Bill Cosby House in Pacific Palisades

William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the situation comedy The Bill Cosby Show. He was one of the major characters on the children's television seriesThe Electric Company for its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby has also acted in a number of films.

During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in what is considered to be one of the decade's defining sitcoms, The Cosby Show, which aired eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. He also produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which became second to The Cosby Show in ratings. He starred in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons.

He has been a sought-after spokesman, and has endorsed a number of products, including Jell-O, Kodak film, Ford, Texas Instruments, andCoca-Cola, including New Coke. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante included him in his book, the 100 Greatest African Americans.^[1]

In 1976, Cosby earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts. For his doctoral research, he wrote a dissertation entitled, "An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning"

Donald Trump: Bill Cosby Is Not 'Honest'

Donald Trump fired back angrily at Bill Cosby for his harsh comments about Trump on the "Today" show last week.

Cosby stunned "Today" host Meredith Vieira into silence last Thursday when he said that Trump was "full of it" and should either "run" for president or "shut up."

In a statement, Trump said that he had never been a fan of Cosby's, but had always gotten along well with him when he ran into the TV legend. Therefore, he said, he was "surprised to hear [Cosby] blabber somewhat incoherently 'you run or shut up.' The hatred was pouring out of his eyes when he said this."

Trump also seemed to imply that something was wrong with Cosby's health--mental or otherwise. "Based on the way he acted, things are not looking too good for Cosby," he wrote. He said that Cosby should be "more honest" in his dealings with him.

Trump has acquired something of a reputation for the scorched-earth letters he sends to his critics. In the past few weeks alone, he sent a blistering missive to New York Times columnist Gail Collins, as well as an angry letter to Vanity Fair.

Read the full statement below:

The other day on The Today Show, right after I was interviewed by Meredith Vieira, a terrific person and reporter, I happened to watch Bill Cosby who was on at the end of the show. While I have never been a fan of Cosby's, I had always assumed he liked or respected me because every time I met him--the last time at the David Letterman show where I preceded him as a guest--he was always so nice, saying "let's get together"--asking me out to dinner, and being polite to the point of offering to buy me a suit because he has a "great tailor."

In any event, as I watched the show, the subject of Donald Trump came up. I was surprised to hear him blabber, somewhat incoherently "you run or shut up." The hatred was pouring out of his eyes when he said this. As I am sure he must know I cannot run until this season of Celebrity Apprentice ends. I know that he has taken a lot of heat over the years in that he seems to be talking down to the people he's talking to and purportedly trying to help. Actually, based on the way he acted, things are not looking too good for Cosby.

I wish he would be more honest, and if he doesn't want me to run because he's obviously an Obama fan, he should state the reasons and not come into my "green room" in front of numerous witnesses and treat me like his best friend, only to denigrate me when I'm not around. Sadly, he got more attention talking about me than he did on the merits of his own appearance--maybe he is not as dumb as I thought

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