Acting · Philadelphia, PA, USA · Born July 12, 1937
William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American convicted sex offender. He got his start as a nightclub stand-up comic before landing a starring role in the action show I Spy (1965-1968). After various film and television roles, Cosby's greatest success came when he produced and starred in The Cosby Show (1984-1992), a popular sitcom that highlighted the experiences and growth of an upper-middle-class African-American family. Due to this role, he was widely dubbed "America's Dad." After the show ended, he produced and starred in multiple other shows and films. He was a sought-after spokesman from the 1960s until the early 2000s, endorsing a number of products including Jell-O, Kodak film, Ford, Texas Instruments, and Coca-Cola. Cosby has received several awards including 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Daytime Emmy Awards, 9 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to television (2002), and several honorary degrees from colleges and universities. Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72 honorary degrees. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled him as a member of the Actors Branch in May 2018. Approximately 60 women have accused Cosby of various forms of sexual assault in alleged incidents spanning from 1965 to 2008. These allegations became highly publicized in 2014, leading to several civil suits and criminal investigations for cases that had not yet reached the statute of limitations. Many networks, including NBC, removed reruns of The Cosby Show from their schedules. In April of 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison for multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021 due to violation of a prior prosecutorial agreement that Cosby's previous civil suit testimony—in which he admitted to giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with—would not be used in the criminal trial. He was released from prison later that month after serving almost three years of the sentence and maintains his innocence in all accusations. As of August 2021, there is still one known active civil suit against Cosby.
TVThe Case Against Cosby
2022
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBill Cosby: Walking Free
2022
as Self (archive footage)
TVWe Need to Talk About Cosby
2022
as Self (archive footage)
TVWhen Ruby Wax Met...
2021
as Self (archive footage)
MovieCola Wars
2019
as Self (archive footage)
MovieI Am Richard Pryor
2019
as Self - Actor and Comedian (archive footage)
TVBasketball: A Love Story
2018
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBill Cosby: An American Scandal
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBill Cosby: Fall of an American Icon
2017
as Self (archive footage)
MovieNelson Mandela Redrawn
2014
as Self
MovieKeep On Keepin' On
2014
as Self
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self - Guest
MovieBill Cosby: Far From Finished
2013
as Self
MovieWhoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
2013
as Self
MovieAfter Newtown: Guns in America
2013
as Self
MovieB.B. King: The Life of Riley
2012
as Self
MovieYo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
2012
as Self
MovieGoose
2012
TVThe Jay Leno Show
2009
as Self - Guest
MovieWhy We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
2009
as Self
MovieMiles Davis: Kind of Blue
2008
as Self
MovieJoe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
2008
as Self
MovieLe Cirque: A Table in Heaven
2007
as Self
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
2007
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits
2006
as Self
MovieBuffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life
2006
as Self
MovieThe Shame of a City
2006
as Self
MovieThe Pact
2006
as Self
MovieClass Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class
2005
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLipstick & Dynamite
2005
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieThe Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World
2005
as Self
MovieFat Albert
2004
as Self
MovieBaadasssss!
2004
as Bill Cosby
MovieLightning in a Bottle
2004
as Self
MovieTV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2004
as Self (archive footage)
MovieJack Paar: Smart Television
2003
as Self
TVThe Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
MovieComedian
2002
as Self
MovieThe Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
as Self / Dr. Cliff Huxtable (archive footage)
MovieNBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
as Self
MovieThe Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000
MoviePlayboy: Playmate Pajama Party
1999
TVBecker
1998
as Hilton Lucas (uncredited)
Kids Say the Darndest Things
1998
as Host
Movie4 Little Girls
1997
as Self - Educator
Jack Paar: 'As I Was Saying...'
