Sun Nov 22 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Someone had to hold Bill Cosby back to keep him from crawling over a balcony and joining fellow comedians on stage as the stars lined up to pay tribute to his life's work.
When the lights went out for the start of the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Cosby filled the dark silence Monday night. "Hellooo?" he called out at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And once again, he had his audience laughing.
Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld saluted their fellow funny man with the nation's top comedy prize, along with two co-stars from "The Cosby Show," Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. They hailed Cosby's work breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes and replayed his standup routines.
Cosby quipped that usually when a man sees his life flash before his eyes, it's for a bad reason. "But this is all right," he said.
Seinfeld and Rock shared the stage and said they followed Cosby's comedy albums as children, which inspired their own careers. Then they got lost in banter about how they could never measure up, after seeing Cosby together more recently at New York's Apollo Theater.
Critics often point out that "The Cosby Show," which aired in the 1980s, broke new ground because it was about a successful black family with a father who's a doctor and mother, a lawyer, raising five children.
Of all his accomplishments as a comedian, actor, author and television producer, Cosby said he is most proud of the "Cosby Show," which he carefully crafted.
Rashad, who played Claire Huxtable on the series, flew from London where she is in rehearsal for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" to be part of the show at Cosby's request.
The tribute will air Nov. 4 nationwide on PBS. Cosby insisted the performances at the tribute be free of profanity and that the show reflect his emphasis on education.
"The show is very, very important to me," Cosby said in an interview.
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