Fat Albert & Da Cosby Kids In Da House

Fat Albert first appeared as a character in Bill Cosby's stand-up comedy routines. He was supposedly one of the kids in the Philadelphia neighborhood where Cosby grew up. He was so popular with audiences in the 1960s and early '70s, that in 1972 he became the star of the Saturday morning animated TV show on CBS. Fat Albert ran as a network show for a phenomenal twelve years, with new episodes produced during the first five. It even got an Emmy Award nomination in 1974. In addition, Gold Key Comics did a comic book adaptation of it, which ran 29 issues, from 1974-79.

This series has Fat Albert and the gang of buddies dealing with the day-to-day problems confronted by children everywhere. Featuring Bill Cosby, the shows emphasize values and how to work through problem situations. Topics range from dealing with bullies and drugs to the arrival of a new sister or brother; from prejudice to learning to read; from the importance of studying to embarrassment over a father's job.

In addition to speaking through the animated Fat Albert gang, Bill Cosby directly addresses viewers, guiding them in understanding the dilemmas and solutions dealt with by Fat Albert and his friends."Learnin' from each other, while we do our thing..."

Live action bumpers featuring Bill Cosby were set around animated episodes of Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids, a series about a group of urban kids growing up in a Philadelphia neighborhood. The show was based on Cosby’s 60's stand up comedy monologues about his childhood.

The episodes revolved around the daily life lessons learned by Albert and his friends. Topics ranged from social issues to personal introspection and were blended with humor and music. Among the many great characters that inhabited Fat Albert’s world were Rudy, Mushmouth, Donald, Bill, Weird Harold and Russell.

In 1979 the show was re-titled The New Fat Albert Show and featured a new segment called The Brown Hornet, a send-up of superhero cartoons starring a larger-than-life African-American crime fighter in outer space.

Bill Cosby lent his voice to many of the Fat Albert characters, playing Fat Albert, Bill, Mushmouth, Mudfoot and the Brown Hornet.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids enjoyed one of the longest careers in Saturday morning cartoon history, running for twelve consecutive years; a record bested only by the many incarnations of Scooby-Doo. The show initially ran on CBS from 1972-1984, but moved to NBC in syndication for one year in 1989.

"Na-na-na, gonna have a good time,
Hey, hey hey!"

The Theme To Fat Albert

Hey, hey, hey, it's Fat Albert...and I'm gonna sing a song for you...And we're gonna tell you a thing or twooo...Come join da fun now with me and all da gang....learning from each other while we do out thanggg...naahh..naaah..naah..have a good time..hey..hey..hey...

CONFLICT

1.Nobody Likes a Bully -- The Cosby Kids realize that the neighborhood bully just wants attention and friendship.

2.Talk -- Don't Fight -- A fight between gangs results in a death, making all of them realize the price they have all paid.

3.The Hero -- Cool or Fool? -- A man the kids look up to gets them into trouble before they finally wise up.

PREJUDICE

4.I Can Do It Myself! -- The gang tries to make friends with a distant, independent boy, confined to a wheelchair, who refuses their help.

5.Everybody's Different and That's OK! -- The kids finally accept a girl from the South, even though she is very different in many ways.

6.Old Folks Are A-Okay! -- After being treated to soda and cookies on Halloween, Fat Albert and the gang learn that they have the wrong impression of old people.

7.Who Is an American? -- The kids learn that being a good American has little to do with where you were born or what accent you have.

FAMILY

8.Mom Deserves Some Thanks -- After struggling to get his chores done, Fat Albert learns to appreciate all the things his mother does.

9.Mom and Pop Split Up -- The gang helps Flora through the divorce of her parents.

10.Baby on the Way -- After initially resisting the idea of having a new baby brother or sister, Dumb Donald decides that he loves having his new baby sister around.

11.Dad's Job Is Cool -- The gangs teacher has them spend a day on the job with their dads.

SAFETY

12.Signs Are for Safety -- Fat Albert convinces Cool Roy that moving and changing signs is dangerous.

13.Bicycle Rules É Safety First -- After a serious bike accident, the boys finally learn that a cyclist who ignores the rules is a danger to himself and a threat to others.

