Tuesday August 23rd, 2011 - Fox Lake, IL Bill Cosby performed at The Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee on Sunday, and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there to enjoy it. If any one act in American standup comedy history is a real live honest to goodness living legend, it’s him. There’s Cosby, and everyone else. I don’t think most civilians realize how immense the scope of Bill Cosby’s talent really is. By far, he reaches the widest range of audience of anyone I’ve ever seen. His audience spans the gamut from kids to senior citizens, North to South and all colors of the rainbow. I often tell the story of how my grandfather took me against my will to see Cosby when I was probably 14 or 15 and thought I knew everything. He played at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, a very nice venue. I was very unimpressed when we got there to see nothing but a microphone and a chair on the stage. How was THAT going to entertain us? I don’t think I’d ever seen a live comedian work before that night, and to make it worse, there was a piano player that opened the show. I don’t remember how the piano got to the stage, but it did and I had to endure that - even though the guy was really good. His name was Walt Michaels, and I don’t have a clue as to why I still remember that now, but I do. Gramps looked at me when Walt was through and said “See? This isn’t so bad, is it?” It wasn’t, but I was a punk kid who wanted to see a wrestling cage match with The Crusher bouncing Mad Dog Vachon’s head off of a chain link fence or some other highbrow act. Then Bill Cosby came out, and my world was never the same. I can’t remember one bit he did, but every one of them were hilarious and he had Gramps, me and the entire house bent over in our chairs, clutching our sides and gasping for oxygen from laughing so hard. To this day, I’ve never seen anything come close to matching it as far as diversity of the audience with the possible exception of Victor Borge. Gramps took me to see him as well but by then I went willingly. After seeing Bill Cosby once, my faith in Gramps was solid. The review of this past Sunday’s performance said that there was also a mixed audience of all ages, and that Cosby did two and a half hours and had everyone laughing once again over thirty years later. I’ll bet some other grandpa took his grandson, and the cycle played out again. Maybe that kid will get the spark and go on to become a comedian like I did. My style of comedy is nothing like Bill Cosby’s, but very few people’s are. He’s created his own unique blend of storytelling mastery, facial expressions, rhythm, cadence and one hell of a stage presence that can’t be duplicated. Two and a half hours? That’s unheard of. I saw Jay Leno do over two hours once, and he was outstanding. But I have to think Jay would have to admit he’s no Bill Cosby. Nobody is, and nobody else ever will be. Even at 74, he’s still throwing heat apparently. I was in awe as a teenager, and after doing comedy myself over twenty five years I’m even more impressed now. Cosby is the king. Period.
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