Bill Cosby

At the stroke of midnight, The Dark Knight opened across the country this morning, to rave reviews, Oscar buzz and forecasts of a record-shattering box office performance. Most observers have chalked up the unprecedented anticipation for the film to its quality script and to the amazing and final performance of the late Heath Ledger. But we know the real reason: Senator Patrick Leahy.

That's right: The 68-year-old chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as you might have heard, was given a role in the film, playing a man who is roughed up by Ledger's knife-wielding Joker.  read more »

The "Cosby Sweater," the kind of loud, patchy sweater worn by Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show in the late 1980's that misled millions into adjusting their aerials, may not be the sort of "directional" fashion-do that Sarah Jessica Parker's shoes and dresses from Sex and the City have become, but that doesn't mean he can't auction them off for charity!

Just in time for Father’s Day, Bill Cosby’s daughter has happened upon a pile of the horridly patterned wool topsand and will be putting three of them up for auction on eBay June 2 through 12.  read more »

Hath Not a Jew Ears? New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier attempts to answer to a question you've probably never asked yourself: Can A Jew Enjoy The Sound Of Church Bells? (Spoiler Alert: yes.)

Cos Célèbre: Ta-Nehisi Coates examines entertainer-turned-activist Bill Cosby's brand of post-Civil Rights empowerment philosophy in The Atlantic. "From Birmingham to Cleveland and Baltimore, at churches and colleges, Cosby has been telling thousands of black Americans that racism in America is omnipresent but that it can’t be an excuse to stop striving," writes Coates. "As Cosby sees it, the antidote to racism is not rallies, protests, or pleas, but strong families and communities."  read more »

People can't leave Bill Clinton alone. In the Marriott Marquis hotel's men's lavatory the other night, at the 60th Anniversary Gala for Harlem's Northside Center for Child Development, even the bathroom attendant couldn't stop chatting with Mr. Clinton. Mr. President looked very happy about it. His Secret Service men did not.

"Hi, Bill," a gaggle of giggling girls sang when the President walked out of the head.

Mr. Clinton took the stage. "I'm just happy to be here," he told the crowd. He then said something that is becoming commonplace for him. "I'm also saying this for Hillary, who is down at the Senate, making something good happen. Or stopping something bad."

Later in the talk, his attentions shifted. "I saw this really attractive, compelling woman in her 50's," he drawled. Oh. The anecdote turned out to be about gay marriage.

Crooner John Legend was placed next to the President at the center dinner table. This is, Mr. Legend said wearily, the fourth benefit he'd hit that week. (It was only Thursday, too!)

There was Russell Simmons, and Ed Bradley, and there was Bill Cosby. Mr. Cosby sported a medallion in his lapel. "This is the Medal of Freedom," he said. (Where was his own fancy ceremony? "At the White House.")

David Dinkins came up to Mr. Cosby. "Your bride is beautiful," the former Mayor said. "Keep your hands off my wife. I'll challenge you to a duel," said Mr. Cosby. —Max Abelson

Today, Forbes' Sara Clemence investigates why Bill Cosby has kept busy lately transferring the ownership of his East 71st townhouse. Ms. Clemence speculates about why the ownership was in Catherine C. Carter's name, followed by Mr. Cosby alone, next Mr. Cosby and his wife Camille, and most recently, an LLC.

"The deed, however, has been held since 1990 by a Catherine C. Carter, whose Santa Monica address is the same as that for COC Productions, which Cosby's wife, Camille, heads. That's not so odd, real estate lawyers say--Carter could be an employee or family friend, holding the property for the the Cosbys so their names would not appear in public records. High-profile people frequently conceal their ownership by buying real estate through trusts or corporations."

So who is the mysterious Ms. Carter?

Well, she is more than just an employee or family friend. Ms. Carter is Mr. Cosby's mother-in-law, and had ownership transferred to her name in 1990, according to the New York Law Journal . Three years earlier, Mr. Cosby purchased the $6.2 million brownstone as a surprise gift for his wife, so he put the ownership under Mary E. Waller, his former business partner. Their partnership ended on bad terms, and ownership went to Camille's mother. Now one mystery is solved.  read more »

But a few questions still remain. Is Mr. Cosby just being clever with ownership for tax purposes? Or could he be planning to put it on the market? That remains to be seen.

-Michael Calderone

In one of the backstage hospitality rooms of the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Chris Rock sat on  read more »

I was scampering through midtown on my way to COOGI–yes, the Australian company responsible for th  read more »

When Bill Cosby took the podium that had been set up in the Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom on April 28  read more »