Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Premiere	September 9, 1972
Finale	May 14, 1985
Creator	Bill Cosby
Network/Provider	CBS (seasons 1-7) syndication (season 8)
Style	30-minute animated comedy
Company	Filmation
Seasons	8
Episodes	110 + 4 holiday specials
Origin	USA

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is a Saturday morning cartoon based on characters created by comedian Bill Cosby and produced by Filmation Associates.

Cosby himself appeared in live action to introduce the episodes, which featured an African-American cast of youths interjecting pro-social messages along with the cartoon frolics. Fat Albert, whose catch phrase was "Hey hey hey!", was introduced in a comedy routine by Cosby. Fat Albert was first animated in 1969 for a prime time special, Hey, Hey. Hey, It's Fat Albert, animated by Ken Mundie.

In 1979, the series was renamed The New Fat Albert Show and introduced the adventures of the gang's favorite cartoon superhero, the Brown Hornet.

An additional batch of new episodes were produced for syndication in the 1984-85 season. NBC, who turned the series down when Cosby pitched it in 1972, would eventually replay the series at mid-season of the 1988-89 TV year. An episode was featured in the 2004 movie Fat Albert starring Kenan Thompson & Kyla Pratt.

Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Bill Cosby	Himself (live action and animated)	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Fat Albert	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Mushmouth	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	The Brown Hornet								*	*	*	*	*	*
Jan Crawford	Russell	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Bucky	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Lou Schiemer	Dumb Donald	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Stinger								*	*	*	*	*	*
Gerald Edwards	Weird Harold	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Eric Suter	Rudy	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
CBS
Season One	September 9, 1972	December 9, 1972				14
Season Two	September 8, 1973	October 27, 1973				8
Season Three	September 9, 1975	October 11, 1975				6
Season Four	September 11, 1976	October 30, 1976				8
Season Five: The New Fat Albert Show	September 8, 1979	October 27, 1979				8
Season Six: The New Fat Albert Show	September 6, 1980	November 1, 1980				9
Season Seven: The New Fat Albert Show	September 18, 1982	November 13, 1982				8
syndication
Season Eight: The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids	1984	May 14, 1985				50

Specials

Title	Network		Airdate
The Fat Albert Halloween Special	CBS		October 24, 1977
The Fat Albert Christmas Special	CBS		December 18, 1977
The Fat Albert Easter Special	CBS		April 3, 1982

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

DVD Releases

Title			Release			Discs
Complete Series  (Region 1)
The Complete Series			June 25, 2013	purchase		15

External Links

• opening credits for season 1on YouTube
• opening credits for "The New Fat Albert Show"on YouTube