cosby Show'', saying: "It's clear that the concert is the template for ''The Cosby Show''."<ref name="GQ Bill Cosby Himself Tribute" />

=== Impact of sexual assault allegations on Cosby's legacy ===
Joan Tarshis, who had accused Cosby of raping her, within a ''Salon.com'' article, compared Cosby's damaged legacy to that of [[O. J. Simpson]], saying: "When you hear O. J. Simpson's name, you don't think 'Oh, great football player'. That doesn't come to mind first. I'm thinking it's not going to be 'Oh, great comedian'. It's going to be 'Oh, serial rapist'."<ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Mary Elizabeth |date=July 27, 2015 |title=Bill Cosby's accusers paint a chilling portrait of the man and his legacy: 'I'm thinking it's not going to be, Oh, great comedian. It's going to be, Oh, serial rapist' |url=http://www.salon.com/2015/07/27/bill_cosbys_accusers_paint_a_chilling_portrait_of_the_man_and_his_legacy_i%e2%80%99m_thinking_it%e2%80%99s_not_going_to_be_oh_great_comedian_it%e2%80%99s_going_to_be_oh_serial_rapist/ |work=Salon}}</ref>

In 2015, ''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' magazine released an issue with the allegations against Cosby as the cover story, discussing the importance of ''The Cosby Show'' and if it is possible to separate Bill Cosby from Cliff Huxtable. The cover depicted a photograph of the Huxtables with a cracked frame, symbolizing the show's damaged and complicated legacy.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 22, 2015 |title=Ebony's cracked 'Cosby Show' cover reveals fractures in show's legacy for black community |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/22/ebonys-cracked-cosby-show-cover-reveals-fractures-in-shows-legacy-for-black-community/ |first=Justi Wm.|last=Moyer|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

In late 2018, the Christmas song "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]" was pulled from several radio stations amid controversy that its lyrics allegedly promote sexual predation. Susan Loesser, daughter of composer [[Frank Loesser]], blamed Bill Cosby for backlash against its lyric "say, what's in this drink?". Loesser said, "Bill Cosby is ruining it for everybody.{{nbsp}}... Ever since Cosby was accused of drugging women, I hear the date rape thing all the time.{{nbsp}}... I think it would be good if people looked at the song in the context of the time. It was written in 1944. It was a different time."<ref>{{cite web |last=Papenfuss |first=Mary |date=December 7, 2018 |title=Bill Cosby Blamed For Controversy Over 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-cosby-blamed-frank-loesser-baby-its-cold-outside-bans_us_5c09ac21e4b04046345a85e4 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |via=Huff Post}}</ref>

The 2022 premiere of the 21st season of ''[[Law & Order]]'' touched on the Cosby cases, with the plot being centered around the murder of an entertainer (in this case a singer) released from prison after his conviction was overturned in a manner resembling Cosby's. Like Cosby, he had been accused of many counts of rape yet maintained his innocence but was shot and killed by a victim looking for revenge.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=24 February 2022 |title=Law & Order's First Episode in 12 Years Tackles a Bill Cosby–esque Case |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/law-and-order-premiere-episode-tackles-bill-cosby-esque-case |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref>

