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Little Bill

Little Bill is an American animated educational 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]

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

Educational

Bill Cosby[1]

Little Bill books
by
  • Bill Cosby
  • Varnette P. Honeywood

Fracaswell Hyman

Robert Scull

Bill Cosby, Don Braden, and Jon Faddis

Stu Gardner and Art Lisi

United States

English

2[2]

52[3][4] (list of episodes)

  • Robert Scull
  • Shawn Cuddy
  • Irene Sherman
  • Fracaswell Hyman

30 minutes

Nickelodeon Animation Studio
(credited as Nick Jr. Productions)

Nickelodeon[a]

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.[15]

Plot[edit]

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.

History[edit]

Little Bill was first announced in 1997.[10] It aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 1999 to February 6, 2004. It 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]

William "Little Bill" Glover Jr. (voiced by Xavier Pritchett) is an inquisitive 5-year-old boy. He has a knack for storytelling and often finds himself 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]

daydreaming

William "Big Bill" Glover Sr. (voiced by ) 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]

Gregory Hines

Brenda Glover (née Kendall) (voiced by ) 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.[22]

Phylicia Rashad

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 in Season 2) is the middle child, and oldest son of the Glover children. He is a Boy Scout and plays the violin.[20]

Tyler James Williams

Alice "Alice the Great" Kendall (voiced by and Anika Walker in a flashback in "Good Ol' Lightning") is the 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]

Ruby Dee

Elephant is the family pet, a small, light yellow 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.

hamster

– Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program – Gregory Hines

2003

– Outstanding Children's Animated Program

2004

Emmy Awards


Peabody Award

at IMDb

Little Bill