Little Bill

This article is about the television show. For the original book series, see Little Bill (book series). For other uses, see Little Bill (disambiguation).

Little Bill is an American animated educational children's television series created by Bill Cosby.^[1] It is based on the Little Bill book series, written by Cosby with illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood.^[6] Cosby also composed some of the theme music, appeared in live-action in the show's intro sequence, and voiced the recurring character of Captain Brainstorm.^[7] It was Cosby's second animated series, after Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.^[8]

Little Bill
Genre	Children's television series Educational
Created by	Bill Cosby[1]
Based on	Little Bill by Bill Cosby Varnette P. Honeywood
Developed by	Fracaswell Hyman
Directed by	Robert Scull Jennifer Oxley Olexa Hewryk Mark Salisbury Robert M. Wallace Dan Kanemoto
Creative director	Robert Scull
Voices of	Ruby Dee Gregory Hines Phylicia Rashad Xavier Pritchett
Theme music composer	Bill Cosby, Don Braden, and Jon Faddis
Composers	Stu Gardner and Art Lisi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2[2]
No. of episodes	52[3][4] (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Bill Cosby David Brokaw Charles Kipps Brown Johnson Janice Burgess
Producers	Robert Scull Shawn Cuddy Irene Sherman Fracaswell Hyman
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	Nickelodeon Animation Studio New York (credited as Nick Jr. Productions)
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon[a]
Release	November 28, 1999 (1999-11-28) – February 6, 2004 (2004-02-06)

The show's main character, Little Bill, is a fictionalized younger version of Cosby;^[8] the show's executive producer, Janice Burgess, described the character as "little Bill Cosby."^[9] Each episode features Little Bill learning a lesson while interacting with his large family and group of friends. The show was developed with a panel of educational consultants.^[6] The show is set in Philadelphia, Cosby's hometown.^[9] Little Bill's personality was inspired by both Cosby himself and his son, Ennis Cosby; Little Bill's catchphrase "Hello, friend!" was originally a greeting that Ennis used.^[10]

The series originally ran on Nickelodeon^[11] from November 28, 1999 to February 6, 2004, and reruns continued until December 22, 2006.^[12] In September 2007, Nickelodeon announced that Little Bill would permanently move to the Noggin channel.^[13][14] It premiered on Noggin on September 10, 2007.^[5] Reruns continued to air until 2014, when the show was pulled from the air due to allegations of sexual assault against Cosby.^[15]

Premise

Set in Philadelphia, the show centers on Little Bill Glover as he explores everyday life through his imagination. Little Bill lives with his parents, his great grandmother Alice (nicknamed Alice the Great), his older sister April, and brother Bobby. Each episode includes a daydreaming sequence where Little Bill imagines a fantastical scenario.^[8] At the end of every episode, he breaks the fourth wall by summarizing his day to the audience by talking to the audience or Elephant, his hamster, before going to bed, and a family member offscreen asks, "Little Bill, who are you talking to?" causing Little Bill to laugh.

Broadcast history

Little Bill was first announced in 1997.^[10] It aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 1999 to February 6, 2004. The first eight episodes debuted on Sunday nights before airing on Nick Jr. at a later date. The series secured a regular weekday timeslot on Nick Jr. beginning on September 4, 2000. Nick Jr. aired reruns until December 22, 2006. The series also aired on Nick on CBS from September 16, 2000^[16] until September 9, 2006. In September 2007, Little Bill was moved to the Noggin channel,^[14] which advertised it as a "new series".^[5] Noggin aired five "premiere episodes" from September 10 to September 15, 2007.^[5]

Reruns of Little Bill were shown on Noggin and the Nick Jr. channel until February 21, 2014, when Nickelodeon removed the show from its services.^[15] In addition to pulling reruns, Little Bill was removed from NickJr.com in 2014.^[17] Commenting on the show's removal from television, Distractify wrote: "Perhaps Little Bill should be left in the past."^[15]

In 2017, the American Library Association said that the Little Bill series was one of the books most often targeted for removal in school libraries due to the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby.^[18] In December 2014, TV Guide noted that Little Bill episodes had become difficult to find after the allegations, since the show was no longer aired on television.^[19]

Episodes

Main article: List of Little Bill episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	26	November 28, 1999 (1999-11-28)[8]	March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)
	2	26	May 7, 2001 (2001-05-07)	February 6, 2004 (2004-02-06)