14.Beware of Strangers -- Hank sleeps through class and misses some important tips about how to avoid becoming a victim of dangerous strangers and finds himself in a bad situation.

15.Help Police Your Neighborhood -- The gang learns all about how to form a neighborhood watch and how the police work to keep people safe.

RESPONSIBILITY

16.Do Your Job Right -- The gang pressures Weird Harold to give them some free ice cream at the ice cream parlor where he has a summer job. But Harold learns that his job responsibilities come first.

17.Heart Attack -- Save a Life! -- Rudy chooses not to learn CPR and then runs into a situation where he doesn't know how to treat a man having a heart attack. Film approved by the American Heart Association.

18.Responsibility É The Only Way -- Weird Harold spends all his money after he becomes obsessed with playing video games and can't help pay for the gangs annual picnic.

19.TV or Not TV? -- Monroe learns the hard way that he can't spend all of his time watching TV.

SCHOOL

20.Study Makes the Grade -- Donald is tempted to cheat on an upcoming test.

21.Give School a Chance -- Rudy drops out of school, but is convinced by a local bum that success in life begins with a good education.

22.You Can Make It If You Try -- Thurman, a real klutz at sports, shares tips with the gang on how to study; they, in turn, teach him some athletic skills.

23.Reading Is the Way To Grow -- A gifted football athlete hides the fact that he canÕt read, but finally admits that he must learn how.

OTHER ISSUES

24.Only Fools Break the Rules -- The gang follows a boy into all kinds of dangerous mischief at an abandoned amusement park.

25.Going Into Business -- The boys are duped by a fraudulent ad for a free bicycle.

26.Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix -- Fat Albert helps a friend, who is also an outstanding soccer player, deal with a severe alcohol problem.

27.Clean Is Keen -- Russell and Fat Albert have to tell their friend Suede Simpson that he needs to take a bath.

28.Four Eyes -- Heywood finally admits that he can't see well and needs glasses; when he becomes a baseball hero, the gang realizes he has changed from a clumsy Humpty-Dumpty to the coolest kid in school.

29.Folk Tales -- After the gangs television set breaks, they discover that the library contains many stories they can read and tell to each other.

30.Write a Poem -- Share Your Feelings -- Fat Albert helps Richard overcome his fear of letting people know that he writes poetry, then reads one of Richard's poems at a school assembly.

More than 25 years ago, “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids” was one of television’s most-watched animated children’s shows. Sure, it owed part of its popularity to the creative genius of Bill Cosby. But it also was one of the first shows to teach pro-social behavior and life lessons to children, and for that, it owed its success to Gordon L. Berry.

Berry, a professor of counseling and student affairs in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and a faculty member in the Communication Studies Program in the College of Letters and Science, remembers when he was first approached by Lou Scheimer, then president of Filmation Studios.

“In 1972, Scheimer came to my office with the idea for a project he and Bill Cosby were putting together for CBS called ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,’” Berry recalled. “He said, ‘I’m coming to you because Bill and I want to do something good for kids with this show.’”

Berry immediately wrote a proposal that outlined ways in which the TV series could teach positive social values to children. The proposal was accepted, the show was launched and Berry’s interest in children’s television was piqued. “From that show, I began to realize the power of TV to teach these kinds of lessons to children,” he said.

Since then, Berry’s research has centered on the effects of TV on children’s development. He has written or coedited three books on the subject, including the recently published “Research Paradigms in the Study of Television and Social Behavior,” coedited with his former doctoral student, Joy Keiko Asamen. Berry’s affiliation with CBS has continued over the years, and today he heads the advisory board to the CBS network and its Children’s Programs Department.

“We’re there to make sure that CBS meets the new standards of the FCC, which mandated that all children’s programming be educational and informational,” said Berry. “We review the scripts and look at the language, the story line and whether or not it’s age-appropriate.”

Berry also has served as a consultant to NBC, KCET, Nickelodeon and the Children’s Television Workshop. He has advised the creators of such programs as “Beakman’s World,” “Sports Illustrated for Kids,” “Captain Kangaroo,” “Fraggle Rock,” and “Name Your Adventure.” His handbook, published by CBS, teaches television writers how to create educational programs.