In 2022, [[W. Kamau Bell]] released the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] documentary ''[[We Need to Talk About Cosby]]'', which explores Cosby's life and career up to his sexual assault cases, through conversations with comedians, journalists, and survivors.<ref>{{cite news |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=February 7, 2022 |title='We Need to Talk About Cosby' (Among Others) |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/arts/television/bill-cosby-documentary-w-kamau-bell.html |access-date=March 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A representative for Cosby issued a statement days prior to the series's premiere, stating: "Mr. Cosby has spent more than 50 years standing with the excluded; made it possible for some to be included; standing with the disenfranchised; and standing with those women and men who were denied respectful work because of race and gender within the expanses of the entertainment industries, continues to be the target of numerous media that have, for too many years, distorted and omitted truths ... intentionally. Mr. Cosby vehemently denies all allegations waged against him. Let's talk about Bill Cosby. He wants our nation to be what it proclaims itself to be: a democracy."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Legaspi |first=Althea |date=January 26, 2022 |title=Bill Cosby Responds to 'PR Hack' W. Kamau Bell on Damning New Series |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/bill-cosby-kamau-bell-we-need-to-talk-about-cosby-1290653/ |access-date=January 30, 2022 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Towers |first=Andrea |date=January 26, 2022 |title=Bill Cosby responds to accusations in We Need to Talk About Cosby docuseries, rep calls director a 'PR hack' |url=https://ew.com/tv/bill-cosby-responds-to-we-need-to-talk-about-cosby-docuseries-allegations/ |access-date=January 30, 2022 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Cosby has been married to [[Camille Cosby]] (née Hanks) since January 25, 1964. Together, they have five children, two of whom are deceased: [[Erika Cosby|Erika]] (born 1965), Erinn (born 1966), Ennis (1969–1997), Ensa (1973–2018), and Evin (born 1976). Their only son, [[Murder of Ennis Cosby|Ennis, was murdered]] on January 16, 1997, while changing a flat tire on the side of [[Interstate 405 (California)|Interstate 405]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news |author=B. DRUMMOND AYRES JR.January 17, 1997 |date=January 17, 1997 |title=Bill Cosby's Son Is Slain Along Freeway |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/17/us/bill-cosby-s-son-is-slain-along-freeway.html |access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> Cosby's daughter Ensa died of [[renal disease]] on February 23, 2018, while awaiting a kidney transplant.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 26, 2018 |title=Bill Cosby's Daughter Ensa Cosby Dead At 44|work=US Magazine|first= Nicholas |last=Hautman  |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bill-cosbys-daughter-ensa-cosby-dead-44/ |access-date=February 26, 2018}}</ref> The Cosbys have three grandchildren.<ref name="filmref" /><ref>{{cite news |date=January 20, 2012 |title=Bill Cosby Comes Clean |work=[[News Observer]] |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/20/1788049/bill-cosby-comes-clean.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309093350/http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/20/1788049/bill-cosby-comes-clean.html |archive-date=March 9, 2014}}</ref> Cosby, a [[Protestant]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Q&A: Bill Cosby Talks Family, Faith and Tim Tebow |work=[[The Christian Post]] |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/qa-bill-cosby-talks-family-faith-and-tim-tebow-64962/}}</ref> maintains homes in [[Shelburne, Massachusetts]], and [[Cheltenham, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |date=November 9, 2006 |title=Bill Cosby settles lawsuit in drug, sexual assault case |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=Associated Press |location=Los Angeles, California |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-09-wk-cosby9-story.html}}</ref>

Cosby hosted the Los Angeles [[Playboy Jazz Festival]] from 1979 to 2012. Known as a jazz drummer, he can also be seen playing bass guitar with [[Jerry Lewis]] and [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] on [[Hugh Hefner]]'s 1970s talk show. His story, "The Regular Way", was featured in ''[[Playboy]]''{{'}}s December 1968 issue.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cosby |first=Bill |date=December 1968 |title=The Regular Way |page=115 |work=[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy]]}}</ref> Cosby has become an active member of The [[Jazz Foundation of America]].<ref name="Cosby and the JFA">{{cite web |date=October 13, 2009 |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.famegame.com/person/Bill_Cosby |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719073248/http://www.famegame.com/person/Bill_Cosby |archive-date=July 19, 2017 |access-date=October 13, 2009 |publisher=famegame.com}}</ref> Cosby became involved with the foundation in 2004. For several years, he has been a featured host for its annual benefit, [[A Great Night in Harlem]], at the [[Apollo Theater]] in New York City.<ref name="Cosby at the Apollo">{{cite web |date=September 25, 2001 |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233021 |access-date=October 13, 2009 |website=bmi.com}}</ref><ref name="Cosby Hosts">{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Felicia R. |others=Compiled by Lawrence Van Gelder |date=May 17, 2007 |title=Arts, Briefly; Jazz for the Sake of Jazz |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E5DB1031F934A25756C0A9619C8B63 |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref>

