Pajiba is reporting that Denzel Washington and Will Smith are in talks to co-star in a remake of Uptown Saturday Night. The 1974 comedy was directed by Sidney Poitier and starred Poitier and Bill Cosby as two friends who meet up at a nightclub and get robbed of their wallets only to discover the next morning that one of their wallets contained a winning lottery ticket. Mark and Robb Cullen (Cop Out) are currently rewriting the script with David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) attached to direct.
As fun as this team up might be, you should keep in mind that this film is still in its earliest stages of development. Both stars have a lot of projects coming up and if you’re a regular reader of this site, you know that there is a lot of shuffling involved before a project is properly set up and go ahead with production. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for this one though since I would like to see this acting duo working together, especially in a comedy.
Russell Simmons’ critique of Bill Cosby has struck a nerve with rappers featured on the actor/comedian’s forthcoming Hip-Hop album, Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency.
On Wednesday (Nov. 4), Simmons spoke out against Cosby’s criticism of Hip-Hop and the conduct of today’s youth in a blog about the entertainer on GlobalGrind.com
Despite expressing his admiration and respect for Cosby, Simmons feels Cosby’s attacks have undermined his “pure and good” intentions of motivating youth to realize their potential for success.
“Bill Cosby is an example of someone from the older generation who has consistently blamed the poets and asked suffering community members to bare the full burden of guilt for the struggles that they endure,” the Hip-Hop mogul wrote on Globalgrind.com. “What they don’t understand is that the young people who they criticize did not create their own realities.”
Cosnarati, which features appearances from rappers Supa Nova Slom, Jace the Great, represents the comedy veteran’s efforts to bridge the generational gap and inspire social change with socially conscious rap songs.
According to Jace the Great, the television and movie star realizes the power of Hip-Hop culture as “a means to reach more youth not to condemn them.”
“It is clear to see Cosby has actually moved beyond just addressing or blaming the youth,” Jace the Great told AllHipHop.com.
“He is working from an intergenerational standpoint not only by involving us emcees who come from the Hip-Hop generation and lifestyle but he also spoke openly to the elder generation about their involvement and accountability,” said the rapper. “Point blank, the problem right now is there is a state of emergency in our communities and we need to act fast.”
According to Supa Nova Slom, Simmons should focus more on what Cosby is doing now rather than dwell on past comments.
“I respect Russell Simmons for all of his contributions to Hip-Hop culture but I hope that people do not get distracted and lost in his critiques of Cosby’s past comments … Cosby is taking a whole other route by investing in politically charged Hip-Hop that does not condemn but instead inspires and uplifts during a time when there is next to none of that happening in the music industry,” the rapper stated.
With Cosnarati, Supa Nova Slom hopes listeners will be motivated to make changes to elevate themselves and their community. So much so, the rapper cites the past as inspiration for taking charge in the struggle for progress.
“It is all of our jobs to play a role in creating a collective movement. People need to be inspired and empowered again to get involved just as we got involved during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements,” Supa Nova Slom explained. “This CD hopefully will inspire not only conversations, but also actions, programs, and raised self-esteem.”
Bill Cosby’s Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency is slated to hit stores on November 24.
Russell Simmons recently went in on Bill Cosby who blasted the youth about being too violent in a new CD titled “Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency.” Flip the hood to see what Blood Diamond Russ had to say.
Russell said this in an open letter to Bill Cosby:
“There are a lot of great entertainers who do great things. Bill Cosby is one of them. He has always used his voice to right what he thought was wrong. However, I believe that too often Mr. Cosby has wrongly placed the blame.
Bill Cosby is an example of someone from the older generation who has consistently blamed the poets and asked suffering community members to bear the full burden of guilt for the struggles that they endure. It is certainly not that he and the rest of the elders don’t care, because they do. In fact, their intentions are pure and good. All the things they say are actually true. What they don’t understand is that the young people who they criticize did not create their own realities. They did not create the crumbling education system that we school them in. They did not create the drug epidemic and drug wars that have resulted in dysfunctional family of violence that they fall victim to. structure. They did not create the health care crisis that does not treat them. They did not create the culture
While it is true that each one of us can make a change at any moment, it is equally true that at every minute we are all doing the best we can. If you knew better, you would do better. Therefore, those who care and have resources could/should work to create the kind of support systems that could inspire change.”
