Bill Cosby Net Worth in 2024 and Biography

William H. Cosby Jr., popularly known as Bill Cosby, has achieved a legendary status in the field of entertainment that not many have been able to achieve. His successes span over a period of five decades in which he went on to win eight Gold Records, five Platinum records and five Grammy Awards. In the very beginning of his career, Cosby emerged as a sensation, spawning a string of hilarious, best-selling comedy albums. Cosby has in his name hit movies like Uptown Saturday Night and best-selling books like Fatherhood. The article provides interesting details about the comedian such as Bill Cosby net worth , biography, lesser-known facts and much more.

Bill Cosby Net Worth

Bill Cosby Biography

Bill Cosby Personal Life

William Cosby was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Anna Pearl and William Henry Cosby Sr. His father served as a mess steward in the US Navy and his mother was a maid. In school, Cosby was the class president and captain of both the baseball and track and field teams. His teachers noted his propensity for joking and Cosby was often described as the class clown. Cosby also acted in plays at school and continued to compete in sports.

Cosby is married to producer and philanthropist Camille Hanks since 1964 and the couple had five children- one son and four daughters. Their only son was murdered in 1997 while changing a flat tire on the side of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles and one daughter died of renal disease in 2018 while awaiting a kidney transplant.

Early Career- Stand-up Comedy and Television

Cosby started his career as stand-up comedian at clubs in Philadelphia and later in the beginning of 1961 moved to New York City, where he performed at The Gaslight Cafe. He soon got popular with his performances going in cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

Bill got national exposure in 1963 when he appeared on the NBC’s The Tonight Show. Cosby performed his first TV stand-up special Bill Cosby: Far from Finished, on Comedy Central in 2013, i.e. 30 years after the starting of his career. The next year Cosby was set to release his new stand-up special Bill Cosby 77 on Netflix but the release was canceled due to allegations of sexual assault against Cosby. His most recent stand-up performance was at  the LaRose Jazz Club in Philadelphia in 2018 which was prior to his conviction.

Bill Cosby Stand-up albums

Bill Cosby had produced numerous top-selling comedy albums in his career as a comedian. Check out these popular stand-up albums made by Bill Cosby over years.

Awards and Honors in Cosby’s name

For his contribution to the entertainment industry, Cosby has been presented with 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, 8 Grammy Awards, 2 Daytime Emmy Awards and 2 Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002, Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2003 and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977. Due to the sexual assault allegations against him, Cosby’s numerous awards and honors have been rescinded.

Interesting facts about Bill Cosby

Check out some lesser-known facts about entertainer Bill Cosby:

1. Cosby is the first black performer to win an Emmy Award.
2. He is one of the best-selling authors.
3. Cosby broke Radio City’s 53-year-old attendance record for his concert appearance (1986).
4. Cosby named his every child with letter E, where E stands for Excellence.
5. His wife Camille Hanks is related to Tom Hanks. She shares lineage with Abraham Lincoln through Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks.
6. Cosby has sang on a number of albums in the 1970s.
7. He was the first entertainer to win an Emmy Award, the Spingarn Medal and the Mark Twain Prize.

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