Little Bill

''Little Bill'' is an American animated educational children's television series created by Bill Cosby. It is based on the ''Little Bill'' book series, written by Cosby with illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood. 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. It was Cosby's second animated series, after '' Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' for Hanna-Barbera and Filmation.

The show's main character, Little Bill, is a fictionalized younger version of Cosby; the show's executive producer, Janice Burgess, described the character as "little Bill Cosby." 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. The show is set in Philadelphia, Cosby's hometown. 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.

The series originally ran on Nickelodeon from November 28, 1999 to February 6, 2004, and reruns continued until December 22, 2006. It moved to Noggin in September 2007. Reruns continued to air until 2014, when the show was pulled from the air due to allegations of sexual assault against Cosby.

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. 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 off screen asks, "Little Bill, who are you talking to?" causing Little Bill to laugh.

Broadcast history

''Little Bill'' was first announced in 1997. 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 until September 9, 2006. In September 2007, ''Little Bill'' was moved to the Noggin channel, which advertised it as a "new series". Noggin aired five "premiere episodes" from September 10 to September 15, 2007.

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. In addition to pulling reruns, ''Little Bill'' was removed from NickJr.com in 2014. Commenting on the show's removal from television, '' Distractify'' wrote: "Perhaps ''Little Bill'' should be left in the past."

In 2017, the American Library Association reported that the ''Little Bill'' series of books was most often targeted for removal in school libraries due to the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby. 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. The series is currently available on Amazon, iTunes, and Vudu.

Episodes

Characters

Glover household

* 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 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.
* 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."
* 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''.
* April Glover (voiced by Monique Beasley) is the 10-year-old oldest and only daughter of Brenda and Big Bill. She tends to be competitive and plays basketball.
* 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 8-year-old Boy Scout and plays the violin.
* 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.
* 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. She wears purple glasses. She marries Dr. Clinkscales in "Miss Murray's Wedding".
* Fuchsia Glover (voiced by Kianna Underwood) 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.

Main video releases

Episodes on Nick Jr. compilation DVDs

Awards

Emmy Awards
*2003 – '' Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program'' – Gregory Hines
*2004 – '' Outstanding Children's Animated Program''
Peabody Award
* 200161st Annual Peabody Awards
May 2002.

Footnotes

References

External links

*

{{Portal bar, 2000s, Television, Animation, United States, Children's literature, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1990s American animated television series
1990s American black cartoons
1990s American children's television series
1999 American animated television series debuts
2000s American animated television series
2000s American black cartoons
2000s American children's television series
2004 American television series endings
1990s preschool education television series
2000s preschool education television series
American children's animated comedy television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
American television series with live action and animation
American English-language television shows
Nickelodeon original programming
Nick Jr. original programming
American television shows based on children's books
Peabody Award–winning television programs
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program winners
Television series created by Bill Cosby
American preschool education television series
Animated preschool education television series
Animated television series about children
Animated television series about families
Animation based on real people
Television shows set in Pennsylvania
1990s Nickelodeon original programming
2000s Nickelodeon original programming
Television shows set in Philadelphia