When Bill Cosby announced his plans to release a rap album, the widespread reaction was one of confusion. Best known for his role as lovable Dad Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” his iconic Jell-O Pudding commercials, and, most recently, impassioned speeches on the moral failings of the black community, Cosby seemed an unlikely hip-hop enthusiast. But, acting as the creative force behind the album, he brought together three rappers to create “Bill Cosby Presents The Cosnarati: State of Emergency.”
In this exclusive interview with NewsOne, Cosby and The Cosnarati reveal how “State of Emergency” will stack up against the rest of today’s hip-hop albums, the inspiration for the project, and why Cosby’s message isn’t always well-received among Black Americans.
WASHINGTON – Someone had to hold Bill Cosby back to keep him from crawling over a balcony and joining fellow comedians on stage as the stars lined up to pay tribute to his life’s work.
When the lights went out for the start of the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Cosby filled the dark silence Monday night. “Hellooo?” he called out at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And again, he had his audience laughing.
Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld saluted their fellow funny man with the nation’s top comedy prize, along with two co-stars from “The Cosby Show,” Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. They hailed Cosby’s work breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes and replayed his standup routines.
Cosby quipped that usually when a man sees his life flash before his eyes, it’s for a bad reason. “But this is all right,” he said.
First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, were among those in Washington watching clips from Cosby’s long career — from his classic standup routine of Noah’s chat with God about building an ark to dealing with the stresses of raising a family as a TV dad.
Seinfeld and Rock shared the stage and said that as children they followed Cosby’s comedy albums, which inspired their own careers. Then they got lost in banter about how they could never measure up, after seeing Cosby together more recently at New York’s Apollo Theater.
“What was he wearing?” Rock said.
“Something ridiculous,” Seinfeld quipped. “But he did two hours — all new material.”
“I’m not that funny,” Rock said.
“I’m definitely not that funny,” Seinfeld said.
Instead, Seinfeld and Rock tossed to a clip of Cosby’s classic impression of a visit to the dentist.
“The first thing he grabs is an iron hook,” Cosby says. “Then he starts to drill and you see and smell smoke coming out of your mouth!”
As the clip ended, Cosby turned to his wife, Camille, who smiled and clapped. Cosby later said comedians’ wives often want autopsies of their husbands’ brains to see what’s going on in there.
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Comedian Dick Gregory chimed in with jokes about his long friendship with Cosby.
“When the stock market crashed last September, they was going to repossess my Rolls-Royce,” Gregory said. “I said, ‘Bill, what do I do?’”
Cosby’s response, according to Gregory: “Don’t park in front of the house!”
Critics often point out that “The Cosby Show,” which aired in the 1980s, broke new ground because it was about a successful black family with a father who’s a doctor and a mother, a lawyer, raising five children.
Gregory said Cosby started breaking barriers even earlier with the “I Spy” TV series, which cast a black man and a white man as co-stars. After that, Gregory said, promoters never again referred to him as a “Negro comic.”
“A billion years from now, you will be respected for what you were able to do,” he said, looking up at Cosby who was seated in a balcony. “You painted words with your mouth, and they will always exist, and they will always last.”
Of all his accomplishments as a comedian, actor, author and television producer, Cosby said he is most proud of the “Cosby Show,” which he carefully crafted.
Rashad, who played Claire Huxtable on the series, flew from London, where she is in rehearsal for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” to be part of the show at Cosby’s request.
On stage, she recalled the chemistry she and Cosby shared as TV parents.
“We could complete each other’s sentences,” she said.
Warner, who played Theo on the show, said he has been in touch with his TV dad ever since. Now, he said he is far enough removed to watch himself in reruns and said the show is a testament to Cosby’s genius.
“He always said in 20 years he wanted the show to still be relevant, and here we are,” Warner said.
