Original subtitles

We could read Macbeth. We could snuggle up under the covers and read Macbeth,

and it could take all night.

Really?

And I'll be Lady Macbeth.

And I'll be the Big Bad Wolf.

They called me and said, we're going to do a Bill Cosby presentation.

Would you direct it?

I had worked with Bill on a... Bill Cosby show where he played a school

And I had loved working with him.

What they were going to do is take scenes from Bill's records, those great

records he had, and sort of try to, you know, make a half an hour type show with

a family.

The other shows that I had done, like Barry Tyler Moore and Soul, we had

that... We rehearsed and did the line basically the

way the writers wrote them.

On Cosby, we had wonderful scripts, but because Bill was really more

comfortable saying and doing things for the first time as a comedian.

Bob Newhart was the same way. I used to work.

with bob they don't want to rehearse too much and which is great for them

because that brilliant mind of his would come up with wonderful things but it

was tough especially on the kids who they didn't they never quite knew what

was going to say air conditioner breakdown no are you hot

What are you looking for, Dad?

What are you looking for? Some food.

Ah.

So, you're the one.

What? Yeah, see, the power company called and thanked me for running up a

bill. He could have a freedom to try things.

And if he couldn't try things, it wouldn't have been the same show. I put

key in the ignition.

Turned the thing anyway.

It's not running yet. It's just thinking about it.

Just the right side now. Just the right side.

She's sitting there like this.

You know, like she's dancing.

And you think I'm lying. The car said, what?

I'm not lying.

The wife was the biggest problem because Bill wanted her to be able to speak

Spanish because what he wanted to do was with an Hispanic wife.

And it was important to him that she speak Spanish.

And one afternoon, Felicia walks in and she is doing a play called Dream

Girls. And I thought, oh, this lady is just.

Terrific. But I'm afraid to ask her at that point if she could speak Spanish.

And she did. She rattled off a string of Spanish because she'd been raised in

Houston. So Spanish was like a second language. After we got into the editing

room and I started cutting to Felicia all the time because she had this

wonderful smile and laugh and she listened so well. So when we got in

and Bill would go a little far afield or couldn't quite remember the line or

something, I could cut to Felicia and then get back to him. I remember the

you were chasing before I came along.

There you were.

Little bright -eyed, knobby -kneed boy of 14 chasing a woman 18 years old who

was still in the ninth grade.

You know, I still wonder about her sometimes.

And what do you wonder?

Oh, I wonder if she's still in the ninth grade.

I'd watch every single...

camera because we'd record all four cameras and then I'd take shots from

and there and try to piece it together.

And once I'd look at the final cut, I'd realize this is really good.

Daddy, you don't have to hold me anymore.

Was that our daughter just went by?

Yes, it was.

Well, how did she learn to ride like that?

Well, I told her what to do and she did it.

Told her what to do?

That's right.

Now, how can you do it and I can't?

I'm good.

You are good?

No. I'm amazing.

Bill really respected Felicia.

He respected her as a performer, and he respected her intelligence to know

how to shape scenes when they had to do with her.

Is it that your mother can stand here and just tell you what to do and you go

whizzing by and I have to run with my hand on the seat for 8 ,000 miles?

Mom's good.

There's not a person in the world who doesn't love Felicia or would want to

with her. I just grabbed the only pizza with black olives, anchovies, and

sausage, sneaked out the back door, walked around to the front of the house,

came in through the entrance to your office. You are a genius, and I am a

because I married you.

We had no script, and we're supposed to shoot in like two weeks.

There was supposed to be a son and two daughters, no kids. We didn't want to

have little kids.

Keisha walked in, and Keisha was four at the time.

And she sat down at a desk, and we talked for a little while, and then I

asked her if she could remember lines, and she said, of course.

Hey!

What's that?

Pate. Can I have some?

You won't like it. Yes, I will.

Well, it's made out of liver.

I don't like liver.

And it has ground -up worm's eyes.

Then they have sauteed chicken's toes.

