(born 1937) Born in Philadelphia, PA, Cosby was the first African American actor to star in a dramatic series on television (I Spy, NBC, 1965–8). Wellknown for his comedy routines and stage act, often based on children’s stories and perspectives of the world, which were adapted for the cartoon series, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kïds (CBS, 1972–7), he developed a less politically charged style than that of other black comedians like Dick Gregory and Richard Pryor. He parlayed his popularity into the top-rated family comedy the Cosby Show (NBC, 1984–92), which anchored NBC’s Thursday night programming and won several Emmys. The show presented the Huxtables, a black uppermiddle-class New York City family steeped in “family values,” who countered the black stereotypes then common on television. Cosby returned in 1996 with a similarly conceived family show, without achieving the same success.