Cosby, 72, has won other major awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. Still, the Mark Twain Prize is special, he said, because Twain was the “quintessential American writer — because he held his language and his love for words in perfect American form.”
Cosby apologized to a bust of Twain during his acceptance speech for bumping him and stealing some of his words.
The tribute will air Nov. 4 nationwide on PBS. Cosby insisted the performances be free of profanity and the show reflect his emphasis on education.
“The show is very, very important to me,” Cosby said in an interview. “It makes me aware that as a monologist and a writer and a performer, I’ve done some wonderful work.”
WASHINGTON — Bill Cosby still thinks America is funny — like the name-calling over health care and the way we drink so much water from plastic bottles that could be toxic — even though he says the nation has some serious problems it needs to tackle.
The 72-year-old who has long drawn laughs for his wisecracks and deadpan observations will receive the nation’s foremost humor prize Monday at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Sinbad and other top entertainers will line up to honor him with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
It’s a prize Cosby has turned down twice before because he said he was disgusted with profanity and N-words thrown around by performers honoring Richard Pryor, who was the first recipient in 1998.
“I told them flat out no because I will not be used, nor will Mark Twain be used, in that way,” he told The Associated Press from his home in New York.
The profanity bugs Cosby. He always kept it clean with the family laughs on “The Cosby Show,” portraying a middle-class black family and everyday life, from 1984 to 1992. And he’s not impressed with today’s comedians who can’t help but curse.
It took a chat with Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser this year at Sen. Edward Kennedy’s birthday celebration for Cosby to accept the award this time.
“What I wanted was to associate my work with why I do what I do,” he said.
For a man with a master’s degree and doctorate in education, his life is about more than laughs.
So Cosby helped craft the tribute show — airing Nov. 4 nationwide on PBS — to capture his overarching emphasis on taking education seriously and telling stories that teach something in the process. He’s planned a special nod to his beloved Central High School in Philadelphia, with fellow alumnus James DePreist conducting their alma mater.
Producers of the show are worried it won’t be funny, Cosby said. But he said there will still be plenty of entertainment.
Cappy McGarr, one of the show’s executive producers, said they’re thrilled with the lineup, which also includes Carl Reiner, Wynton Marsalis, and “Cosby” co-stars Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The producers shape each show around the honoree and have had Cosby on their list for years. McGarr explained the tribute to Pryor aired for a different audience on Comedy Central and wasn’t meant to be offensive, but the show has aired on PBS ever since.
He said the producers were grateful Cosby finally accepted.
“He is a comic genius,” McGarr said. “He just has a wonderful reflection of funny … and is an absolute master at taking an ordinary human condition and giving his take on it.
“He makes us laugh with us, not at us.”
The comedian who kept NBC viewers laughing on Thursday nights after “Cosby” went to reruns will salute the man he says reinvigorated the sit-com.
Seinfeld said he started buying Cosby’s comedy albums when he was 11 years old. He was watching as Cosby made the jump from nightclubs to television with the “I Spy” series and as physical education teacher Chet Kincaid on “The Bill Cosby Show” in 1969.
“Watching him do those things showed me the right way for a standup comedian to play himself on television — how you kind of transform your standup persona into a character persona,” Seinfeld told the AP. “I think only comedians know and understand that this guy has reached like a virtuoso point of command over this form that most people, even the big star comedians, don’t get anywhere near.”
Beyond the comedy that he still performs on stage, Cosby has spoken bluntly about society over the years. He has spoken out about personal responsibility in the black community and talks often about education on his Web site, Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Of all things he’d wish for young people, better television is on the list. Cosby said he wishes kids had access to classic writers and their stories on TV, “so that our youth can find themselves being excited about things other than going straight for the genitalia.”
The longtime TV dad also has some observations on politics, though he says he’s not a “wheeler, dealer” when he visits Washington. Recently, the tea party protests against President Barack Obama have struck a chord.
“To see people marching down the street, talking about a tea party, they’ve got to be kidding … and the name-calling, these people are hilarious,” he said. “What’s not funny is how seriously so many of them have come together to speak like this.”