Cosby and his wife have collected more than three hundred works of [[African-American art]] since 1967. The works went on display in "Conversations", an exhibit at the [[National Museum of African Art]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kennicott |first=Philip |date=November 9, 2014 |title='Conversations': Museum's African art outshines Cosby's African American art |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/museums/conversations-museums-african-art-outshines-cosbys-african-american-art/2014/11/09/89b2b1f6-682c-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The show was controversial because of the sexual assault allegations made against Cosby.<ref name="WaPo: Cole at 80">{{cite news |last=McGlone |first=Peggy |date=October 27, 2016 |title=At 80, Johnnetta Cole reflects on her career and the controversial Cosby exhibition |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/at-80-johnnetta-cole-reflects-on-her-career-and-the-controversial-cosby-exhibit/2016/10/27/e736a33a-9ae0-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

Cosby is a supporter of his alma mater, Temple University, particularly its men's basketball team, the [[Temple Owls]], whose games Cosby frequently attended prior to his arrest. He is also a member of the [[Omega Psi Phi]] fraternity; he was initiated in the fraternity's Beta Alpha Alpha graduate chapter in [[White Plains, New York]], in 1988,<ref>{{cite web |title=Beta Alpha Alpha Chapter Lines |url=http://www.omega-baa.org/chapter/chaplines.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928200918/http://www.omega-baa.org/chapter/chaplines.html |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |access-date=March 7, 2013 |publisher=Beta Alpha Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity}}</ref> and served briefly on the board of directors for the [[CDC Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Stokes |first1=Charles |last2=Jacobs |first2=Phil |title=Fiscal Year 2008 Report to Contributors |url=https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/ReportToContributors_FY08.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806034654/https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/ReportToContributors_FY08.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=[[CDC Foundation]]}}</ref>

In 2016, Cosby's attorneys reported that he is now legally [[Visual impairment|blind]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Montero-Hernandez |first=Ricardo |date=October 28, 2016 |title=Bill Cosby is legally blind, according to defense attorneys |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/us/bill-cosby-blind/ |access-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref> In April 2017, Cosby agreed to be interviewed by the [[National Newspaper Publishers Association]], because, as Andrew Wyatt, his spokesman, stated, "they grew comfortable that the NNPA Newswire would be more interested in 'facts over [[sensationalism]]'." In the interview, both Cosby and one of his former publicists confirmed the loss of eyesight, noting that it occurred at some point in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shnurr |first=Samantha |date=April 26, 2017 |title=Bill Cosby Breaks His Silence to Confirm He's Blind |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/846166/bill-cosby-breaks-his-silence-to-confirm-he-s-blind |access-date=August 17, 2018 |website=[[E! News]] |publisher=[[E!]] |location=Los Angeles}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Stacy |date=April 26, 2017 |title=NNPA Newswire Exclusive: Bill Cosby Finally Breaks His Silence |url=http://www.blackpressusa.com/nnpa-newswire-exclusive-bill-cosby-finally-breaks-his-silence/ |access-date=August 17, 2018 |website=BlackPressUSA}}</ref>

