Actor
Dr. William H. Cosby, Jr. is truly a Renaissance man. In his illustrious career he's enjoyed success in many diverse fields, including stand-up comedy, publishing, feature films, recording, education and, of course, television.

Bill Cosby began developing his knack for comedy at an early age. He based his first routines on his school pals, including "Fat Albert," "Weird Harold," and "Dumb Donald." In the 10th grade, Cosby dropped out of high school to he entered Philadelphia's Temple University. He left school and headed to New York to perform in Greenwich Village nightclubs. By 1963, he won a guest spot on The Tonight Show and shot to almost overnight success. By 1965, Cosby made the jump from stand-up comedy to television when he snagged one of the leading roles in I Spy opposite Robert Culp. His portrayal of the unflappable Alexander Scott won him three Emmy Awards.

In 1969 The Bill Cosby Show premiered, the first of many series bearing his name. Cosby was highly active in television throughout the 1970s, with a stint on The Electric Company, the animated Fat Albert as well as roles in The Cosby Kids, The New Bill Cosby Show and COS. His 1982 comedy performance "Bill Cosby: Himself" was a phenomenal success, garnering numerous awards and breaking a host of sales records. But it was 1984's The Cosby Show which would remain his most successful and beloved achievement. In its eight years on the air, The Cosby Show was a critical and ratings giant. The show single-handedly revived the failing sitcom genre. Cosby also developed and composed the theme music for the successful Cosby Show spinoff A Different World, which ran from 1987 to 1993.

After The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby showed no signs of slowing down. He hosted the short-lived revival of TV's You Bet Your Life, played gumshoe Guy Hanks in The Cosby Mysteries launched yet another self-titled sitcom, Cosby, in 1996 which ran for four seasons. Cosby is the author of the best-selling books Fatherhood, Time Flies and Childhood.

Character
Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable (Bill Cosby), lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York. He was born in October 1937 in Philadelphia, making him 47 years old at the beginning of the series. Cliff had a brother, James Theodore Huxtable, who died of rheumatic fever at the age of 7. In his high school and college years, he was an athlete who played wrestling, football, and track. He later served in the Navy before going to medical school. He is an OB/GYN who runs a practice from the office annexed to his home. In the show, most characters outside of family and friends refer to him as "Dr. Huxtable", and he is well-respected in the community.

Cliff is married to Clair Huxtable. Both Cliff and Clair attended the fictional Hillman College. Together, they have five children: Sondra, Denise, Theodore (Theo), Vanessa, and Rudith (Rudy). Cliff enjoys live jazz, has an extensive collection of albums, and tries to eat junk food whenever he can get away with it.

Cliff is very eccentric and silly to most people around him, especially his family. Despite this, he is very kind-hearted and an extremely dedicated father with a strong sense of humor. Although he and his wife fostered a tight-knit, loving family, a running gag throughout the series is his thwarted attempts to get the grown children to leave the house.

Cliff is also very competitive, often making bets with Clair over various things, such as the date a certain jazz song was released, or having a "Smooth Contest" to see which of them looked more elegant for a night on the town, as judged by the children. He also plays a monthly game of pinochle against his father and some friends, which sometimes gets very passionate. Unfortunately, Cliff often finds himself on the losing end of most of his bets and games, as, for example, he has never beaten his father-in-law at chess. However, Cliff eventually broke his losing streak at pinochle against his father and his friend Homer Dobson with the help of Dr. Foster (played by Roscoe Lee Browne), who also happened to be his and Clair's literary professor at Hillman College. In the pilot episode, Cosby's character's full name is Clifford, as shown on a sign on the exterior of the house. His full name was subsequently changed to Heathcliff, even though in one episode Clair called him "Heathclifford", and he is commonly called "Cliff" throughout the series.

Originally, Cliff was to have worked as a chauffeur, with most of the humor coming from his interactions with customers. However, the show was changed before airing to have Cliff be a medical doctor, and the humor to come from his interactions with his family.

At many points in the series, Cliff makes the famous "Cosby face", in which he presses his lips tightly and rolls back his eyes.

The character is loosely based upon Cosby himself.