Blogpost #17

Welcome, Bill Cosby Fans! This week's program is an hour-long tribute to Mr. Cosby in honor of his 72nd birthday. We'll be listening to rare full-length clips from his early TV appearances. The photo here dates from 1968, when he was hosting a daily 5-minute radio comedy series for Coca-Cola.

First, we'll hear Mr. Cosby's prime-time debut on the Jack Paar Program from October 4, 1963, taken from the DVD collection "Time-Life Presents The Golden Age Of Comedy" (currently out of stock at Amazon.com). Cosby debuts his "Noah" routine.

Next, it's the Dean Martin Show from February 10, 1966, taken from volume four of the "Best Of The Dean Martin Variety Show" collection on DVD (long out of print but available from Amazon.com). Cosby debuts his "Revenge" routine.

Next, it's another Jack Paar Program from May 8, 1964. Cosby returns with a monologue on movie characters. This comes from "The Jack Paar Collection" on DVD (still available at Amazon.com).

Next, it's Bill Cosby with Diana Ross and the Jackson Five on "Diana" (a Music-Variety Special) from April 18, 1971. The TV show has never been legally available, but the TV Soundtrack Album has been available on LP since 1971.

Next, it's a collection of sketches from The Electric Company, an Educational-Comedy Series that aired on PBS during 1971-76. Cosby was a cast member for the first season only. You'll find two volumes of "The Best Of The Electric Company" on DVD at Amazon.com. Listen for Rita Moreno as Otto the Director, Jim Boyd as the Mission Control Director, Morgan Freeman as the Angry Man and Skip Hinnant as Fargo North, Decoder.

Next, it's two unedited segments of The Dick Cavett Show (a Talk-Variety Series) from February 21, 1973 with Cosby's comedy idol Jack Benny sitting in. This comes from The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends on DVD (still available at Amazon.com).

Finally, it's a rare clip from The New Bill Cosby Show (a Comedy-Variety Series) from February 19, 1973 featuring Cosby's only on-camera interview with Groucho Marx. This clip comes from a documentary called The Unknown Marx Brothers on DVD, which is long out of print.

Next week: the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. See you then!