Following his release from prison in 2021, Cosby was reported to be attempting to make a post-prison comeback. Plans for the comeback included a comedy tour that would go from the United States to Canada to London, with Cosby's team having contacted a number of promoters and comedy clubs about performance opportunities. It was also reported that Cosby was working on a five-part docuseries that covers his legacy and his experience in prison, and that he was planning on releasing a book.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sanfiorenzo |first=Dimas |date=July 7, 2021 |title=Fresh Out of Prison, Bill Cosby is Allegedly Planning a Comeback Tour |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/news/bill-cosby-prison-tour.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707232025/https://www.okayplayer.com/news/bill-cosby-prison-tour.html |archive-date=July 7, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2022 |website=Okayplayer}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Later in September, it was reported that Cosby put his plans for a comeback on hold due to ongoing legal problems.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lampen |first=Claire |date=September 9, 2021 |title=Apparently Bill Cosby Finally Read the Room |url=https://www.thecut.com/2021/09/bill-cosby-cancels-comedy-tour-ahead-of-sexual-assault-suit.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920032757/https://www.thecut.com/2021/09/bill-cosby-cancels-comedy-tour-ahead-of-sexual-assault-suit.html |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2022 |website=[[The Cut (New York)|The Cut]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Politics and views ===
Cosby received an award at the celebration of the 50th-anniversary commemoration of ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' ruling—a ruling of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] that outlawed [[racial segregation]] in public schools. Later, in May 2004, he made public remarks critical of African Americans who put higher priorities on sports, fashion, and "acting hard" than on education, self-respect, and self-improvement. He pleaded for African American families to educate their children on the many different aspects of [[Culture of the United States|American culture]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Brownfeld |first=Alan |date=June 17, 2013 |title=Father's Day with Bill Cosby, an American Original |url=http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june172013/bill-cosby-ab.php |access-date=June 26, 2015 |publisher=Salem-News.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby: Charity Work & Causes |url=https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/bill-cosby |access-date=June 26, 2015 |website=LooktotheStars.org}}</ref> In the [[Pound Cake speech]], Cosby asked that African American parents teach their children better morals at a younger age. As reported in ''[[The Washington Times]]'', Cosby "told reporters during a special session of the [[Congressional Black Caucus Foundation]]'s 34th annual legislative conference [that] parenting needs to come to the forefront. If you need help and you don't know how to parent, we want to be able to reach out and touch you."<ref>{{cite news |last=DeBose |first=Brian |date=September 9, 2009 |title=Cosby urges leaders to aid black families |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/sep/9/20040909-121926-4474r/ |access-date=June 26, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref> Richard Leiby of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported, "Bill Cosby was anything but [[Political correctness|politically correct]] in his remarks Monday night at a Constitution Hall bash commemorating the 50th anniversary of the ''Brown v. Board of Education'' decision."<ref>{{cite news |date=May 19, 2004 |title=Publicists With a Cannes-Do Attitude |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37869-2004May18.html |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

[[File:BillCosby.jpg|thumb|Cosby at [[Douglass High School (Atlanta)|Frederick Douglass High School]] in Atlanta, in 2006|left|264x264px]]

Cosby was again criticized, and was largely unapologetic, for his stance when he made similar remarks during a speech at a July{{nbsp}}1 meeting of the [[Rainbow/PUSH|Rainbow/PUSH Coalition]] that commemorated the anniversary of ''Brown v. Board'', where he said: "...{{nbsp}}you've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're [earning] minimum wage."<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Juan |author-link=Juan Williams |date=2007 |title=Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America – and What We Can Do About It |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D2LjLL8YYXUC&pg=PA19 |access-date=August 22, 2019 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing|Crown]]/Archetype |location=New York City |page=19 |isbn=9780307395191}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 15, 2004 |title=Tough Talk: Bill Cosby |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/tough-talk-bill-cosby |access-date=August 22, 2019 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> During that speech, he admonished Blacks for not assisting or concerning themselves with the individuals who are involved with crime or have counterproductive aspirations. He further described those who needed attention as Blacks who "had forgotten the sacrifices of those in the [[Civil Rights Movement]]".<ref>{{cite web |date=October 26, 2009 |title=Fattah Lauds Bill Cosby as 'Hometown Hero' |url=http://fattah.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&sectiontree=32,34&itemid=510 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602102013/http://fattah.house.gov//index.cfm?sectionid=34 |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |access-date=December 6, 2011 |website=US House of Representatives |publisher=Congressman Chaka Fattah |location=Washington DC}}</ref>

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?186657-1/after-words-michael-eric-dyson ''After Words'' interview with Michael Eric Dyson on ''Is Bill Cosby Right: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?'', May 15, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?191465-1/is-bill-cosby-right-book-group-discussion Book group discussion on ''Is Bill Cosby Right: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?'', February 28, 2006], [[C-SPAN]]}}

