Columnist Joe Delaney: Retracing Cosby’s career from Philly forward

Joe Delaney

Friday, Aug. 11, 2000 | 9:01 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@lasvegassun.com

Avuncular, a comedic conversationalist, a kid who grew up in a Philadelphia projects area, a two-time high school dropout, a bartender who talked a lot but didn't drink, a comedic interpreter of the Bible, once called the "Jackie Robinson of TV," who, in the 1980's, gave new life to the sitcom and to NBC simultaneously. Bill Cosby is back in town, at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, tonight and Saturday.

Cos did return and earn his high school diploma equivalent and, later, graduated from Temple University ... We first were aware of him working coffee houses in New York City along with Woody Allen and Joan Rivers ... He was a Las Vegas Hilton mainstay in the 1970s and 1980s.

It was Cosby who got Rivers her first shot on the Johnny Carson "Tonight" show as a comedy writer/comedian ... "The Cosby Show" dominated NBC from September 1984 to September 1992 and set new records for gross income for both Cosby and NBC when the show went into syndication.

The Hilton years

Our relationship was quite close during the Hilton years ... Cos arranged for our daughter Kathleen to have an athletic scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania, which she declined, opting to go for a law degree ... In the 1970s we put together a documentary involving students at Vegas Verdes Elementary School, plus a hilarious Halloween story and a day in his life at the Hilton, for PBS locally.

One evening at dinner, Cosby had a surprise guest, movie star Pat O'Brien, who was going to be honored in Ireland ... O'Brien had never been to Ireland, and I prepped him for his trip and received a very warm "Thank you" note when he returned home to Hollywood.

Another special Hilton evening had us telling Lenny Bruce stories to Dustin Hoffman, who portrayed Lenny in the film ... Another time, Dizzy Gillespie joined us for a long, very funny discussion about jazz.

Cosby, concluded

His television career has spanned four decades ... His comedy albums have earned him five Grammy Awards ... He has made excellent films but has never achieved comparative acclaim ... It is onstage and in person that he excels, needing only a chair, a microphone, a cigar and an ashtray as he converses with the audience, much like a visit at home with a longtime, well-loved close friend or member of the family.

An accomplished author, Cosby has had a number of best sellers including "Fatherhood," which was on the New York Times list for 54 consecutive weeks, most of the time as No. 1 nationally.

His recent Las Vegas visits have been infrequent and only for one or two days at a time ... The Mandalay Bay Theatre should be full both tonight and Saturday and the laughs as always, nonstop ... Welcome back, Bill.

Closing notes

The Mike Breene Trio with Mike on piano, Bob Badgley, bass and Santo Savino, drums, ends a long, very happy run at the Santa Fe on Sept. 3 ... They should be kept on ... For now, this leaves just the Joe Lano Trio in the Paris Las Vegas' Napoleon Bar as six-day-a-week regulars, playing tasty jazz in a warm, conducive setting.

Recommended: Sonny King, Lezlie Anders and Rick Michel at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Monday in Addison's Lounge at the Regent Las Vegas ... See you next Thursday.