The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
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TV Show Information
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The Cosby Show is an American sitcom starring Bill Cosby.
History[edit]
When Bleeding Gums Murphy was at Springfield General Hospital, Lisa asked him when he had last worked. Murphy replied that it was in 1986 when he made a guest appearance on The Cosby Show.
In the Cosby episode where Murphy appeared as a guest, Bill Cosby introduced him to the kids as "Grampa Murphy." The kids said that they already had three grampas, and Cosby countered with, "This one's a great jazz musician." The kids then replied (in a bored and indifferent manner), "Oh, they all are." In response, Cosby went into a monologue where he said that kids weren't into jazz music anymore because they listened to "the rap music which gives them the brain damage." He then compared jazz music to commercial products such as Jell-O Pudding Pops, Kodak film, and New Coke.
Bleeding Gums didn't have any lines in his guest appearance; all he got to do was stand there holding his saxophone while Cosby talked.
Behind the Laughter[edit]
- The Cosby Show is a real TV show which aired from 1984 to 1992. For a few years, it was a competitor of The Simpsons.
- In the episode, the Cosby character compares jazz music to Jell-O Pudding Pops, Kodak film and New Coke. In real life, Bill Cosby was involved in advertising all three products.
- The Cosby character's line about rap music giving children brain damage is a reference to the line "All children have brain damage!" from Cosby's real-life comedy album and film Bill Cosby: Himself.
Simpsons Farewell[edit]
Around May 1992, which is when The Cosby Show last aired, The Simpsons' producers added a tiny clip at the end of a rerun of "Three Men and a Comic Book" a few seconds after the credits. In it, Homer and Bart are watching TV when an image of Cosby (captioned with the show's title and original-run airdates) appears. Homer and Bart then have the following conversation:
- Homer: Little Theo, you grew up before our eyes.
- Bart: Hey Dad, how come they're taking The Cosby Show off the air?
- Homer: Because Mr. Cosby wanted to stop before the quality suffered.
- Bart: Quality, shmuality! If I had a TV show I'd run that sucker down to the ground!
- Homer: Amen, boy. Amen.
