Bill Cosby

Cosby show: Bill Cosby has bowed out of two performances at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday because of what his management described as "an unavoidable personal situation." A Cerritos spokeswoman said that the center will be working with the comedian to reschedule.

The lineup for the 35th annual Playboy Jazz Festival has been announced, and in addition to the weekend-long concert's signature mix of jazz, funk and R&B, the festival also revealed that comic and former late-night host George Lopez will take over for longtime host Bill Cosby this year. Cosby had served as master of ceremonies at the festival since 1979, and last year the comedy legend stepped down after becoming as much a part of the show's fabric as the Hollywood Bowl, parasols and picnic baskets.

Bill Cosby must be getting used to being "dead. " The most recent death hoax around the comedian - courtesy of an "R.I.P. Bill Cosby" Facebook page that has more than 300,000 likes since Sunday - garnered only a tweet of a trademark sweater from the man himself, and no mention whatsoever of the scam, which is a distinct change from Cosby's reaction to a hoax that trended back in 2010. Perhaps Sunday's hoax never even hit his radar. PHOTOS: Celebrity death hoaxes The August 2010 incident, in contrast, saw Cosby taking to Twitter and CNN to debunk the fourth such Internet assault on his existence.

At the Wednesday public memorial service that celebrated her tragically short life, Jenni Rivera was hailed as "the eternal diva," "la gran señora," "mariposa de barrio" (butterfly of the barrio) and other terms of deep affection and respect. But there was another title that Rivera had aspired to and earned: the Latin American Oprah Winfrey. Like Winfrey before her, the Long Beach native, who died with six other people in a Dec. 9 plane crash in northern Mexico, was more than simply a multitalented, multi-tasking woman of a certain age, ethnicity and oversize personality.

As the 34th annual Playboy Jazz Festival wrapped up on Sunday, Bill Cosby danced across the stage to play his final solo beneath the iconic bunny. "It's my last time here," he announced to the applauding crowd, which filled the Hollywood Bowl to the last bleacher. "And I'm gonna give you something you've never heard before. Take it back to the bridge!" Cosby grabbed a trombone from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who followed his order with upbeat, New Orleans-style jazz.

Robert Culp, the veteran actor best known for starring with Bill Cosby in the classic 1960s espionage-adventure series "I Spy" and for playing Bob in the 1969 movie "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," died Wednesday morning. He was 79. Culp fell and hit his head while taking a walk outside his Hollywood Hills home. He was found by a jogger who called 911 and was pronounced dead at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Lt. Bob Binder of the Los Angeles Police Department.

At the Wednesday public memorial service that celebrated her tragically short life, Jenni Rivera was hailed as "the eternal diva," "la gran señora," "mariposa de barrio" (butterfly of the barrio) and other terms of deep affection and respect. But there was another title that Rivera had aspired to and earned: the Latin American Oprah Winfrey. Like Winfrey before her, the Long Beach native, who died with six other people in a Dec. 9 plane crash in northern Mexico, was more than simply a multitalented, multi-tasking woman of a certain age, ethnicity and oversize personality.

WASHINGTON -- Entertainer Bill Cosby defended President Obama on Sunday, saying that his critics do not acknowledge the obstacles he has faced in office. “I'm disappointed at people who don't look at the woes and the trouble given to this man,” Cosby told CNN's Candy Crowley, referring to allies on the left who have complained about the administration. “People blatantly speaking out against his color, wasting time, starting up new stories about whether or not he was born here, saying things that they can't prove.” The actor and comedian said he feels sometimes that opponents want to make Obama's job like “the one that Sisyphus had.” "When you see that he made promises and said things and the people who were supposed to be working with him didn't.

