FREE ESSAY ON BILL COSBY

BILL COSBY

He is an actor and comedian. He has stared in movies such as Ghost Dad. And also performed
in the TV show The Cosby Show.
Bill Cosby humor and look on life has made him the star that he his today. 
As a child he was always funny, cracking jokes whenever he could. As a student Cosby was
extremely smart. However because of his extra coicular activities he had little time to
study. When he learned he had to repeat the 10th grade he dropped out and enrolled into
the Navy. He soon realized the importance of school and spent his 4 years in the navy
earning a high school equivalency diploma through correspondence courses.
Like all super celeberties, Cosby started out small. He had gigs at small clubs and
worked his way up. As word spread so did Cosby's fame. His comedy was one of
understatement, wild sound effects, a rubbery face, and far-ranging characterizations
made him what he is today.
Cosby's first TV series was I Spy. He won three Emmy Awards and began what would be his
pattern of playing successful, educated blacks in a medium dominated by negative images
of African Americans. I Spy left the air after three hit seasons, but Cosby returned to
television in 1969 in the Bill Cosby Show as Chet Kincaid, a physical education teacher
helping disadvantaged kids in a fictional Los Angeles neighborhood. The show remained on
the air for two years but was not a hit.
Cosby next found success with the unlikely program Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, an
animated kids show which debuted in 1972 and became a fixture on Saturday morning
television. The critically acclaimed program remained in production until 1984. 
After that he made 2 successful movie comedies Uptown Saturday Night and Though Let's Do
It Again in the mid 70s.
Cosby's biggest hit was the Cosby Show. As Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, Cosby and his lawyer
wife, played by Phylicia Rashad, dealt with the ups and downs of family life. The show's
humor was warm and universal. The Cosby Show had 80 million regular viewers at the height
of its popularity and its ratings pulled NBC from third to first place among the
networks. The Cosby Show ran for 8 years. When The Cosby Show went into syndication in
1987, Bill Cosby, as half owner of the show's profits, became a very rich man. According
to Forbes, competing independent stations doubled previous records in their bidding for
the program. By 1992 total syndication for the show reached $1 billion, of which Cosby
received $333 million. With all this money, Cosby and his wife, Camille, became active
philanthropists. In 1988 they donated $20 million to Spelman College in Atlanta, the
biggest single contribution ever made to a black college.
Today Bill Cosby is still doing what he likes best, making people laugh. 
Bill Cosby is one of the best comedians and actors around. He has touched many lives with
his unique sense of humor and look at life. His jokes and acts has made him what he is
today...a celebrity.