May 25, 2018 ▸ People

Bill Cosby: From Jell-O to Jail-O

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On this 300th episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we put on our ugly sweaters, eat some Jell-O, say “Hey, hey, hey,” and talk about the aggravated sexual assault of one Dr. Bill Cosby. Cosby was a permanent feature of American popular culture for decades, playing the wholesome father figure to a generation and even famously mocking Eddie Murphy for being so foul in his act (just imagine what he’d think of this show…). However, a few years ago, allegations of rape, drugging, and sexual assault came forward and shed a new light on this once-respectable actor.

Cosby was born to a lower class family and grew up poor and working odd jobs to pay the rent. He was apparently a big screw up in school (dropping out of high school and college), but everyone recognized how funny he was. By the time he finally entered college, he had started doing stand-up, and he took off like a rocket. In 1963, his hard work in the clubs paid off, and he had a gig on Johnny Carson, which put him in the national picture. From here, he got record deals and quickly won several Grammies for his comedy albums.

Then, he started to break records. At times, he was the highest paid comedian in the nation, and with the television show I Spy, he became the first African American to play a lead role in an American television series. This fame led to even more successful albums, a return to college to get his PhD, and from all of this, the birth of one of his most famous creations, Fat Albert. From there, he went on to do a few failed television shows and successful movies, and this all set him up to be everyone’s favorite ugly-sweatered father, Cliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show. Here, he became the nation’s father and was the spearhead of one of the most successful comedies of all time. From there he made several other TV shows, some movies (like the memorable Ghost Dad and Leonard Part 6…shudder…), and wrote several best-selling books.

But apparently, while all this happening, he was also being a horrible predator. In 2014 when comedian Hannibal Burres accused Bill Cosby of being a rapist, the video clip went viral. Within weeks, 35 women had come out to say they had been raped, drugged, or assaulted by Bill Cosby over the past several decades. Eventually, the number rose to over 50 women, and finally, a trial occurred. It was ruled a mistrial, but then the second trial went down, and he was found guilty on three counts of aggravated sexual assault. As of this recording, we don’t know what his sentence is yet, but his story is the ultimate rise and fall, from majesty to molestation. Oh, and you might even hear Dave sing the theme song to Fat Albert and Brad sing the theme song to Cheers!

Eddie Murphy’s Burn on Cosby at the Twain Award: