Professor Elam

Friday March 18, 2011

No not the one in the 1980s about the Huxtables, the short lived two season Bill Cosby Show from 1969-70

 which followed Cosby's success on I Spy. Interestingly the co creator of this show would help fashion the latter Hustables show in 1984. By that time the bear market had ended and upbeat outlook was in fashion.  The result of course was a smash hit as it was in tune with the prevailing mood. 

We recently did a presentation using Socionomics, the social science of prediction based on exogenously formed mood, to examine the careers of Black Entertainers. We noted that Cosby was a bull market figure. He came to prominence in the mid 1960s and I Spy went off the air in 1967 as the mood turned more negative. He had clout at this point but even that apparently faded in his arguments with NBC over including  a laugh track in the series, he did not want one. The description says this may have been the reason the highly regarded series was not renewed. We would contend that Cosby's typically family friendly  upbeat outlook was out of step with Woodstock, Viet Nam, and the Chicago Seven that were grabbing headlines at the time. 

In the link above note the power cast Cicely Tyson and a music track by Quincy  Jones no less. His star power was such that he attracted Wally Cox, Lou Gossett Jr. and Henry Fonda as guests. This is an interesting addition to the transition from Cosby's hit comedy spot in 1964, Noah, to the dark side of the human experience showcased by Richard Pryor.