4 months ago
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Comedy's royalty turned out Monday night to pay tribute to iconic comedian Bill Cosby as he was awarded the annual Mark Twain Prize in a ceremony taped for broadcast next month on PBS.
"He is the greatest comedian of all time," said Jerry Seinfeld in a Red Carpet interview with 9News Now before the taping began.
"He is a special man, a very special man, a very special treasure. I think what people don't understand about Bill, Bill took a hit in the 60s and 70s, not just from whites but from blacks, for his style of comedy. I think both groups got mad. He walked his own path. He was his own man, so I think people need to know this is a very special man. He never changed who he was. He didn't care what folks were saying. He just walked his path, and did it," said comedian Sinbad.
"It was a big thrill for me just to meet him...there's nobody else like him, he's so distinct," said comedian Stephen Wright.
Cosby has had a social impact in his long career, becoming the first African-American to star in an NBC Primetime drama I Spy in the 1960's. Castmates in his popular 80's situation comedy believe there is a legacy future generations will realize when they see his work.
"In all of his work he has clearly demonstrated that human beings are much more alike than we could ever be different," said Phylicia Rashad, who played Cosby's wife in that sitcom.
"He's really shaped a lot of who I am, and there's a lot that I've learned from him, just in terms of integrity, for example. Integrity is a big thing, especially in a business where people are quick to compromise their integrity.
"In terms of how I carry myself as a man, how I carry myself living in the public arena, in the public eye, there is no handbook for that. There is no course for that, but he was a very integral part of showing me how to live in the public eye, under the power and clout that comes with being famous," said Malcolm-Jamal Warner who, as a child, played Cosby's tv son.
Washington's Dick Gregory, who broke comedy barriers by appearing in previously all-white clubs says Cosby made it easier for the black comedians who followed.
"When you go back and look at Dick Gregory's record, they always said Negro comic. When Bill Cosby made it to the top because of his genius on tv, or telling a story, the word Negro was dropped and we just became comics," Gregory said.
