Nov. 15, 1964 - Bill Cosby, the 26‐year‐old Negro comic who went from Greenwich Village to East Basin Street within two years, will be the co‐star of a TV series.
Cosby has been signed to appear opposite Robert Culp next season on NBC’s international intrigue series, “I Spy.” They will play CIA agents whose undercover work takes them around the world.
In the show, Culp will be passing as a tennis bum. Cosby will be his trainer and traveling companion. He will be represented as speaking seven languages. The show will begin production in Hong Kong in March, where one week of shooting has already been completed.
“[Producer] Leonard [Sheldon] thought it was time that a Negro and a white could play together in a series that did not have any racial overtones,” Cosby said today. “The public, he believes, will accept my casting.”
Cosby’s nightclub career began in New York three summers ago when he was telling topical jokes at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village. Cosby, a physical education major at Temple University, used his summer employment to polish his style, collect new material, and earn money for the fall semester.
After his successful engagement at the Gaslight, Cosby played the major clubs. Last year, he made about 20 appearances on T.V. He is scheduled to be on “The Andy Williams Show,” “The Jack Paar Show,” “Tonight,” and “The Jimmy Dean Show.”
“If I have any potential as an actor,” Cosby said, “if I’m better than average, then I’d like to continue acting in movies and on television. If it doesn’t work out, I can always be a comic.”
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