What do you think of Bill Cosby?

[Small White Car]

He was a real genius. His stand-up was fantastic, I had all his records as a kid.

His TV stuff was fine, but none of it held a candle to his old comedy routines, I thought.

I do consider him an amazing person but I am disappointed in some of his social commentary over the past decade or so. While I DO agree with his messages, I feel he often overlooks just how lucky he was. You sometimes get the feeling that he thinks his success is based solely on talent and hard work alone and that anyone else who hasn't succeeded just isn't trying hard enough. That's kind of troublesome because it ignores the fact that many other hard-working black men weren't as lucky as he was.

But I'm not really trying to criticize...(I already feel bad for writing what I have)...I agree with the actual suggestions he makes to society...I just think that he is sometimes too abrasive in the way that he presents them. It hurts me when I see people criticize a man I respect who is saying something I agree with but where I totally understand why they're criticizing him.

That's kind of a hard thing to accept or understand, but that's the situation.

 

[McCoy]

I can appreciate the significant of the Cosby Show, and I watched it from time to time, mainly because my husband watched it. I can't really say that I cared for Bill Cosby's humour, to be honest.

Same here. I don't disagree with what anyone has said about his societal relevance, but I never found him very funny myself.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I loved "The Cosby Show" when I was a kid as well as "Bill Cosby's Picture Pages" which I don't think anyone has mentioned yet. My brother and I used to rent the videos from the library and I always wanted a Mortimer Ichabod Marker!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_Pages

 

[Ward Fowler]

To me, judging him as a comedian, The Cosby Show was nowhere near his best work. I grew up listening to his albums and watching his concert performances. He was a fantastic stand-up comedian and there are only a handful of people that ever equaled or surpassed him. He may be remembered for his successful sitcom but IMO his best work was already behind him at that point.

 

[Joeman]

I liked him in the 90's when I was a kid. I had some of his comedy albums, and of course loved Fat Albert.

I never cared for The Cosby Show at all. I guess as I got older, I tended to gravitate to edgier stuff more and more. He's really not very funny to me anymore.

 

[Snaploud]

The Cosby Show is one of the best tv shows of all time. It probably did more to help race relations in the U.S. than most people realize. Whole generations of kids grew up with this guy.

 

[Mojochi]

He truly is a legend. His achievements are astronomical, for anyone, of any race. As a comedian, he may not have been the funniest man even, but I always found him extremely entertaining. As a person, I think he is astoundingly intelligent, well grounded, & of good character.

Sadly, I think his spirit has suffered greatly, ever since his son's death, & he has a profound disappointment in the direction of the modern black culture, at least as it relates to the entertainment industry, specifically modern black comedians, whose speech & jokes perpetuate racial stereotypes. As a result, his attitudes seem much less inspired as they were in his younger years. It's almost as if he knows his time has passed, & that for all his incredible achievements, his impact was fleeting

 

[scotpens]

It's also worth mentioning Cosby's groundbreaking role in I Spy, the first American TV drama series to have a black in a co-starring role. Cosby proved to be a highly capable, natural actor with a laid-back, easygoing style and wonderful chemistry with star Robert Culp. As for his lack of success in feature films, well, maybe movies just weren't his thing.

 

[Timby]

One of the few comedians, I find, who refreshingly doesn't have to throw a curse word in every other phrase to make the material funny.

I think I've only heard him actually curse once, in all the material of his I have on album/tape/iPod -- on "Himself" when he's talking about cocaine "intensifying" your personality, and wondering what if you're an a$$-hole to begin with...

Absolutely. I have no problem with comedians using profanity; heck, it's almost an art at this point. Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinison ... all of them were / are gifted comics. But Bill Cosby is the only comedian I've ever seen who can reduce an entire theater or arena to tears of laughter while telling a joke about going to the dentist, and do so without using a single foul word.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I never got into listening to Cosby. When I grew up my favorite comedians were Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and George Carlin. Cosby's stuff was never my thing.

My favorite bit, though, was when Eddie Murphy was imitating him during Raw. Linky - NSFW in the extreme

 

[JoeZhang]

He's that black guy in the show they used to show on channel 4 that wasn't all about black people being pimps and gangsters.


(well that's all I know about him).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have never seen a single episode of The Cosby Show, BTW.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I have mixed feelings about Cosby.

On the one hand he was certainly and extremely talented and funny stand-up comedian and entertainer. A lot of his routines are genuinely hilarious. He broke a lot of barriers for comedians in general and black comedians in particular and he was a true mogul in the entertainment business for almost 30 years creating movies and television shows and giving big breaks to a lot of people.

On the other hand I think there is a great deal of hypocrisy in Cosby and a rather myopic view of morality and culture that he thinks everyone should follow. I have a problem with a grown man on such a passionate crusade to have other adults stop using "curse words" when performing in front of other adults. I also have a problem with a guy touting himself an expert on parenthood and marriage when it was his wife who largely raising five kids while he was hanging out at the Playboy Mansion. His views on things became reflected more and more on the Cosby Show which started out as a funny and different take but later grew strident and demeaning in its portrayal of children and old people.

In short a funny and talented man who held on to an anachronistic and sometime hypocritical set of values.

 

[A beaker full of death]

It's also worth mentioning Cosby's groundbreaking role in I Spy, the first American TV drama series to have a black in a co-starring role. Cosby proved to be a highly capable, natural actor with a laid-back, easygoing style and wonderful chemistry with star Robert Culp.

Quite right. I love that his character was the intellectual of the pair.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I rediscovered I Spy recently. A brilliant show. Top notch writing. Holds up better than many shows produced at the time (including a certain SF program)

As for Cosby, listened to his stand up as a kid. Watched Fat Albert. Liked the Cosby Show but haven't been a fan of his post Cosby Show work.

 

[Joeman]

I liked him in the 90's when I was a kid. I had some of his comedy albums, and of course loved Fat Albert.

I'm 46, so obviously I was not a kid on the 90's. That was supposed to be " the 70's". Damned disappearing edit button!

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

What do you think of Bill Cosby?

He's a smart, well-educated man who has vast comedic talents. He's also quite outspoken on the subject of education and cares about the youth of America and that they receive the best education possible. I respect him immensely.

 

[gblews]

Broke social barriers in stand up comedy as well as television drama and comedy.

One of the all time greats.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I loved his Cosby Show work, respected his ideals toward youth and their errors in ways and pretty much had no problem with him, until lately when some political garbage started spewing from his mouth.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Back in the early 80's, I thought Cosby was an unfunny, shitcom-starring, product-pitching shill for years. Then I listened to "HIMSELF" on cassette tape, and found out he could actually be funny.

And LEONARD PART 6 was awesome!

That's the amusing part of Cosby's career. He was a acclaimed comic, starred in successful t.v. shows, made millions advertizing products but his movie career never took off.