Bill Cosby has not aged gently. There’s been the sex scandal; the rambling, often incoherent lecture tours; and often, just the sense that here is a man whose entire world has gotten away from him. And that, friends, is a damned shame. It is a kind of common knowledge among Hollywood types that the worst thing some big stars can ever do is speak for themselves, and as The Cos has had more time on his hands ‘lo these last years, he’s often given truth to that old wisdom. But two things that have happened recently may just restore Old Cranky Cos back to The Cos We Once Knew And Loved Deeply. On Monday night, he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which is pretty much the most prestigious prize that can be granted to a comedian. Cosby had been offered the prize before, but turned it down after they gave it to Richard Pryor about ten years ago and swore in his acceptance speech at the ceremony. That The Cos would now accept shows perhaps a softening of his finger-wagging principles (to be fair, Cosby always had an issue with — and made a great case against, sometimes — comedians who felt the need to always work blue); it could also show an affinity for something his fans have known all along. In recent years, Cosby has turned complaining about These Kids Today into his own personal crusade, and in the process, he’s often made people forget that he is (or at least was) among the most beloved figures in American comedic history — and it’s about time we were reminded of that. Another thing that should work in the service of that is the recent release of The Cosby Show box set , a whopping 26-DVD set of every episode of the show’s eight-year run, plus loads of extras. Confession: Sometimes, late at night, when the party is over and everyone has gone home, reruns of The Cosby Show are the only thing that can make us feel whole again. To view that show (and indeed, that Cosby) today is to be reminded that there’s a sweetness and familiarity in this world that no modern predicaments can erase. With that in mind, let’s say something we haven’t been able to say much in these last few years: Thank you, Bill Cosby. After the jump, a YouTube look at The Cos through time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pm.