Bill Cosby and the Cornhuskers

photo by Amy Flamminio

On October 7, 2011, the TV legend, Bill Cosby, came to Lincoln and performed "Live at the Lied." As the opening performance of the Lied Center's 2011-2012 season, Mr. Cosby was certainly a success and tickets had sold out months in advance.

Despite the fact that it is homecoming weekend for Nebraska and many events and parties were taking place downtown at the same time as the Bill Cosby performance, there was a packed house and an air of excitement! As Cosby came on stage sporting a big, red Nebraska sweater, the crowd errupted with not only applause, but a standing ovation--this was before he'd even said a word.

For the next hour and a half, Cosby delighted the audience with his stories, jokes, and especially, his wonderful expressions. He talked about farming and football, proposals, childhood crushes, and marriage. Just as with his famous television show, "The Cosby Show," everything Cosby talked about spoke right to the audience. At age 15, he said "I had only two things going for me, hope and stupidity." For older members of the audience, they could relate to his jokes about growing old. "When I proposed to my wife, I said 'I want to grow old together'... I didn't know what that meant! No, I did not want to grow old!"

Stories about marriage, gleaned from his 47 years of marriage with his wife, rang true to all the married people, even a little girl appreciated the humor, "that's just what mom does to dad!"she exclaimed, as Cosby explained the way things disappear as his wife tidies and puts his things away even if he's right there.

From children to young adults to people of Cosby's own generation, everyone had a wonderful time. One young man was heard to remark, "I can't believe I got to see Bill Cosby live!"

When Cosby asked the audience what time it was so that he didn't get carried away, one person tried to tell him it was 7:30 (the time the show started) because they didn't want it to end!

Leaving the audience in stitches, Cosby left to the sound of wild applause as the audience leapt to their feet. Both the standing ovations, before and after the performance, were well-deserved by this lovable legend of laughter!

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