49 Fun Facts About The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show followed which family?

They lived in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone.

On which network did The Cosby Show air?

ABC's president had passed on it first.

What is Cliff Huxtable's profession?

He is the son of a prominent jazz trombonist.

What is Clair Huxtable's profession?

Cosby originally pitched her as an electrician before changing the family to well-off.

Who played Clair Huxtable?

Her portrayal sparked a wave of TV working mothers dubbed the 'Clair Huxtable effect'.

In which New York City borough is the Huxtable home set?

The exterior, though, was a Greenwich Village brownstone in Manhattan.

How many children do Cliff and Clair have (after the pilot)?

The pilot had four; eldest daughter Sondra was added later.

What are the Huxtable children's names?

Only Theo is a boy.

Which real-life issue did Theo's storyline explore, inspired by Cosby's son?

Cosby's son Ennis was dyslexic.

Who played Theo Huxtable?

He later called the show's legacy 'tarnished'.

Who played Rudy, the youngest Huxtable?

She was one of the youngest Emmy nominees in history.

Who played Vanessa Huxtable?

Raven-Symone joined later as the toddler Olivia.

Which future star played toddler Olivia Kendall from season six?

Olivia was the stepdaughter of Denise's husband Martin.

Who is Sondra's husband, father of twins Nelson and Winnie?

Geoffrey Owens played him; Sondra and Elvin have twins Nelson and Winnie.

What is Theo's best friend nicknamed?

Chris Rock was considered for the role, which went to Carl Payne.

For how many consecutive seasons was The Cosby Show television's top-rated show?

Only it and All in the Family have finished number one for five straight seasons.

The Cosby Show is the only scripted show with a predominantly Black cast to do what?

And it did so more than once.

Which production company, run by two ex-ABC executives, made the show?

Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner had overseen Mork & Mindy and Three's Company at ABC.

What were Cosby's original blue-collar jobs for the parents before Camille Cosby changed them?

His wife suggested making the family well-off instead.

Cosby insisted the show be taped in which place, unusually for the time?

Most TV was taped in Los Angeles; Cosby wanted New York.

Which recently-crowned pageant winner did Cosby want to play Sondra?

Pageant rules blocked her from taking the role.

Which singer was considered for a Huxtable daughter but chose a music career instead?

She wanted to be a full-time recording artist.

The Cosby Show's theme, 'Kiss Me', was co-written by Cosby and whom?

A jazz vocalist performed a later a cappella version.

Which 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' singer performed the season-four theme?

Seven versions of the theme were used across the run.

The spin-off A Different World was built around which Huxtable daughter?

She attends the fictional Hillman College.

What is the name of the fictional HBCU in A Different World?

Cliff, Clair and Cliff's father all graduated from it.

After Lisa Bonet left, A Different World centred on which two characters?

Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison played them.

Who was hired to revamp A Different World, a sister of the actress who played Clair?

She is a Howard University alumna.

Which future Oscar winner had an early role in the spin-off's first season?

She was released from the show after the first season.

Why was the lead written out of A Different World after season one?

Producers felt viewers wouldn't accept the character as an unwed mother.

During which national event did The Cosby Show's series finale air in 1992?

Cosby pleaded for peace in the media at the time.

What did the sweaters Cosby wore as Cliff become?

They were briefly revived in the early 2010s.

In the Italian dub, the family's surname was changed to what?

The show aired there as I Robinson.

On which night and at what time did The Cosby Show air for all eight seasons?

It anchored NBC's Thursday lineup ahead of Family Ties and Cheers.

Which stand-up comedian was considered for Theo's best friend before Carl Payne got it?

The part went to Carl Payne instead.

What is Cliff Huxtable's father, in the show's backstory?

The show frequently celebrated Black jazz greats like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington.

Which sitcom does Entertainment Weekly credit The Cosby Show with helping make possible?

It cited a wider variety of shows with predominantly Black casts, from In Living Color onward.

What was Cliff's first name spelled out as, after being 'Clifford' early on?

Vanessa even calls Theo 'Teddy' in the pilot.

Roughly how many episodes of The Cosby Show were made?

That spans eight seasons plus an outtakes special.

Which anti-apartheid leader told Rashad the show was watched by inmates in prison?

He said he was 'eternally grateful' for the show's influence.

Which critic argued the show let white audiences think racism was a thing of the past?

Others praised it for breaking stereotypes.

What nickname did Cliff's actor earn for the role?

TV Guide later named Cliff the Greatest Television Dad.

At which fictional street address is the Huxtable home?

The real exterior was 10 St. Luke's Place in Greenwich Village.

Who played eldest daughter Sondra?

Her character was added after the pilot to show a college-graduate child.

Besides The Cosby Show, which two programmes topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive seasons?

TV Guide called the show 'TV's biggest hit in the 1980s' and said it almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre.

The brownstone used for the Huxtable home's exterior actually stands in which Manhattan neighbourhood?

The townhouse at 10 Leroy Street stood in for the fictional 10 Stigwood Avenue in Brooklyn Heights.

After NBC sold its Brooklyn facility, production of The Cosby Show moved to which Queens location?

The season seven opening was filmed there in August 1990 but replaced over legal complications with a background mural.

Roughly how much total television revenue had The Cosby Show generated?

That included about $1 billion from advertisements and $1.5 billion from syndication, which began in September 1988.

Which network pulled the show on 26 April 2018, the day Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault?

TV Land had dropped the series back in November 2014; Bounce had resumed airing it in December 2016.