Characters

Glover household

• William "Little Bill" Glover Jr. (voiced by Xavier Pritchett) is an inquisitive bald 5-year-old boy. He has a knack for storytelling and often finds himself daydreaming his own fantasy worlds. The show's executive producer, Janice Burgess, described Little Bill as "in a way, little Bill Cosby." Little Bill's catchphrase "Hello, friend!" was originally a greeting used by Bill Cosby's late son, Ennis Cosby.^[20][9][10]
• William "Big Bill" Glover Sr. (voiced by Gregory Hines) is the city's building inspector who is Little Bill, Bobby, and April's father, and Brenda's husband. He is nicknamed Big Bill since both he and his son are named Bill. In an interview, Bill Cosby said that "I am Big Bill."^[21]
• Brenda Glover (née Kendall) (voiced by Phylicia Rashad) is Little Bill, Bobby, and April's mother, and Big Bill's wife. Brenda's voice actress, Phylicia Rashad, had previously played Clair Huxtable (wife to Cosby's character, Cliff Huxtable) on The Cosby Show and Ruth Lucas (wife to Cosby's other character, Hilton Lucas) on Cosby.^[22]
• April Glover (voiced by Monique Beasley) is the oldest and only daughter of Brenda and Big Bill. She tends to be competitive and plays basketball.^[20]
• Robert "Bobby" Glover (voiced by Devon Malik Beckford in Season 1 and Tyler James Williams in Season 2) is the middle child, and oldest son of the Glover children. He is a Boy Scout and plays the violin.^[20]
• Alice "Alice the Great" Kendall (voiced by Ruby Dee and Anika Walker in a flashback in "Good Ol' Lightning") is the maternal great-grandmother of Little Bill, Bobby, April, and Jamal. Alice is also Brenda and Deborah's grandmother. She is in her seventies and lives with the family.^[20]
• Elephant is the family pet, a small, light yellow hamster who lives in Little Bill's bedroom. He often rolls around the house in a plastic hamster ball. He was named after Little Bill's favorite animal.

Friends and neighbors

• Captain Brainstorm (voiced by Bill Cosby) is Little Bill's favorite superhero. He is an astronaut with his own television show, Space Explorers. He has an orange rocket and an orange space suit.
• Miss Murray (voiced by Ayo Haynes in Season 1 and Melanie Nicholls-King in Season 2) is Little Bill's cheerful kindergarten teacher.^[20] She wears purple glasses. She marries Dr. Clinkscales in "Miss Murray's Wedding".
• Fuchsia Glover (voiced by Nakia Williams in Season 1 and Kianna Underwood in Season 2) is the paternal cousin of Little Bill, Bobby, and April. Her mother is named Vanessa and her father is named Al. She is known for always speaking her mind.^[20]
• Andrew Mulligan (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen) is an Irish-American boy who is Little Bill's best friend. He lives two houses away from Little Bill. He has an active imagination like Little Bill, and they often join each other in fantasy sequences. He has a dog named Farfy.^[20]
• Kiku (voiced by Eunice Cho) is an Asian-American friend of Little Bill's. She likes being creative, putting on puppet shows, and making artwork. She is very ambitious and wants to be president when she grows up.^[20]
• Alan "Al" Glover (voiced by Michael Green) is Big Bill's brother, Fuschia's father, Vanessa's husband, and Little Bill, Bobby, and April's uncle. He runs a convenience store in town.
• Monty (voiced by Cole Hawkins) is the grandson of Alice the Great's friend Emmaline. He uses a wheelchair to get around, and he was born with cerebral palsy. Later in the series, he joins Little Bill's class.
• Dorado (voiced by Vincent Canales) is a friend of Little Bill's who is Puerto Rican.
• Michael Riley (voiced by Muhammad Cunningham) is a classmate of Little Bill's who moves to the neighborhood from Miami. At first he is somewhat of a bully by playing ranking with Little Bill, but he reforms and befriends him in the end.
• Mrs. Shapiro (voiced by Madeline Kahn in her first appearance, and later by Kathy Najimy after Kahn's death) is Little Bill's neighbor.
• Dr. Winthrop Clinkscales (voiced by Christopher Grossett) is Mrs. Murray's husband, whom she married in "Miss Murray's Wedding".
• Mr. Miguel Rojas (voiced by Victor Argo) is an elderly Mexican-American man who speaks English and Spanish.
• Mr. Clark Terry (voiced by Clark Terry) is Alice the Great and Little Bill's new friend. He was voiced by Clark Terry, whom he is named and modeled after.
• Baby Jamal Welsh is Little Bill's maternal baby cousin, son of Deborah (Brenda's sister) and Gary.
• Percy Mulch (voiced by Doug E. Doug) is the owner of a pet shop.
• Mr. Williams (voiced by Mike Mearian) is a music store owner.
• Aunt Deborah Kendall (voiced by Grace Garland) is Brenda's younger sister, Uncle Gary's wife (voiced by Weston Clark) and Baby Jamal's mother.

