Cosby: His Life and Times (BOOK REVIEW)
Cosby: His Life and Times
by Mark Whitaker
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover, $29.99
560 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-4516-9797-1
Book
Review by Kam Williams
“[Bill]
Cosby grew up in a Philadelphia
housing project, the son of an alcoholic, largely absent father and a loving
but overworked mother… After dropping out of high school, Cosby turned his life
around by joining the navy, talking his way into college, and seizing his first
break as a stand-up comedian.
Published
on the 30th anniversary of The Cosby Show, the book reveals the
behind-the-scenes story of that groundbreaking sitcom… But it also deals with
professional setbacks and personal dramas, from an affair that sparked public
scandal to the murder of his only son, and the private influence of his wife of
50 years, Camille.”
Excerpted
from the Book Jacket
Born and raised on a
rough side of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Dr. William Henry
Cosby, Jr. overcame a challenging childhood to enjoy a 50+ year career in show
business. Depending on your age, you might have been first introduced to this cultural
icon through his comedy albums, his stand-up appearances on TV, his co-starring
on “I Spy,” his guest hosting The Tonight Show, or one of his numerous other
television programs, especially The Cosby Show.
Nevertheless, there is
much more to the man than his public persona. For instance, over the same half-century,
he’s been married to Camille, the doting mom and influential partner who not
only helped raise their five kids but managed her hubby’s considerable finances.
Their enduring union
has been tested by everything from extortion to infidelity to the 1997 murder
of son Ennis to daughter Erinn’s drug addiction. All that and more is examined
in intimate detail in Cosby: His Life and Times, a revealing biography by Mark
Whitaker. The author, the former managing editor of CNN, was afforded unusual
access to Bill and scores of his colleagues and closest friends, including his
Cosby Show spouse, Phylicia Rashad.
In the book, we learn
that his big break arrived in the wake of his debut appearance on The Tonight
Show in August of 1963. Whitaker
later credits what he refers to as “The Cosby effect” with enabling Obama to
win the 2008 Presidential election. He argues that the
solidly middle-class Huxtables of The Cosby Show had subtly laid the groundwork
for the historic win by boosting the black community’s self-image to the point that
it could easily envision an African-American family occupying the White House.
I was surprised to
learn that Bill continues to do concert tours regularly, despite suffering from
glaucoma for the past two decades. Furthermore, he travels without any
entourage, bodyguard, publicist or manager, and the peripatetic performer even lugs
his own suitcase around during his travels.
The opus also addresses
those controversial remarks about race which generated blowback for Cosby, a
universally-admired role model who had previously been regarded more as a
liberal philanthropist than a blame-the-victim conservative. By this terrific
tome’s end, he’s back to the The Cos again, an accessible entertainer and
father figure winsome in his wonderfulness!
To order a copy of Cosby: His Life and Times, visit:
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