Comedian inspires audience with good-natured humor

Just before 6 p.m. Saturday, the IU Auditorium was buzzing with anticipation to see Bill Cosby perform. The house was nearly full; however, it did not sell out. A probable cause for this, which even Cosby mentioned, was the basketball game taking place at the same time. People of all ages, from small children to seniors, came to see the legendary comedian of "The Cosby Show," "I Spy" and "Fat Albert." \n"I have seen Cosby on TV many, many times and always enjoyed him," said Bloomington resident Darl Miller, who attended the show. "I wanted to take this opportunity to see him in person, because I have heard that he is really good."\nFreshmen Kate Schonberger and Jen Na said they came to the show because they watched "The Cosby Show" growing up and thought they should take the opportunity to see if his live humor reflected what they remembered. \n"Coming here is a kind of walk down memory lane," Schonberger said.\nWhen Cosby came on stage, adorned in IU sweats and a pair of sneakers, the crowd went wild. He quickly informed everyone of the current game score. He then explained that he has been doing all of his performances in honor of Fred Rogers of "Mister Roger's Neighborhood" since the time of his death. He added that the show was also in honor of the men and women fighting for the United States, those who have lost their lives and those that had been wounded. He then left the stage and a tear-jerking version of "Ave Maria" was played while a sweatshirt that said, "Hello Friend," with an IU logo on it was spotlighted in the names of those he was honoring.\nOnce the audience dried their eyes, Cosby came back on stage and proclaimed it was about his 77th time performing at IU and there were still some people who had not graduated. From that moment on in the performance, there was not a time longer than two seconds when the whole audience was not erupting in laughter. \nThe show began with a discussion of college and the relationship between parents and children. Cosby pointed out that as students, we are actually without jobs and without real homes. This then introduced the idea that no real "functional" families exist, not even the first family of God, Adam and Eve, could be considered functional. He continued that the Bible must have left parts out of Genesis, such as Adam must have been stupid if Eve would rather converse with a snake than with him.\nThis topic easily led to talking about all fathers and what gifts their children give them. Cosby said fathers are sick and tired of getting mugs, soap-on-a-rope, ties and kids' drawings for Father's Day. These bad gifts need to stop, he said. The best gifts would be what fathers really want: Ferraris. \nCosby's tales of fatherhood led to telling the lessons his father taught him, or rather, did not teach him, about puberty. He said girls are always informed about what is going to happen to them and even get kits, while boys are never told and just assume they have something wrong with them. His tales of puberty included the first time he ever saw people kissing, his first round of spin-the-bottle and his own first kiss. \nThe show concluded with a hilarious conversation between a dentist and someone with his face numbed, Cosby perfectly performing both parts. Cosby then thanked the audience, and before he could finish his sentence, the entire audience was on their feet applauding wildly. \n"I loved it! Cosby is a great comedian, and this was one of the best acts I have ever seen of his," said freshman Emily Gage. \nArea resident Dan Goins was equally impressed. \n"He always has all new material, and he is just as funny now as he was when he first started doing his recordings, when I was in college in '61," he said. "He was tremendous!" \nEven the younger crowd identified with Cosby's humor.\n"I thought the show was great and very funny," said 12-year-old area resident Dillon Edward. "His comedy was inspiring to me and everyone around me. We all laughed through the whole thing." \nOne of the highlights of the show was Cosby admitting an embarrassing moment from his life -- when he allowed himself to think out loud. Cosby went to visit the suite of blind musician Ray Charles when the two were performing together, and the entire room was dark. He followed Charles into a room he believed to be the bathroom. He then discovered that Charles was shaving and exclaimed, "Ray, why are you shaving in the dark?" Charles then answered, "Bill, I have been shaving in the dark my whole life." \nOne of the biggest-selling points of the show was Cosby's clean style of presentation without lowbrow humor. \n"Bill Cosby is a warm and loving human being," said Bloomington resident Mark Smith, summing up the sentiments of the audience after the show. "He has inspired us through his hilarious and clean humor."\n-- Contact staff writer Liv Cole at olcole@indiana.edu.