He was appalled by the refusal of some public schools last month to show students an Obama speech about education, and he agrees with some observers, such as former President Jimmy Carter, that some of the opposition is driven by racism.
“I just want this United States of America to be the United States of America, for which it’s supposed to stand,” Cosby said.
His family will join him for the award show in D.C. “I don’t know if the Suburban’s going to look like ‘Grapes of Wrath’ or what,” he said.
Back in January 2008, to the surprise and sheer confusion of the media, Bill Cosby announced plans to debut a hip-hop album. Now that the elapsed time has allowed the initial shock to wane, Cosby’s plan is finally coming to fruition. ‘Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency,” is due November 24 and represents the iconic comedian’s effort to bring awareness and social consciousness to troubling issues in hip-hop culture.
With tracks like “Where’s the Parade,” an ode to black women, and “Dad Behind the Glass,” which addresses the issue of absentee fathers, Cosby felt the need to carefully explain the idea behind the album.
“I don’t like referring to the music as clean,” he said. “What I like is what you’re not going to do. You’re not going to curse. You’re not going to put women down. You’re not going to put the glory of the gun somewhere. And you’re not going to put a whole lot of violence up front like that’s the thing that will cleanse you and make you feel better.”
Cosby enlisted the help of a few musical stars to help produce the fusion album, which includes elements from hip-hop, R&B, funk, pop and rock genres. Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Eric Clapton, William Patterson and the late Miles Davis are heard throughout the project. And before you become unnerved by the idea of Cosby trying to bust a rhyme, find comfort in the fact that he left the rapping to professionals, opting to create the narrative concepts for the tracks instead.
In addition to the album, Cosby will also host a virtual town hall meeting October 19 in New York City. During the 90-minute event, Cosby’s Cosnarati Band will perform songs from ‘State of Emergency.’ The event will be streamed live on urban radio station websites across the country through Ustream. The town hall meeting will also be featured on facebook.com/billcosby, as well as billcosby.com, which will be re-launched in conjunction with the new project. Members of the audience will be able to Tweet at Cosby during the town hall meeting by using the link: http://www.tinyurl.com/ASKCOSBY.
Tracks from ‘Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency,’ will be available for download on the day after the event, more than a month before the album’s official physical release.
Twenty-five years ago this week, history was made when NBC premiered ‘The Cosby Show.’ It was a much-deserved departure from what television audiences grew to know as the black family experience, with shows such as ‘Good Times,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ ‘What’s Happening’ and ‘That’s My Mama.’
Starring television pioneer Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, an obstetrician who was the patriarch of an upper-middle class African-American family living in Brooklyn, NY, ‘The Cosby Show’ represented the first time that middle-class black life was depicted on prime time television.
Cosby played an esteemed doctor — not a stereoytpical blue collar worker living in one of the disadvantaged communities of America. His character was quite present in his family’s life — not missing in action, as with many other TV shows representing the black experience.
Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keisha Knight Pulliam, Lisa Bonet and Raven Symone rounded out the core of the Huxtable clan.
According to TV Guide, the sitcom — which aired for 197 episodes — “was TV’s biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC’s ratings fortunes.”
To help celebrate the silver anniversary of The Huxtables, the TV Land network will air a marathon of extra-special episodes of ‘The Cosby Show’ highlighting memorable moments on Sept. 23 from 9PM to Midnight ET/PT.
When it premiered on the NBC network on Sept. 20, 1984, no one could have expected that ‘The Cosby Show’ would make history as one of the most successful TV shows. Twenty-five years later the cast members are still in the spotlight. Find out what they’ve been up to recently.
The Cosby Show: Where Are They Now? Though it was a big deal when it first premiered on the NBC network on Sept. 20, 1984, no one could have expected that the groundbreaking sitcom ‘The Cosby Show,’ would resonate so well with national audiences become one of the most successful TV shows in history. But it did. Revolving around the life and times of The Huxtables, an upper-middle class African-American family living in a brownstone building in Brooklyn, NY, the Bill Cosby-helmed series was TV’s biggest hit in the 1980s, according to TV Guide. Blackvoices.com takes a look at what the cast members have been up to since the show ended.
