Friday, April 27, 2018

Saturday School: Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids bond with their fathers (1973)

From season 2 of Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids:

The gang's reports about their fathers' jobs ring hollow when their teacher figures out they're exaggerating, and don't really know what their dads do for a living. Their next assignment? They go to work with their fathers for a day.



Notice the mustache & beard on Bill Cosby in the live-action segments. I think he was working on a movie at the time he taped these wraparounds.

It's unfortunate that we likely won't see these classic cartoons again on television in the wake of Cosby's conviction Thursday on sexual assault charges.

Rating: A.

3 comments:

Goldstar said...

I've never been a huge fan of Fat Albert, but it's indeed a shame about Bill Cosby's dark past and subsequent falling from grace, given all the good that Mr. Cosby has done for African-Americans over the decades. The Cosby Show represented a different side of blacks besides the street, urban types. It also showed that there are plenty of Blacks that live above the poverty line. This is one of those cases where I try to separate the man from his craft.

magicdog said...

It's possible Cosby was growing his beard for "Uptown Saturday Night", which was released in 1974. However it's much bushier in that film, so filming may not have begun yet.

I used to love this show. Despite having inner city blacks as protagonists, it was a show that could appeal to everyone and had lessons that were valuable to all. One of the things I liked about the public side of Bill Cosby was how he made a point to stick it to race pimps and the rap/hip-hop culture and how damaging they were to the black community. I couldn't help but notice how little things would crop up whenever Cosby made public lectures about their making fools of young blacks and keeping them on the proverbial plantation.

Cosby's extramarital affairs are nothing new (Camille has been willing to live with them for over 50 years) and I'm not surprised at his having so many dalliances. However I always had my doubts about if they were rapes. I'm suspicious of any woman who claims rape DECADES after the fact. Considering Gloria Allred is involved in this (one of the world's worst opportunists), and the judge in the trial having allowed the jury to make their own determination of whether or not this was a case of rape (he refused to give them the legal definition), it seems this was a forced guilty verdict.

People also seem to like to mention the pills and/or alcohol involved. While I do not approve of doping/spiking someone's drink, this may not be a case of that. People in the Hollywood crowd (and similar circles) often offer drugs or pills when they meet up with friends or dates. It's like when you or I would invite someone over and offer then a soda. They offer a drink and a valium (or whatever).

Still, it's a sorry situation for all involved.

hobbyfan said...

@Magicdog: I knew it was for a movie, just couldn't remember which one. Thanks.

Do you also think, then, that Cosby was railroaded because so many women came forward AFTER the initial accusers? Just to set an example?

@Goldstar: I agree that it is necessary to "separate the man from his craft", especially considering the awards he won for Fat Albert, I Spy, and likely also the original Electric Company, despite the fact that he didn't stick with the show too long, leaving to develop Fat Albert, as I recall.