Related media

Several episodes were released to VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Media Distribution. A computer game, Little Bill Thinks Big, was released on September 29, 2003 for Windows XP and Macintosh.^[23]

Main video releases

Name	Release Date	Number of Episodes	Episode Titles
Me and My Family	June 5, 2001	4	"Are We There Yet?"/"Super Family Fun Land!" "The Neighborhood Park"/"The Magic Quilt"
Big Little Bill	June 5, 2001	4	"Big Kid"/"Just a Baby" "The Bills Go to Work"/"Miss Murray's Wedding"
What I Did at School	August 21, 2001	4	"Picture Day"/"Copy Cat" "The Snack Helper"/"The Stage Trick"
I Love Animals!	February 5, 2002	4	"The Zoo"/"My Pet Elephant" "Wabbit Worries"/"Wabbit Babies"
Merry Christmas, Little Bill!	September 24, 2002	3	"Merry Christmas, Little Bill!" "Summertime in the Wintertime"/"Snowracer"

Episodes on Nick Jr. compilation DVDs

Name	Release Date	Number of Episodes	Episode Titles
Nick Jr. Holiday	September 24, 2002	1	"Merry Christmas, Little Bill!"
Nick Jr. Celebrates Spring!	March 2, 2004	2	"The Skating Lesson"/"Mr. Moth"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 1	May 24, 2005	1	"Little Bill's Adventure with Captain Brainstorm"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 2	October 18, 2005	1	"Little Bill's Giant Space Adventure"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 3	February 7, 2006	2	"Same Moon, Same Sun, Same Star"/"All Together Now"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 4	June 6, 2006	2	"Racing Time"/"All Tied Up"
Nick Jr. Favorites Holiday	September 26, 2006	1	"Merry Christmas, Little Bill!"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 5	March 13, 2007	2	"The Zoo"/"My Pet Elephant"
Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 6	August 7, 2007	2	"Ready, Set, Read!"/"I Got a Letter"

Awards

Emmy Awards

• 2003 – Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program – Gregory Hines
• 2004 – Outstanding Children's Animated Program

Peabody Award

• 2001^[24]

Footnotes

1. On September 10, 2007, Little Bill was moved to the Noggin channel, which billed it as a "new series" and labeled episodes as "premieres."^[5]

References

1. Zurawik, David (November 28, 1999). "Cosby's 'Little Bill' sends the right message to kids". The Baltimore Sun.
2. "Little Bill, Episode 224". NickJr.com. 2004. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016.
3. "Little Bill episodes". TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
4. "Little Bill". IMDb.
5. "Shows - Little Bill". Noggin. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007.
6. "Little Bill". noggin.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
7. "'Little Bill' Has a Brainstorm". Tulsa World. June 4, 2000.
8. Owen, Rob (November 29, 1999). "'Little Bill' takes aim at kids, not merchandise". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Based on the books by Bill Cosby, "Little Bill" won't remind viewers of Cosby's "Fat Albert."
9. "Met Him on a Fun Day and His Name Is Bill". The New York Times. May 6, 2001. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. 'Little Bill is, in a way little Bill Cosby,' said Janice Burgess
10. Mehren, Elizabeth (December 12, 1997). "Cos and Effect". Los Angeles Times.
11. "Nickelodeon's 'Little Bill' Debuts as First African American Balloon In 76th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". PRNewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
12. "Nick Jr. TV Schedule: Week of December 18, 2006". NickJr.com. December 18, 2006. Archived from the original on December 19, 2006.
13. "PR: Bill Cosby's 'Little Bill' Starts on Noggin on September 10, 2007". PR Newswire. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022.
14. "Little Bill NOGGIN Release" (PDF). Nickelodeon Press. September 5, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2016.
15. Piazza, Bianca (January 21, 2022). "'Little Bill' Boasts a Darker Energy Today Than It Did in 1999 — Is Bill Cosby the Protagonist?". Distractify.
16. Shrivastava, K M (2005). Broadcast Journalism in the 21st Century. New Dawn Press Group. p. 56. ISBN 9788120735972. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
17. "NickJr.com". Archived from the original on December 14, 2014.
18. Grinberg, Emmanuella (April 10, 2017). "Bill Cosby's 'Little Bill' books targeted for censorship, library group says". CNN.
19. Schneider, Michael (December 1, 2014). "How Bill Cosby's Tarnished Legacy Impacts His Business". TV Guide.
20. "Meet the Characters of Little Bill". NickJr.com. 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013.
21. Bill Cosby. "Bill Cosby - June 15, 2014". All of the characteristics of Little Bill include Ennis and Big Bill (I am Big Bill - my memories of around that age).
22. Goldberg, Lesley (February 29, 2012). "'The Cosby Show's' Phylicia Rashad Joins NBC Drama Pilot". The Hollywood Reporter.
23. "Little Bill Thinks Big". Amazon. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
24. 61st Annual Peabody Awards, May 2002.

External links

• Little Bill at IMDb