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Phylicia Rashad: Clair Huxtable After the conclusion of the show, the Houston native would reprise her role as Cosby’s wife — this time playing Ruth Lucas on the CBS series, ‘Cosby.’ After the show ended in 2000, Rashad would do some work on the animated series ‘Little Bill’ and ultimately return to her Broadway roots. Most recently, the former ‘Dreamgirls’ star starred in the 2008 television adaptation of ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ along side Sean “Diddy” Combs, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan all stars of the 2002 Broadway production ( for which she won a historic Tony Award). The former wife of NBA commentator Ahmad Rashad, the acclaimed actress starred in the all-black Broadway version of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ in addition to being the lead spokeswoman for Jenny Craig.
Jenny Craig
Tempestt Bledsoe: Vanessa Huxtable Following ‘The Cosby Show,’ the Chicago-born actress was given a major shot to host her own talk show while she was midway through college the very short lived ‘The Tempestt Bledsoe Show.’ In 2006, she tried her hand at reality TV with stints on ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ and ‘Fear Factor.’ Her recent TV roles include the telefilms ‘Husband for Hire,’ ‘The Replacements,’ and Fox Reality TV’s ‘Househusbands of Hollywood.’
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Bill Cosby: Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable The former ‘I Spy’ star has had many a television projects following ‘The Cosby Show’ and has produced several shows. Most recently, though, he is noted for his acerbic diatribes on hip-hop culture and black America in general; all of this coming after a very messy, very public paternity case, and allegations of sexual abuse. Despite the fact that his new tone represents a sharp departure from his Cliff Huxtable persona, the Philadelphia born entertainment legend continues on and has even considered releasing a ‘hip-hop’ album in hopes of reaching the black community. Until then, Cosby continues to host comedy galas across the globe.
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Malcolm Jamal Warner: Theodore Aloysius “Theo” Huxtable Following the end of the show, Warner went through several sitcoms and made a variety of guest appearances, including the WB sitcom ‘Malcolm & Eddie.’ In 2003, the Jersey City native released his debut music project, ‘The Miles Long Mixtape’ after a brief stint hosting the BET poetry series ‘Lyric Café.’ Warner followed up with his second CD in 2007 entitled, ‘Love & Other Social Issues’ before getting back in front of the camera this year playing a Caribbean henchman in the Mathew McConaughey/Kate Hudson romantic comedy ‘Fool’s Gold.’ Warner currently stars in the Lifetime series, ‘Sherri.’
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Lisa Bonet: Denise Huxtable Between her tenure on ‘The Cosby Show,’ Bonet was also the star of ‘A Different World,’ when she went to college. In 1987, the San Francisco-raised beauty experienced substantial controversy over her appearance in Alan Parker’s dark drama ‘Angel Heart’ which featured explicit sex scenes that had to be cut down to avoid an X-rating. Since then, Lenny Kravitz’s ex-wife and baby’s mother has sporadically appeared in acclaimed films, including ‘Biker Boyz,’ ‘Enemy of the State’ and ‘High Fidelity.’ On December 15, 2008, Bonet gave birth to her third son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
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Keshia Knight Pulliam: Rudith Lillian “Rudy” Huxtable After ‘The Cosby Show’ ended in 1992, Knight-Pulliam returned to regular life and eventually graduated from Spelman College in 2001, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The Newark, New Jersey native came back to television via reality shows, becoming victorious on celebrity versions of ‘Fear Factor’ and ‘The Weakest Link.’ She also had roles in the 2005 films ‘The Gospel’ and ‘Beauty Shop.’ In 2004, she was photographed for ‘Black Men’ magazine, which was considered provocative. Her reason; to rid herself of the “baby Rudy” image that came with her ‘Cosby’ experience. She also appeared in a video for rap artist Chingy and appeared as a prostitute last year in Tyler Perry’s movie ‘Madea Goes to Jail.’