1997
as Self
TVCosby
1996
as Hilton Lucas
MovieJack
1996
as Lawrence Woodruff
TVThe Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
as Self
TVRuby Wax Meets
1996
TVTouched by an Angel
1994
as Phil
TVThe Cosby Mysteries
1994
as Guy Hanks
MovieI Spy Returns
1994
as Alexander Scott
MovieThe Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney
1994
as Narrator
MovieThe Meteor Man
1993
as Marvin
TVZone interdite
1993
as Self
MovieMalcolm X
1992
as Self (uncredited)
TVThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
MovieThe One, the Only... Groucho
1991
as Self
MovieGhost Dad
1990
as Elliot Hopper
MovieNickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration!
1990
MovieHappy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years
1990
as Self
MovieThe Earth Day Special
1990
as Cliff Huxtable
MovieSammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
1990
as Self
MovieSesame Street: 20 Years ... and Still Counting!
1989
as Self - Host
MovieCreole Giselle
1987
as Self - Host
MovieLeonard Part 6
1987
as Leonard
TVA Different World
1987
as Heathcliff Huxtable
MovieSuperstars and their Moms
1987
as Self
MovieBill Cosby: 49
1987
as Self
Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis
1986
as Self
MovieTV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
1986
as Self
MovieIn Remembrance of Martin
1986
as Self
MovieKraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
1986
as Self
MovieThe NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There
1985
TVThe Cosby Show
1984
as Heathcliff Huxtable
TVReading Rainbow
1983
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieBill Cosby: Himself
1983
as Self
MovieThe Fat Albert Easter Special
1982
as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
TVLate Night with David Letterman
1982
as Self
TVEntertainment Tonight
1981
as Self
MovieThe Devil and Max Devlin
1981
as Barney Satin
MoviePlayboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party
1979
as Self (uncredited)
MovieA Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
as Self (Twins) (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVThe Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
MovieTop Secret
1978
as Aaron Strickland
MovieCalifornia Suite
1978
as Dr. Willis Panama
MovieThe Fat Albert Christmas Special
1977
as Fat Albert / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
MovieThe Fat Albert Halloween Special
1977
as Fat Albert Robertson / Bill / Mushmouth / Mudfoot Brown (voice)
MovieA Piece of the Action
1977
as Dave Anderson
MoviePlayboy's Playmate Party
1977
Cos
1976
MovieMother, Jugs & Speed
1976
as Mother
TVDoug Henning's World of Magic
1975
as Self
MovieLet's Do It Again
1975
as Billy Foster
TVCher
1975
as Self
TVDinah!
1974
as Self
MovieUptown Saturday Night
1974
as Wardell Franklin
MovieThe Chocolate Princess
1974
as Narrator
Bicycles are Beautiful
1974
as Self - Host
MovieThe Weird Harold Special
1973
TVThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
MovieHickey & Boggs
1972
as Al Hickey
The New Bill Cosby Show
1972
as Self - Host
TVFat Albert and the Cosby Kids
1972
as Fat Albert Robertson
TVThe Midnight Special
1972
as Self
MovieTo All My Friends on Shore
1972
as Blue
Aesop's Fables
1971
as Aesop
TVThe Electric Company
1971
as The Milk Man
MovieThe Jackson 5: Goin' Back to Indiana
1971
as Scoop Newsworthy
MovieMan and Boy
1971
as Caleb Revers
MovieDiana!
1971
as Self
TVGreat Performances
1971
as Self
MovieBill Cosby on Prejudice
1971
TVThe Flip Wilson Show
1970
as Self
The Don Knotts Show
1970
as Self
MovieKing: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBob & Carol & Ted & Alice
1969
as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
TVThe Bill Cosby Show
1969
as Chet Kincaid
MovieBlack History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed
1968
as Self - Host / Narrator
TVOf Black America
1968
TVThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
TVRowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968
as Self (uncredited)
Murder at N.B.C.
1966
TVThe Dean Martin Show
1965
TVI Spy
1965
as Alexander Scott
TVThe Hollywood Palace
1964
as Self - Comedian
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
TVThe Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
TVThe Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self - Co-Host
TVThe David Susskind Show
1959
as Self
TVThe Bob Hope Show
1950
as Self
TVThe Emmy Awards
1949
as Self
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
TVMeet the Press
1947
