Bill Cosby

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.

In most respects, BET's "Reed Between the Lines" fits snugly within the safe cookie-cutter mold of the traditional family sitcom — successful, attractive parents with adorable kids tackle the daily challenges of life and resolve them in less than 30 minutes. The upbeat comedy, starring Tracee Ellis Ross ("Girlfriends") and Malcolm-Jamal Warner ("The Cosby Show") as the heads of a loving family, recalls the subject matter and tone of "The Cosby Show" — the 1980s program also built around an African American family that helped revive the sitcom genre 25 years ago with a smart and gentle mix of humor and poignancy.

Put down the barbecue tongs and flee the back yard this Labor Day with a last-minute stay at Treasure Island in Las Vegas . Three nights plus tickets to Bill Cosby's live show costs $297 this weekend only. Of course, you'll have to find your own barbecue. The deal: The K Hotels' TI: Treasure Island offer comes by way of hotel booking website K Hotels. The deal includes two tickets to Cosby's performance at 8 p.m. Saturday and breakfast for two. Call and use the promo code "LDAY" to get this deal.

Clarice Taylor, an actress best known for portraying the self-possessed Grandmother Huxtable on the hit television sitcom "The Cosby Show," died Monday. She was 93. Taylor died of congestive heart failure at her home in Englewood., N.J., said Ulysses Carter, her public relations representative. Bill Cosby said she was "perfect" as the mother of his character, Cliff Huxtable, on the NBC series that aired from 1984 to 1992 except she looked "young enough to play my sister. " "She did stand-up comedy.

Robert Culp and Bill Cosby knew they were taking a risk in the mid-1960s when the actors teamed up as globe-trotting spies in "I Spy." The NBC series was the first drama in American television to feature an African American actor in a lead role. But making history ultimately was secondary to their impact on each other, according to Cosby, who spoke warmly about his former costar who died unexpectedly this week after taking a fall near his Hollywood Hills home. The men developed a personal bond that extended far beyond their on-screen partnership, and their two-member secret society puzzled, even exasperated, their wives.

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.

Bill Cosby, comedian, actor and former Temple football player, can sum up in one word what he remembers about his days as an Owls running back. "Fumbling," Cosby said. That may have been the case for his two-year career at Temple. But Cosby is not dropping the ball for Temple these days. In fact, he has been carrying it. Cosby has given the Owls a clear advantage over UCLA in the area of former-player-turned-Hollywood-personality with the EagleBank Bowl looming Dec. 29 in Washington.

Trying to deny that you remember the 1980s? Here's a very select list of some pop culture touchstones of the decade -- just to jog your memory. -- Adam Tschorn 'THE COSBY SHOW' Premiering in 1984, the series about obstetrician Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and his attorney wife Claire (Phylicia Rashad) living in New York with their adorable kids became one of the most popular shows of the decade, and added the phrase "Cosby sweater" -- shorthand for the chunky, brightly patterned style of sweaters favored by Cosby -- to our collective vocabulary.

Bill Cosby had heard about the tough-as-nails, uncompromising man tackling fraud and improving education throughout the Detroit's public schools, and wanted to help. So the 72-year-old actor, comedian and activist decided to lend the district his celebrity as Detroit tries to hold off plummeting enrollment amid a fiscal crisis that a few weeks ago spurred suggestions of a possible bankruptcy. "All around the United States of America -- in the cities and the counties -- our public education is suffering and has been suffering.