Bill Cosby to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

There is no doubt that Bill Cosby is a standout among his peers. For nearly 5 decades he has made people laugh across the globe. He created the beloved cartoon Fat Albert, he broke racial barriers in television, and he created and starred in one of the most beloved shows on television since the 1980's (The Cosby Show). He is so well loved that he is often referred to as "America's Dad".

So there really should be no surprise that he will be receiving the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 2002 he received the highest civillian award possible, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And then there are the three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series he received for I Spy in the 1960's (a breakthru for the racial attitudes of the nation at the time), 2003 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

How well loved is Bill Cosby? Here is the announced list of enertainers that will appear at the awards ceremony:

Dick Gregory, Sinbad, Carl Reiner, George Lopez, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Willie Nelson, Len Chandler, symphonic orchestra conductor James DePreist, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Rita Moreno, Danny Glover, Jerry Seinfeld, and Chris Rock.

Talk about a line-up of the who's who in entertainment.

Of course Dr. Cosby (it is often forgotten that he did drop out of school, but returned and earned a doctotrate) is not without his own controversies. Most notable is his outspoken stance on "problems prevalent in underprivileged urban communities such as taking part in illegal drugs, teenage pregnancy, Black Entertainment Television, high school dropouts, anti-intellectualism, gangsta rap, vulgarity, thievery, offensive clothing, vanity, parental alienation, single parenting and failing to live up to the ideals of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the African American ancestors that preceded Generation X".

I personally find most of his views dead-on.

So I suggest that everyone keep an eye on PBS in November. The award will be televized Nov 4th 2009, though the ceremony will happen on October 26th.

Success in Hollywood - Cosby style

Child stars are notorious for their pitfalls as they grow older. Alcoholism, drugs, early deaths and a lot of jail time seem consistent in all their lives. But there are exceptions like Ron Howard, Drew Barrymore (once she passed the low road mentioned previously), Jessica Alba, Tatyana Ali, Christina Applegate, Sean Austin, and others make up for the far more prevalent Danny Bonaduce’s of the Hollywood machine.

But one thing that I have noticed is that there is only one program from television where all the child actors have gone on and become professionals of high standing. Only one show I can think of where ever child actor has not succumbed to drugs and violence and self-destruction. And that is the actors from The Cosby Show [ok, Lisa Bonet was a bit touch and go for a while but then she calmed down – like Barrymore].

Each of the original, and then subsequent, child actors has gone on to do further work in Hollywood. Several have had multiple hits, like Malcolm-Jamal Warner who has been in Jerimiah and Malcolm & Eddie. This says nothing of his directing and musical abilities.

Tempestt Bledsoe has been in constant work, after she got a degree in finance from NYU. Her most recent appearance was on TNT’s Raising the Bar.

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman is still huge, though on the Disney channel and this time starring in her own show.

Sabrina Le Beauf (far older during the show but still a child actor/young adult) owns an interior design company, and is a graduate of UCLA and Yale School of Drama.

So you may be wondering who is left.

Keisha-Knight Pulliam. If you don’t recall then name check the video (I like this version better)



Yep I mean Rudy. What has she been up to?

Well she is going to be starring in the next Tyler Perry film Madea Goes to Jail. Considering that Perry is at no loss for talent when it comes to his highly successful films, that says something about Pulliam. Add to that the fact that she has not been in a single headline for any negative and you have a full house with a queen to spare. I call that impressive.

By the way, Pulliam is not just starring in the film. She is departing from the Rudy character and really showing some depth as her role is the least likely to be expected. I’ll keep the suspense going but here is a trailer of the film



and here is what the play was like



So this could be a breakout role.

All in all it’s pretty impressive to see that so many have done so well off of one show. It seems that Dr. Cosby knows what he’s talking about.