Like sauteed chicken toes.

Okay. So you want some? Yes.

They had a script from a show that was on the air at the time called Punky

Brewster. And she had read those lines. So we decided that once Bill saw her, he

would fall in love.

We couldn't find the middle daughter.

So now we're gathered in a room in Los Angeles. We're going to bring in the

various kids to meet with Bill.

And this girl, this 15 -year -old girl, comes up to me and said, I can't sign

the contract.

And I said, well, we can't read with Bill in the network until the contract's

signed. She said, well, I can't be in every show. And I said, well, you know,

it's about a family, and you're going to have to be in every show. She said, no,

I want to be a singer. And I said, well, if you don't sign the contract, you—

Can't do the show. She said, I won't sign the contract. So she didn't go in,

it was Whitney Houston.

Lisa got the part, and I'm thrilled that she did because Lisa brought so much to

the show. You two look comfortable.

We are.

Great, because I want to talk to you about something.

You can't borrow my car.

I don't want to borrow your car.

Great, then she wants to borrow your car. I need my car. I don't want to

your car either.

I want my own car.

She loved Bill's humor.

And Bill loved working with her. You won't believe what happened to us. We

in a wreck.

A wreck?

Yeah. Where's the car?

Oh, it's okay. The front fender has a little dent.

Where's the car?

He's still driving.

Where's the car?

Malcolm Jamal Werner showed up that morning.

They hadn't found anybody.

until the morning of the reading. Come on, drop it. Let me see it. Let me see

it. Come on. Lower it.

Bill had said he wanted to do the idea of talking to the son about

earning a living, what it was like to earn a living.

And Michael and Ed Weinberger came up with the idea of using Monopoly money.

Suppose you graduate.

From high school. Let's say you just slide by.

All right. Now, you've got to find a job.

Now, what kind of salary do you expect for a regular person?

$250 a week.

$250 a week? Yeah. Sit down.

I'm going to give you $300 a week. Yes, indeed.

$300 a week, $1 ,200 a month.

All right? Great, I'll take it. Yes, you will. And I will take $350 for

taxes. Whoa!

Huh? Yeah. Now, because, see, the government comes for the regular people

Now, how much does that leave you with?

$850. All right.

Now, you've got to have an apartment because you are not going to live here.

So, an apartment in Manhattan will run you at least $400 a

month. I'll live in New Jersey.

All right.

You live in New Jersey, you've got to have a car.

I'll ride a motorbike.

you need a helmet.

Figure $100 a month for clothes and shoes.

Figure $200. I want to look good.

Okay, so what does that leave you with? $200.

So, no problem.

There is a problem. You haven't eaten yet.

I can get by on bologna and cereal.

So I got everything I need, plus $200 left for the month.

You plan to have a girlfriend?

For sure.

So Keisha and Felicia from New York, Malcolm and Lisa from Los Angeles, and

we flew in Tempest from Chicago.

And that's how the cast got put together.

Whoa!

Not as smart as Bill that I've ever worked with as a performer.

He knows what they can do as well. And I'm not going to sit there and argue

Bill. Sometimes I would say to him, we've got to do it again because we

have it.

Or can you find a different way to do it? The other thing that I love about

is he never once said to me, I want to see an editor of a show before we're on

the air. He'd see them when they were on the air.

Once he had faith that...

a person knew what they were doing, he'd leave them alone.

And it was fun. It was just fun. It was just a lot of fun on the set.

Lovely people to be with.

They have a great relationship with their kids.

Up until then, usually either the parents were really dumb or the kids

would manipulate them. And here was a family that treated their children

as rational human beings and would do an awful lot with humor.

Plus, it was funny.

So, I mean, it just was a very special show.

But what we had going for us was a great mind of Bill Cosby's. I mean, it's a

great, great comedic mind.

And the cast was so appealing.

We were very lucky to put that cast together.

Do you want to be 19 again?

Only if you'll be 19 with me.

Shimmer. And the children could be 49.