Photo: The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Bill Cosby is the hardest kind of figure to write about honestly. His impact is undeniable: he broke barriers for Black performers, and The Cosby Show reshaped what American television believed a family sitcom could be. The honors—a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy Center Honors, the Mark Twain Prize—reflect how central he once was to the culture. But the dozens of assault allegations that surfaced later, and the conviction that followed before being overturned on procedural grounds, permanently changed how that legacy must be read. I think both truths belong on the record: the trailblazing achievement and the profound harm alleged. Neither erases the other.
Overview
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( 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, Cosby was well known in the United States for his stand-up comedy routines and television career before achieving global recognition for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Bill Cosby
- Name (Japanese)
- ビル・コスビー
- Reading
- びる・こすびー
- Born
- July 12, 1937 (age 88)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Ox
- Origin
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 185 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / comedian / writer / dub actor / composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Germantown High School
- University
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
Awards & achievements
- 1985 Spingarn Medal
- 2002 Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 2009 Marian Anderson Award
- Daytime Emmy Award
- Library of Congress Living Legend
- 1982 Theodore Roosevelt Award
- Kennedy Center Honors
- 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Cosby Show | — |
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Comedian — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.