| Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as |
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| Genre | Slice of Life |
| Created by | Bill Cosby |
| Developed by | Bill Cosby |
| Directed by | Hal Sutherland |
| Creative director | Don Christensen |
| Starring | Bill Cosby |
| Voices of |
|
| Narrated by | Bill Cosby |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme | "Gonna Have A Good Time (Fat Albert Theme)" (Performed by Michael Gray) |
| Ending theme | "Gonna have a Good Time (Fat Albert Theme)" (Instrumental) |
| Composer | Ricky Sheldon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 110 + 5 specials (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Bill Cosby |
| Producers |
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| Production location | California |
| Editor | Lou Scheimer |
| Camera setup | N/A |
| Running time | 20 minutes (regular episodes) |
| Production company | Filmation |
| Original release | |
| Network |
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| Release | September 9, 1972 – August 10, 1985 |
| Related | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (often referred to simply as Fat Albert) is an educational American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972[1] and aired until 1985 (with new episodes being produced sporadically during that time frame). The show, based on Cosby's remembrances of his childhood gang, focused on Fat Albert (known for his catchphrase "Hey hey hey!"), and his friends.[2]
The show features an educational lesson in each episode, emphasized by Cosby's live-action segments. In addition, at the end of the early episodes, the gang typically joins in their North Philadelphia junkyard to play a song on their cobbled-together instruments, summarizing the show's lesson.[2]
The New York Times noted that the show "enjoyed enormous success" throughout its run.[3] The show's success led Cosby to create a second animated series, Little Bill, in the late 1990s.[4] Little Bill was intentionally designed to be visually different from Fat Albert, while retaining similar educational lessons and roots in Cosby's childhood experiences.[4]
- ^ William Henry Cosby, "An Integration of the Visual Media Via "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning" (January 1, 1976). Electronic Doctoral Dissertations for UMass Amherst. Paper AAI7706369. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI7706369
- ^ a b CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (December 24, 2004). "Return of the Rotund Guy (No, Not Santa)". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Owen, Rob (November 29, 1999). "'Little Bill' takes aim at kids, not merchandise". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
26 episodes (52 stories) in its first season
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