Bill Cosby
Stand-up comedian

Bill Cosby

Who Bill Cosby is

American comedian and actor whose conversational, observational stand-up albums of the 1960s, beginning with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963), made him a star; he holds the record of seven Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album. He co-starred in I Spy, created Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, starred in the concert film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983) and played Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992).

At a glance

Born
1937
Style
Storytelling
Stand-up specials
Bill Cosby: Himself and Bill Cosby: Far from Finished
Albums
Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right!, I Started Out as a Child, Why Is There Air? and 3 more
Podcasts
Fatherhood and Time Flies
On screen
I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and 13 more

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Podcasts

Comedians like Bill Cosby

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1937Born
  2. 1963Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) Album
  3. 1964I Started Out as a Child (1964) Album
  4. 1965I Spy (co-star, 1965–1968) On screen
  5. 1965Why Is There Air? (1965) Album
  6. 1966Wonderfulness (1966) Album
  7. 1967Revenge (1967) Album
  8. 1968To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With (1968) Album
  9. 1969The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971) On screen
  10. 1971The Electric Company (Hank, PBS, 1971–1973) On screen
  11. 1972Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (creator and host, 1972–1985) On screen
  12. 1974Uptown Saturday Night (Wardell Franklin, 1974) On screen
  13. 1975Let's Do It Again (Billy Foster, 1975) On screen
  14. 1978California Suite (Dr. Willis Panama, 1978) On screen
  15. 1983Bill Cosby: Himself (1983, concert film) Special
  16. 1984The Cosby Show (Cliff Huxtable; producer, 1984–1992) On screen
  17. 1986Fatherhood (book, 1986) Book
  18. 1987A Different World (creator and producer, 1987–1993) On screen
  19. 1987Time Flies (book, 1987) Book
  20. 1990Ghost Dad (Elliot Hopper, 1990) On screen
  21. 1992You Bet Your Life (host, 1992–1993) On screen
  22. 1994The Cosby Mysteries (Guy Hanks, 1994–1995) On screen
  23. 1996Cosby (1996–2000) On screen
  24. 1996Jack (Lawrence Woodruff, 1996) On screen
  25. 1998Kids Say the Darndest Things (host, 1998–2000) On screen
  26. 1999Little Bill (Captain Brainstorm, voice; creator, Nickelodeon, 1999–2004) On screen
  27. 2013Bill Cosby: Far from Finished (2013, Comedy Central) Special

Questions about Bill Cosby

What stand-up specials has Bill Cosby released?

Bill Cosby: Himself and Bill Cosby: Far from Finished.

What podcast do they host?

Fatherhood and Time Flies.

What TV shows and films are they in?

I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Cosby Show, Cosby and Kids Say the Darndest Things, among 16 credits.

When were they born?

In 1937.

Who are some comedians like them?

Sinbad (also in A Different World), Aries Spears (also in A Different World), Buddy Hackett (also in You Bet Your Life), Flip Wilson (also in Uptown Saturday Night) and Jay Leno (also in You Bet Your Life).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to add them to your D.O.C., your twelve.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026