William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American actor, comedian, and convicted sex offender. He got his start as a nightclub stand-up comic before landing a starring role in the action show I Spy (1965-1968). After various film and television roles, Cosby's greatest success came when he produced and starred in The Cosby Show (1984-1992), a popular sitcom that highlighted the experiences and growth of an upper-middle-class African-American family. Due to this role, he was widely dubbed "America's Dad." After the show ended, he produced and starred in multiple other shows and films. He was a sought-after spokesman from the 1960s until the early 2000s, endorsing a number of products including Jell-O, Kodak film, Ford, Texas Instruments, and Coca-Cola. Cosby has received several awards including 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Daytime Emmy Awards, 9 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to television (2002), and several honorary degrees from colleges and universities. Many of his awards have been rescinded due to numerous sexual assault allegations, including the 1998 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and all but 10 of 72 honorary degrees. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled him as a member of the Actors Branch in May 2018. Approximately 60 women have accused Cosby of various forms of sexual assault in alleged incidents spanning from 1965 to 2008. These allegations became highly publicized in 2014, leading to several civil suits and criminal investigations for cases that had not yet reached the statute of limitations. Many networks, including NBC, removed reruns of The Cosby Show from their schedules. In April 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three-to-ten years in prison for multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021 due to violation of a prior prosecutorial agreement that Cosby's previous civil suit testimony—in which he admitted to giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with—would not be used in the criminal trial. He was released from prison later that month after serving almost three years of the sentence and maintains his innocence in all accusations. As of August 2021, there is still one known active civil suit against Cosby.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 12, 1937 (89)
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Actor, producer and writer
- 30 on MovieCove · 69 credits in all
What are Bill Cosby's films like?
Across their 30 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 24
Light 17 · Serious 4 · Dark 4
Grounded 18 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 12 · Charged 11 · Intense 2
Steady 16 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 9
Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 0
Casual 15 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 15 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 3
Resolved 22 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 7 of 12 analyzed roles.
Show the 12 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Alexander Scott in I Spy (1965)
- Heroas Hickey in Hickey & Boggs (1972)
- Allyas Wardell Franklin in Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
- Allyas Billy Foster in Let's Do It Again (1975)
- Heroas Mother in Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
- Heroas Fat Albert in The Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977)
- Heroas Manny Durrell in A Piece of the Action (1977)
- Tricksteras Barney Satin in The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
- Shadowas Barney Satin in The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
- Heroas Leonard Parker in Leonard Part 6 (1987)
- Heroas Elliot Hopper in Ghost Dad (1990)
- Mentoras Lawrence Woodruff in Jack (1996)
Moods and endings
- Happy14
- Bittersweet11
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Bill Cosby's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 30 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Bill Cosby's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
69 credits, 30 with a MovieCove page; 79 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Sixties(2014)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Goose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Fat Albert(2004)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Fatherhood(2004)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows
Baadasssss!(2003)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all filmsRalph Bunche: An American Odyssey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Men of Honor(2000)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Little Bill(1999)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Becker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Kids Say the Darndest Things (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Cosby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Jack(1996)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Ruby Wax Meets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Cigars!: The New Rage! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
The Cosby Mysteries (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Touched by an Angel(1994)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all shows
I Spy Returns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Meteor Man(1993)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Malcolm X(1992)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Here and Now (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Ghost Dad(1990)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Earth Day Special(1990)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
Leonard Part 6(1987)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
A Different World(1987)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows
Bill Cosby: 49 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
The NBC All Star Hour: Let's All Be There (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Motown Returns to the Apollo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
The Cosby Show(1984)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
Bill Cosby: Himself (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
The Fat Albert Easter Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
The Devil and Max Devlin(1981)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Top Secret (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
California Suite(1978)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
The Fat Albert Halloween Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
A Piece of the Action(1977)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Playboy's Playmate Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Cos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Mother, Jugs & Speed(1976)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Let's Do It Again(1975)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Uptown Saturday Night(1974)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
The Chocolate Princess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
The Weird Harold Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Hickey & Boggs(1972)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
To All My Friends on Shore (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Aesop's Fables (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Electric Company(1971)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Jackson 5: Goin' Back to Indiana (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Man and Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Bill Cosby on Prejudice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
The Bill Cosby Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
The Picasso Summer(1969)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Of Black America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Murder at N.B.C. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Dean Martin Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
I Spy(1965)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all showsBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Meet the Press (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Career shape
Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 68 titles from 1947 to 2013; peak year 1975.
Biggest box office
Men of Honor (2000)
Highest rated
The Sixties (2014)
Most popular right now
The Cosby Show (1984)
Film career
Peak 1975 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 7 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1965Screen debut· I Spy
- 1969First film· Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
- 1972First top-billed film· Hickey & Boggs
- 1984Career best· The Cosby Show
- 1990Career best· Ghost Dad
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Bill Cosby's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 22; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 48th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th7
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 30 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive3
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser10
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed12
Reviewers score the acting 68/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Bill Cosby's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Bill Cosby work with?
People who share at least 2 of Bill Cosby's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sidney Poitier shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Sidney PoitierShared titles: Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley (2013), Ghost Dad (1990), A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975), Uptown Saturday Night (1974)See all 5 shared titles with Sidney Poitier
Writers
- Charles KippsShared titles: Fat Albert (2004), Fatherhood (2004), Little Bill (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Charles Kipps
- Timothy MarchShared titles: A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Timothy March
- Richard WesleyShared titles: Let's Do It Again (1975), Uptown Saturday Night (1974)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Wesley
Actors
- Robert CulpShared titles: The Sixties (2014), Hickey & Boggs (1972), I Spy (1965)See all 3 shared titles with Robert Culp
- Denise NicholasShared titles: Ghost Dad (1990), A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Denise Nicholas
- Lisa BonetShared titles: Bill Cosby: Walking Free (2022), The Cosby Show (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Bonet
- Tempestt BledsoeShared titles: Bill Cosby: Walking Free (2022), The Cosby Show (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Tempestt Bledsoe
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Pembroke J. HerringShared titles: Ghost Dad (1990), A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975), Uptown Saturday Night (1974)See all 4 shared titles with Pembroke J. Herring
- Curtis MayfieldShared titles: A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Curtis Mayfield
- Donald M. MorganShared titles: A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975)See all 2 shared titles with Donald M. Morgan
Producers
- Melville TuckerShared titles: A Piece of the Action (1977), Let's Do It Again (1975), Uptown Saturday Night (1974)See all 3 shared titles with Melville Tucker
- David BrokawShared titles: Fatherhood (2004), Little Bill (1999)See all 2 shared titles with David Brokaw
- Stan RobertsonShared titles: Men of Honor (2000), Ghost Dad (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Stan Robertson