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Raven-Symone: Olivia Kendall Striking while the iron was hot, Symone continued in acting well after her tenure on ‘The Cosby Show’ with roles on the sitcom ‘Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper’ and the ‘Dr. Doolittle’ movie franchise. She has also been active as singer, releasing three albums between 1993 and 2004, with another due for release in July 2008. The Atlanta native juggles all of this in addition to her long running Disney Channel series ‘That’s So Raven’ and the astounding success of ‘The Cheetah Girls’ movie and brand. In March of 2007, she was profiled by ‘Ebony’ magazine, which billed her as “The $400 Million Dollar Woman.” Earlier this year, Symone starred in the Martin Lawrence box office hit ‘College Road Trip.’ In 2008 the media mogul released her fourth studio album aptly titled, ‘Raven-Symoné.’
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Sabrina LeBeauf : Sondra Huxtable- Tibideaux Despite the fact that she is a graduate from UCLA and the Yale School of Drama, LeBeauf has done very little work as far a acting is concerned. But the New Orleans native has her very own interior design business. Her other notable appearances include guest stints on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ ‘Cosby,’ and ‘Fatherhood.’ A Barack Obama supporter, LeBeauf has done Shakespeare in recent years and even lived in India for a month. The 50-year-old actress is slated to be in a project titled ‘The Stalker Within’ set to release this year.
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Joseph C. Phillips: Lt. Martin Kendall Since the end of the show, Philips has maintained a very steady line of work in guest appearances on many shows from ‘Martin’ to ‘General Hospital’ to even ‘The King of Queens’ and ‘Without A Trace.’ His first taste at fame came in the form of starring opposite Halle Berry in the comedy ‘Strictly Business,’ which he starred in before ‘The Cosby Show.’ A longtime stint on the ABC soap opera ‘General Hospital’ kept him on TV years after the groundbreaking series ended. Recently, the Denver, Colorado native has created a niche for himself, not only as an actor, but also as a social activist as a television and radio commentator. A proud member of the Republican party, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. member was the National Co-Chair of the African American Steering committee for the “Bush/Cheney ‘04″ campaign and was named a member of the Republican National Committees African American Advisory Board.
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According to industry legend, ‘The Cosby Show’ show had been pitched to ABC, which rejected it.
One network’s trash became another network’s treasure:
The Cosby Show is one of only three American programs that have been #1 in the Nielsen Ratings for five consecutive seasons, along with ‘All in the Family’ and ‘American Idol.’
The show won two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three NAACP Image Awards and 11 People’s Choice Awards and helped blaze a trail for other programs on television. With the wins and the mainstream acceptance, ‘The Cosby Show’ is arguably the most successful black sitcom in television history.
‘The Cosby Show’ spun off into another sitcom, ‘A Different World,’ which depicted black student life. The NBC series helped launch the acting careers of Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison and Jada Pinkett Smith.
From the September 20, 1984 pilot episode, in which Denise went on date with an older merchant marine — much to Cliff’s dismay — to Theo’s disastrous designer shirt knock-off home-sewn by his sister, to the unforgettable family staircase lip-synched performance of Ray Charles‘ ‘Night Time Is The Right Time,’ we will get a chance to walk down memory lane with the Huxtables this week.
Posted under bill cosby, cosby show by Kato on Tuesday 22 September 2009 at 8:01 am
“He is working from an intergenerational standpoint not only by involving us emcees who come from the Hip-Hop generation and lifestyle but he also spoke openly to the elder generation about their involvement and accountability,” said the rapper. “Point blank, the problem right now is there is a state of emergency in our communities and we need to act fast.”
Seinfeld and Rock shared the stage and said that as children they followed Cosby’s comedy albums, which inspired their own careers. Then they got lost in banter about how they could never measure up, after seeing Cosby together more recently at New York’s Apollo Theater.
Critics often point out that “The Cosby Show,” which aired in the 1980s, broke new ground because it was about a successful black family with a father who’s a doctor and a mother, a lawyer, raising five children.