In 2005, [[Georgetown University]] sociology professor [[Michael Eric Dyson]] wrote a book, ''Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the [[African-American middle class|Black Middle Class]] Lost Its Mind?''<ref name="Dyson">{{cite map|title=Is Bill Cosby Right or Is the Black Middle Class Out of Touch?|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628960|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=July 23, 2009}}</ref> In the book, Dyson wrote that Cosby was overlooking larger social factors that reinforce poverty and associated crime; factors such as deteriorating schools, stagnating wages, dramatic shifts in the economy, [[offshoring]] and downsizing, chronic underemployment, and job and [[capital flight]].<ref name="Dyson column">{{cite map|last=Dyson|first=Michael Eric|title=The Injustice Bill Cosby Won't See|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001631.html|work=The Washington Post|date=July 21, 2006|access-date=July 28, 2009}}</ref> Dyson suggested that Cosby's comments "betray [[classist]], [[elitist]] viewpoints rooted in generational warfare".<ref name="Dyson" /> However, [[Cornel West]] defended Cosby and his remarks, saying: "He's speaking out of great compassion and trying to get folk to get on the right track, 'cause we've got some brothers and sisters who are not doing the right things, just like in times in our own lives, we don't do the right thing{{nbsp}}... He is trying to speak honestly and freely and lovingly, and I think that's a very positive thing."<ref>[https://archive.today/20081202200132/http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200405/20040526_cosby.html Cornel West radio clip] played on ''[[Tavis Smiley]]'' edition "Bill Cosby: Airdate May 26, 2004" </ref>

In a 2008 interview, Cosby mentioned Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, [[Oakland, California]], and [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] among the cities where crime was high and young African American men were being murdered and jailed in disproportionate numbers. Cosby stood his ground against criticism and affirmed that African American parents were continuing to fail to inculcate proper standards of moral behavior.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 2, 2008 |title=Cosby to blacks: Come on people, it's time for change |url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/race/2008/06/four-years-ago.html |access-date=November 9, 2013 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> After [[Barack Obama]] was elected president, Cosby expressed strong approval of the incoming President, despite publicly giving the impression that he was more miffed towards Obama in November 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2009/01/cosby-hails-obama-knocks-hannity-017311|title=Cosby hails Obama, knocks Hannity|first=Alexander|last=Burns|publisher=Politico|date=January 10, 2025|accessdate=October 18, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28605356|title='Meet the Press' transcript for Jan. 11, 2009|publisher=Meet the Press|date=January 11, 2009|accessdate=October 18, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lkl/date/2007-11-03/segment/01|title=CNN Larry King Live: Interview with Bill Cosby|publisher=Larry King Live|date=November 3, 2007|accessdate=October 18, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2009/biz/opinion/bill-cosby-on-obama-41776/|title=Bill Cosby on Obama|first=Ted|last=Johnson|publisher=Variety|date=January 11, 2009|accessdate=October 18, 2025}}</ref>

Cosby has also been critical of [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politicians in regard to their views on socioeconomic and racial issues. In a 2013, [[CNN]] interview regarding [[Voting rights in the United States|voting rights]], Cosby stated "this Republican Party is not the Republican Party of 1863, of [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[abolitionism|abolitionists]] and [[slavery]], is not good. I think it's important for us to look at the underlying part of it. What is the value of it? Is it that some people are angry because my people no longer want to work for free?"<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Joyce |date=March 6, 2013 |title=Bill Cosby Sounds Off on the GOP |url=https://www.bet.com/article/27yiyv/bill-cosby-sounds-off-on-the-gop |access-date=June 26, 2015 |website=[[BET.com]]}}</ref> Cosby's social commentary led to the unsealing of documents in a previous civil suit by a woman who had accused Cosby of sexual assault, which in turn sparked renewed interest in older allegations. The judge ruled that releasing the sealed documents was justified by the "stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct".<ref name="MDale">{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Maryclaire |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Cosby admitted in 2005 to getting sedatives to give to women he sought sex with |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/cosby-admitted-in-2005-to-getting-quaaludes-to-give-to-women-he-sought-sex-with/article25330387/ |access-date=July 9, 2015 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |location=Toronto}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Bill Cosby|List of honorary degrees awarded to Bill Cosby}}
[[File:Bill-Cosby.JPG|thumb|Cosby's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], awarded in 1977<ref>{{cite news |last=Derschowitz |first=Jessica |title=Bill Cosby's Hollywood Walk of Fame star vandalized |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-cosby-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star-vandalized/ |publisher=CBS News |date=December 5, 2014 |access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref>]]Cosby received various awards and numerous honorary degrees for his work as a standup comedian and actor in both television and film including five [[Primetime Emmy Awards]], eight [[Grammy Awards]], two [[Daytime Emmy Awards]], and two [[Golden Globe Awards]]. He also received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] from [[George W. Bush]] in 2002, and the [[Bob Hope Humanitarian Award]] in 2003. He also received a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1977.

