Week of November 13: The Full Measure of Bill Cosby

One of the most frustrating things about PBS' version of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Award for Humor being given to Bill Cosby is that so much was edited out. So good in tributes for Bob Newhart, Billy Crystal and others, the 90-minute program didn't seem to be long enough for the full fabric of Cosby's career.

That illustrates just how much Cosby's done.

The PBS special did show Cosby's famous "Noah" routine, and standup was how he began his career. Of course, scenes from the classic "The Cosby Show" were also shown. Here's what PBS viewers didn't see, or see much of:

*For whatever reason, the special gave short shrift to "I Spy," the groundbreaking NBC series that teamed Cosby up with Robert Culp (Where was Culp, by the way?). Culp played Kelly Robinson and Cosby played Alexander Scott - two spies undercover as a tennis star (Culp) and his trainer (Cosby). It was the first successful series with an African-American as one of the leads. It was also the first series to go on location - a lot. It was not unusual to see Robinson and Scott in Hong Kong, or other exotic places.

Cosby won three Emmys for his role. Years later, he and Culp teamed up as the characters again for a television movie. And a 1987 episode of "The Cosby Show" in which Culp guest-starred featured his character playing Scott Kelly, a friend of Cosby's Cliff Huxtable who had just had open-heart surgery. Actress-dancer-choreographer Ann Reinking played Culp's wife in that episode.

The entire series is available on DVD, and the first season can be seen on Hulu.com.

*Cosby starred as phys-ed teacher Chet Kincaid in "The Bill Cosby Show," also for NBC, for two seasons from 1969-71. The show did not have a laugh track, unusual for comedies of that time. The first season is available on DVD.

*Cosby was featured in the original version of PBS' "The Electric Company," geared toward elementary school children and also featuring Rita Moreno (who would co-star later with Cosby in NBC's brief "The Cosby Mysteries") and Morgan Freeman. Cosby was also seen on "Sesame Street."

*HEY! HEY! HEY! Where were "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" in that PBS special? Fat Albert was a character in Cosby's standup routines, and the animated series, which ran on CBS from 1972-85 (and later on NBC during the run of "The Cosby Show"), was loosely based on Cosby's youth in Philadelphia; characters included Cosby as a teen and his brother, Russell. It mixed humor and education, and Cosby voiced many of the characters. Here's a link to the original open for the series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btb_pAoTkfM

*Cosby would have comedy success during the 1990s with CBS' "Cosby," loosely based on the British series "One Foot In the Grave." Cosby played Hilton Lucas, who had been laid off his job. The show, which ran from 1996-2000, once again teamed him with Phylicia Rashad, who had played Claire Huxtable, and also starred Madeline Kahn, who died of ovarian cancer several years into the show's run. "Cosby" guest-starred many people who had worked with Cosby before, including Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. The show has not been released on DVD.

*While "The Cosby Show" was mentioned on the PBS series, this look wouldn't be complete without it. One of the greatest sitcoms in television history, the show ran from 1984-92 on NBC. Here's the full "Regular People" scene from the pilot episode between Cliff and Theo (Malcolm Jamal-Warner):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7avCwhKtE7g&feature=related

And of course, a link to la famille Huxtable lip-synching to Ray Charles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSvGdfOfLFw

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!