Bill Cosby
Biography
Bill Cosby is an American comedian, actor, and media personality whose career began in stand-up. He started performing at clubs in Philadelphia and New York City in the early 1960s, drew national attention on The Tonight Show, and built a following with observational comedy and a string of comedy albums. He won seven Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, a record. His acting break came in 1965 with I Spy, the NBC espionage series in which he starred opposite Robert Culp, and he won three Primetime Emmy Awards for lead actor in a drama series, the first black actor to do so. He also hosted and produced Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a Saturday-morning cartoon, and found his greatest success as Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, which he co-produced. He later hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things.
89years old
Turns 90 on July 12in 281 days
- Born Philadelphia
- Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
- William Henry Cosby Jr. (birth name)Also credited as Dr. William H. Cosby Jr. Ed.D., William H. Cosby Jr. Ed.D., William H. Cosby Jr. and William Henry Cosby
Movie Career
- Films
- 12
- Career span
- 32 years1972 to 2004
First and latest
Share
Did you know?!
A first
Bill Cosby has won seven Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, and no one else has taken home that many. He still holds the record for the most wins in that category.
A first
Cosby won three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for his role in I Spy, becoming the first black actor to win the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy.
First role
Cosby's career began in 1961 at the Hungry I, a nightclub in San Francisco, where he worked as a stand-up comic. His comedy was mostly observational, and he performed it in a conversational style.
Behind the camera
Cosby founded the production company Campbell, Silver, Cosby with his manager Roy Silver and filmmaker Bruce Post Campbell, which produced films, records, and his television specials.
Bill Cosby movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Sidney Poitier directed four of these films. Two actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Sidney Poitier's page
Denise Nicholas's page
James Earl Jones's page
Richard Pryor's page
Calvin Lockhart's page
Rosalind Cash's page
Also two films together3 more actors
- Paul HarrisLet's Do It Again (1975) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
- Erica HagenMother, Jugs & Speed (1976) and Let's Do It Again (1975)
- Lee ChamberlinLet's Do It Again (1975) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Bill Cosby's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$229 million
10 of the 12 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 12 films: 10 worldwide figure; 2 figure not found.
- 10Worldwide figure
- 2Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 95% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$59M25.6% of the total
- 2$49M21.2% of the total
- 3$42M18.4% of the total
- 4$25M11.1% of the total
- 5$16M7.0% of the total
- 6$12M5.2% of the total
- 7$8.0M3.5% of the total
- 8$7.0M3.1% of the total
$11.3 millionfrom the other 2 films with a worldwide figure, 5% of the total
Awards
Twelve awards and honors from 1966 to 2009, four of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Globes | |||
| Awards | Won | ||
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1968 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | I Spy | Won |
| 1967 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | I Spy | Won |
| 1966 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | I Spy | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2009 | Marian Anderson Award | Won | |
| 2009 | Mark Twain Prize for American Humor | Won | |
| 2006 | Paul Robeson Award | Won | |
| 2002 | Presidential Medal of Freedom | Won | |
| 2000 | Library of Congress Living Legend | Won | |
| 1988 | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor | Leonard Part 6 | Won |
| 1988 | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture | Leonard Part 6 | Won |
| Kennedy Center Honors | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.