I would like to add one more item to Raspberry's compelling list of things that "The Cosby Show" did for America beyond entertainment: Its contribution to the renaissance of interest in predominantly black colleges, especially among America's black youth. Thanks again, Coz. CAROL MORRIS Los Angeles

After more than 30 years and countless quips and one-liners from the side of the Hollywood Bowl stage, Bill Cosby has announced he is stepping down as emcee of the Playboy Jazz Festival following this weekend's 34th annual concert. “Bill Cosby has been a dear friend since the 1960s and it's been a real pleasure for me, personally, to have him play such an integral part in what makes this festival so special,” Playboy's Hugh Hefner said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

Re "Actor played villain J.R. Ewing on TV's 'Dallas,'" Obituary, Nov. 24 When I was 10 years old, Larry Hagman, Bill Cosby and others were filming "Mother, Jugs & Speed" down the street from my parents' house in Venice. The neighborhood kids would loiter around the set gawking at the equipment and activity; we were too young to be star struck. I fondly remember Hagman and Cosby hamming it up for us, smiling back whenever we smiled or laughed. Decades later I saw Hagman in Santa Monica and made a point of thanking him for engaging us rather than simply having us run off by security.

Ellen DeGeneres took home the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the top prize in comedy, on Monday night in Washington. "Washington, D.C., is so different from where I grew up," tweeted DeGeneres, a native of New Orleans, ahead of being honored. "When you take your top off, no one throws beads. " The evening - which saw the comic and talk-show host joining the ranks of previous winners including Will Ferrell, Billy Crystal, Tina Fey and Bill Cosby - wasn't all about jokes, however, reported the Washington Post, as DeGeneres was also recognized for one groundbreaking move: coming out as a lesbian on TV in 1997.

Bill Cosby must be getting used to being "dead. " The most recent death hoax around the comedian - courtesy of an "R.I.P. Bill Cosby" Facebook page that has more than 300,000 likes since Sunday - garnered only a tweet of a trademark sweater from the man himself, and no mention whatsoever of the scam, which is a distinct change from Cosby's reaction to a hoax that trended back in 2010. Perhaps Sunday's hoax never even hit his radar. PHOTOS: Celebrity death hoaxes The August 2010 incident, in contrast, saw Cosby taking to Twitter and CNN to debunk the fourth such Internet assault on his existence.

As the 34th annual Playboy Jazz Festival wrapped up on Sunday, Bill Cosby danced across the stage to play his final solo beneath the iconic bunny. "It's my last time here," he announced to the applauding crowd, which filled the Hollywood Bowl to the last bleacher. "And I'm gonna give you something you've never heard before. Take it back to the bridge!" Cosby grabbed a trombone from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who followed his order with upbeat, New Orleans-style jazz.

As a jazz fan, you really have to savor the select moments of the Playboy Jazz Festival, which began its 34th installment Saturday at its longtime home, the Hollywood Bowl. Because as a stand-alone, multi-day barometer of the state of the music, the festival doesn't measure up to internationally known siblings such as Newport or Montreux - not that Playboy even tries (only by the most generous definition could some of the past weekend's acts, like Ozomatli, Sharon Jones and Robin Thicke, ever be considered "jazz")

Like jazz itself, the drummer Lumar LeBlanc was born in the city of New Orleans. And like a lot of musicians there, he played in the traditional brass-band style that originated in the 1920s and '30s, favoring familiar marches and ballads. "Like 'When the Saints Go Marching In' and '(What a) Wonderful World,'" LeBlanc says now. "But being young, we heard things on the radio, like Public Enemy and other rap music. We would sneak in some of these tunes. We found audiences were captivated by these funky beats and these newer sounds … played on a snare drum, a bass drum, a sousaphone, two trumpets, a saxophone and two trombones.

The iconic, Emmy-winning author, musician, activist and comedian Bill Cosby has tickled the funny bones of generations of fans with his witty and good-natured ruminations on family life. Now in the midst of his fifth decade as an entertainer, he remains in top form, dishing out observations that transcend age, gender and cultural barriers. Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. 8 p.m. Sun. $54, $64, $79. (805) 449-2787. http://www.toaks.org.

WASHINGTON -- Entertainer Bill Cosby defended President Obama on Sunday, saying that his critics do not acknowledge the obstacles he has faced in office. “I'm disappointed at people who don't look at the woes and the trouble given to this man,” Cosby told CNN's Candy Crowley, referring to allies on the left who have complained about the administration. “People blatantly speaking out against his color, wasting time, starting up new stories about whether or not he was born here, saying things that they can't prove.” The actor and comedian said he feels sometimes that opponents want to make Obama's job like “the one that Sisyphus had.” "When you see that he made promises and said things and the people who were supposed to be working with him didn't.