Cosby: The Life of a Comedy Legend

by Ronald L. Smith

Book Overview

Comedian, actor, and writer Bill Cosby is one of the most successful and respected entertainers in America. Yet the Cosby we know today came from a much different place and time than the ideal featured in his 1980s hit series "The Cosby Show," where the main character was a loveable, responsible doctor and family man.Cosby: The Life of a Comedy Legend by Ronald L. Smith, a recognized writer on comedy and comedians, tracks the humble upbringing of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573921262
• ISBN13: 9781573921268
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Matt's Review

This book, Cosby The Life of a Comedy Legend is a biography about Bill Cosby and his struggles and accomplishments through is long life. I thought this book was an alright book, at times it was kind of confusing and at some parts of the book it was boring, for it was the same stuff over and over for a bit. The book was very fun to read and it was very informative, I learned so much about Bill Cosby. The book is very informative about Cosby, from his childhood, to him in collage, to him has an adult, and some present day information. Some of this information included information like: Bill Cosby was born in July of 1936 to Anna and William Cosby. Cosby was born and raised in Philidelphia. Cosby went to Temple University. Bill Cosby went to the navy after dropping out of High School. Cosby played football and track in collage. Before Cosby was a comedian he was a bartender. Things like that. So if your bored one day or you need to do a project or something on a famous person, consider picking up this book; it's great!

A man for all things

The book depicts the life of Bill Cosby, and his rise to superstardom. The book gives the reader insight into a myriad of situations, like the attempted rape of Cosby's daughter by Mike Tyson, the sucker punch that Bill Cosby landed on the face of Tommy Smothers, the day Cosby stopped mid-show, and the failures of his movies and various other projects. The book is an honest portrayal of the total life of Bill Cosby - both his failures and successes. The book offers a glimpse into Cos' breakthrough performances on television and movies. Everything to the I-Spy television series in the 1960s to the movie Ghost Dad in the 1990s. Always under the public microscope, Cosby has been overtly criticized for never being black enough and for not dealing directly with black issues. When the Cosby show first appeared, people criticized the show for being a false representation of a black middle-class family. But Cosby always had a vision for creating a show that would depict human issues and behavior and not black issues nor white issues - just human issues. It is somewhat ironic that the same media that chastises actors and comedians for speaking out on issues, also chastises actors and comedians when they gives us their opinions on issues. For example, the same media that tore down Cosby for not standing up for black issues, also criticized him when he began to lecture and give speeches about the issues he felt strongly about - namely, education and television programming. For Cosby, it has always been a lose-lose situation. I wholeheartedly recommend the book. Let me end on a funny note... David Letterman's Top Ten The Top Ten Rejected Plots for the Final Cosby Show - After prosecuting Gotti, Clair gets whacked. - Whole group settles down to view a tape of Ghost Dad - Family learns that Cliff's colorful sweaters have given them radiation poisoning. - Alien creature explodes from Theo's stomach and eats everyone

Very informative

it very informitive and told a lot about his lif