A (Controversial) Favorite

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The Cosby Show was a childhood favorite of mine growing up. My parents were really strict on what we could watch as children, but The Cosby Show was clean, wholesome fun. Not many people realized over the years what a terrible person Bill Cosby was. I won’t get into the accusations against him from dozens of women, but you can easily look it up. I’m here to talk about the (1984-1992) sitcom itself. About an upper class African-American family where the father (Bill Cosby) was a doctor and the mother (Phylicia Rashad) a lawyer, was a huge hit, and a breakthrough show. Back then, sitcoms didn’t portray black families as being rich and successful. The success the show went on to have blew stereotypes out of the water. My favorite episode was the one where the son, Theo, was borrowing money from his family members in such a blasé manner that the family decided to teach him a lesson about “the real world”. When Theo came home for the day, his home had been transformed into the real world. Remember little Rudy as the banker who turned down his request for a loan? While they had guest stars such as BB King, Stevie Wonder, Henry Fonda, and Lena Horne, a few of the famous guest stars who appeared on the show, my favorite guest star was the delightful Danny Kaye, who played the dentist to Rudy and her little neighbor friend, Peter. The only Emmy wins for The Cosby Show were for Outstanding Comedy Show in 1985, its first year, and for Sammy Davis Jr. who won for best guest actor. How nominated Phylicia Rashad didn’t win, I’m not sure. The character of Clare Huxtable WAS my mom so I always look back on that character fondly. Clare was a lawyer, and my mom worked at a bank. She’d get up every morning, get us ready for school, put on a business suit, go to work, come home and put an apron over her suit, and cook dinner. My dad’s mother was once visiting, and commented she thought women only did that on TV (my dad was already gone when we got up in the mornings). She was wise, and guided her children well. And, she and her husband were a real team. It spawned one spin off, A Different World, which took Lisa Bonet’s character of Denise to Hillman College. The actress left after the first or second season and went back to The Cosby Show, but the spin-off went on for several more years. I can still sing the theme song. Lisa Bonet never get along with Bill Cosby, so before The Cosby show was over, the character of Denise was written off again. Sadly, Malcolm Jamal Warner (son Theo), who went on to do several more things, including his own sitcom, drowned on vacation a year ago. In recent years, it also (oddly) made news when the actor who played Elvin, Sondra’s husband, was seen working at a Trader Joe’s as a bag boy. The attention garnered defense of his circumstances and he was given a part in NCIS, and Nicki Minaj gave him $25,000. What he found to be an embarrassment turned out to be a blessing. I try to remember the good times of watching The Cosby Show with my family because it was wholesome and funny. I haven’t seen it in years even though you can find it several places. I try not to let the thought of Bill Cosby’s sins color my thoughts on the show. But I often find that hard. Any favorites of the show yourself? Did you watch it?