Before William H. Cosby Jr. became Cliff Huxtable, the funniest dad on TV (with the most outrageous sweaters), he was the funniest dude on TV in I Spy (becoming the first African-American to costar in a TV drama) and The Electric Company, as well as the creator and host of the longest-running Saturday morning cartoon, Fat Albert, which taught kids not to smoke, steal or vandalize—and always wash behind their ears. He was also the star of a long line of comedy albums featuring funky story bits such as the “Chicken Heart” (that ate up New York City), and one of the few 1960’s stand-up comics whose material did not address or enact “the angry black man”—a choice for which he would repeatedly receive heat. In short, Cosby is legend, whether he’s getting kids to say the darndest things, hocking Jell-O pudding, or starring as Satan in tripe like The Devil and Max Devlin. He really won’t last forever, so catch him while he’s still splendiferous.
Sun., June 9, 3 & 7 p.m., 2013
