Cosby's comedy comes to Canyon

Helena Rodriguez

America’s favorite TV dad and premiere comedian is expected to bring a sell-out crowd to West Texas A&M University in Canyon.

Bill Cosby’s performance is slated for 7 p.m. (Central time) on Oct. 9, inside the University Event Center in Canyon. The performance will officially kick off WTA&M’s homecoming activities.

“Tickets for reserved seating are almost sold out and we are approaching a sell-out crowd overall,” said Justin Grimsley, Event and Marketing Coordinator at West Texas A&M. He said the 2-year-old event center can hold up to 5,014 people.

Grimsley said Cosby proved to be an overwhelmingly popular choice to bring to campus.

“We decided that Bill Cosby offered appeal, not only to our students, because off his stance on education, but for the community as well,” Grimsley said.

Cosby — a multiple-Emmy and Grammy Awards winner, New York Times best-seller, and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree — has been placed among the ranks of other great American comedians, including Charlie Chaplin, Will Rogers and Groucho Marx.

Cosby is considered one of the more influential stars in America with his unique way of bringing out the humor in everyday faults and successes that many can relate to, according to a press release from WTAMU. Without the use of gimmicks, cheap laughs or offensive language, Cosby has managed to keep Americans laughing for decades, the release said. His biggest impact, however, came during his 1984-92 television series, “The Cosby Show,” in which he uttered one of many unforgettable lines, “I’m your father. I brought you into this world, and I can take you right back out.”

Life magazine wrote about the Cosby show, “Cosby’s success may have changed the game as well as the scores. Before his show hit the air, many viewers had rejected prime time television as an electronic wasteland of crime, slime, glitz and glands.”

The magazine also wrote, “What Cosby offered instead was a gentle, whimsical, warm-hearted sitcom about family life that found humor in the little things that happen in every home and everlasting value in the love and trust that exist between parents and children.”

Following his successful TV show, Cosby proved he could sell more than Jell-o. He also penned best-selling books, including “Fatherhood” and “Time Flies” and has even authored a children’s book series, “Little Bill.”

Prior to the Cosby Show, the actor had already established himself as a proven comic through his successes on the “I Spy” movie and “The Fat Albert Show.” Cosby is also known for his involvement with “Kids Say the Darndest Things” and “The Cosby Mysteries” TV shows.