Due to the [[Bill Cosby sexual assault cases|sexual assault allegations]] against Cosby, numerous awards and honors were rescinded, including the [[Kennedy Center Honor]] that he received in 1998 and was rescinded in 2018,<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Biography of Bill Cosby |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |url-status=dead |publisher=[[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]] |access-date=February 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216143109/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |archive-date=February 16, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post">{{cite news |last=McGlone |first=Peggy |title=Kennedy Center rescinds Honors, Twain awards given to Bill Cosby |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/05/07/kennedy-center-rescinds-honors-twain-awards-given-to-bill-cosby/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 7, 2018}}</ref> as well as the [[Mark Twain Prize for American Humor]], which he received in 2009 and was rescinded in 2018.<ref name="NYT_2009-10-28">{{cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |title=Bill Cosby receives Mark Twain Prize |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/arts/television/28arts-BILLCOSBYREC_BRF.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 27, 2009 |access-date=September 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name="WashingtonPost-AR2009102603704">{{cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |title=Bill Cosby is awarded the Twain Prize for humor at the Kennedy Centre |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603704.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 27, 2009 |access-date=September 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post" /> On May 3, 2018, Cosby was expelled as a member of the Actors Branch of the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], along with [[Roman Polanski]] and [[Harvey Weinstein]], due to their breach of the academy's standards of conduct.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby expelled from the film Academy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/03/roman-polanski-bill-cosby-expelled-film-academy |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=March 19, 2023}}</ref>

==Works==
===Filmography===
{{main|Bill Cosby filmography}}
Cosby had a starring role in the television secret-agent show ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|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. Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in various films including the western film ''[[Man and Boy (1971 film)|Man and Boy]]'' (1971), a reuniting with Culp in the crime film ''[[Hickey & Boggs]]'' (1972), and [[Sidney Poitier]]'s crime comedies ''[[Uptown Saturday Night]]'' (1974), ''[[Let's Do It Again (1975 film)|Let's Do It Again]]'' (1975), and ''[[A Piece of the Action (film)|A Piece of the Action]]'' (1977). He also starred in the comedies ''[[Mother, Jugs & Speed]]'' (1976) and [[Neil Simon]]'s ''[[California Suite (film)|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.

Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in ''[[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, and Cosby gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of [[Cliff Huxtable]] on the sitcom. 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 (TV series)|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).

===Discography===
{{Main|Bill Cosby discography}}
Cosby released a number of albums, including live recordings of his stand-up comedy as well as studio albums of both vocal and instrumental music. He charted a number of times on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], including the 1967 single "[[Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)]]" from his album ''[[Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chart history for Bill Cosby |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bill-cosby/chart-history/ |publisher=Billboard |access-date=August 19, 2020}}</ref>

===Books written===
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |title=Fatherhood |title-link=Fatherhood (book) |publisher=Doubleday |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-385-23410-8 |location=New York |oclc=15686687 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/timeflies00cosb |title=Time Flies |publisher=Doubleday |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-385-24040-6 |location=New York |oclc=16081611 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/lovemarriage00cosb |title=Love and Marriage |publisher=Doubleday |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-385-24664-4 |location=New York |oclc=18984758 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/childhood00cosb |title=Childhood |publisher=Putnam |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-399-13647-4 |location=New York |oclc=23650310 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |title=Kids Say the Darndest Things |publisher=Bantam Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-553-11043-2 |location=New York |oclc=39498709 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/congratulationsn00cosb |title=Congratulations! Now What?: A Book for Graduates |publisher=Hyperion |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7868-6572-7 |location=New York |oclc=40979923 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Dwight William |title=American Schools: The $100 Billion Challenge |last2=Cosby |first2=Bill |publisher=IPublish.com |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7595-5000-1 |location=New York |oclc=48915448 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cosby |first1=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/cosbyologyessays00cosb |title=Cosbyology: Essays and Observations from the Doctor of Comedy |last2=Booth |first2=George |publisher=Hyperion |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7868-6810-0 |location=New York |oclc=46359836 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |title=I Am What I Ate ... and I'm Frightened!!!: And Other Digressions from the Doctor of Comedy |publisher=HarperEntertainment |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-06-054573-4 |location=New York |oclc=52387894 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cosby |first1=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/friendsoffeather00cosb |title=Friends of a Feather: One of Life's Little Fables |last2=Cosby |first2=Erika |publisher=Harper Entertainment |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-06-009147-7 |location=New York |oclc=52206847 |ref=none |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cosby |first1=Bill |url=https://archive.org/details/comeonpeopleonpa0000cosb |title=Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors |last2=Poussaint |first2=Alvin F. |publisher=Thomas Nelson |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59555-092-7 |location=Nashville, TN |oclc=153581209 |ref=none |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cosby |first=Bill |title=I Didn't Ask to Be Born (But I'm Glad I Was) |publisher=Center Street |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-89296-920-3 |location=New York |oclc=707964887 |ref=none}}

==See also==
{{portal|United States|Biography}}
* [[List of comedians]]
* [[List of serial rapists]]
* [[List of Omega Psi Phi brothers]]
* [[List of Temple University people]]
* [[List of University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni]]
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===General sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite news|last=DeBose |first=Brian |date=September 9, 2004 |title=Cosby urges leaders to aid black families |work=The Washington Times |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5244/is_200409/ai_n19571672 |access-date=November 4, 2007 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090628140015/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5244/is_200409/ai_n19571672 |archive-date=June 28, 2009 |url-status=dead}}
* Leiby, Richard. "Publications with a Cannes-Do Attitude". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. May 19, 2004: 3.
* Morano, Marc. "Bill Cosby was hounded by [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]]". World Entertainment News Network. May 1, 2000. March 2, 2006.
* "Segregated Expectations". ''[[USA Today]]''. May 15, 2003: 12.
* Wu, Frank H. "Brown at 50: Keeping Promises". ''Black Issues in Higher Education''. May 20, 2004: 49
* {{cite web|date=June 22, 2006 |title=Biography – William Henry 'Bill' Cosby Jr. |work=Biographies in Naval History |publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/cosby_bill.htm |access-date=November 4, 2007 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100410170408/http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/cosby_bill.htm |archive-date=April 10, 2010 |url-status=dead}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/18/arts/bill-cosby-deposition-excerpts.html "Excerpts from Bill Cosby's Deposition in 2005 and 2006" (in the Andrea Constand case)]{{snd}}''[[The New York Times]]''

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q213512|s=Author:William Henry Cosby|c=Bill Cosby|n=yes|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
*{{official website}}
*{{IMDb name|0001070}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{C-SPAN|3319}}

{{Bill Cosby|state=collapsed}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Bill Cosby|Awards for Bill Cosby]]
|list =
{{Bob Hope Humanitarian Award}}
{{Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming}}
{{International Emmy Founders Award}}
{{EmmyAward DramaLeadActor}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestActorTVComedy 1970–1989}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Children's Album}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album}}
{{Hasty Pudding Man of the Year}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1990s}}
{{Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star}}
{{Mark Twain Prize for American Humor}}
{{NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-series)}}
{{Spingarn Medal}}
{{TCA Career Achievement Award}}
{{1991 Television Hall of Fame}}
{{NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

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