LITLE BILL

 

LITTLE BILL
(Nickelodeon, November 28, 1999-February 6, 2004)
 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio (as Nick Jr. Productions)
 
 
 

            Little Bill was a series of children’s books written by Bill Cosby with collage-style art from Varnette Honeywood, whose work was collected by Cosby and his wife and were featured on the sets of his programs. The titular character was based on Cosby and his then recently-deceased son, Ennis, for which the books were dedicated and from where the character’s catchphrase—“Hello, friend!”—originated. The books were told in the first-person as Little Bill dealt with things like bullying, honesty, family, friends, boredom and more. 12 books were published by Scholastic between 1997 and 1999 and received critical acclaim for their realism and accessibility. In late 1997, Nickelodeon entered into discussions to adapt the books into three specials, with a potential series to follow.

The cover to one of the original books.

            The animated version of Little Bill, Cosby’s second after Fat Albert, debuted on Nickelodeon on November 28, 1999, as part of its Nick Jr. programming block (although the first 8 episodes originally aired on Sunday nights). Little Bill Glover Jr. (Xavier Pritchett) was an inquisitive 5-year-old boy with a knack for storytelling and daydreaming that learned about everyday life through his family, friends and imagination. He lived in Philadelphia with his father Big Bill (Gregory Hines), a building inspector; mother Brenda (Phylicia Rashad, who played Cosby’s wife on both The Cosby Show and Cosby); sister April (Monique Beasley), who was 10-years-old and tended to be competitive and played sports; brother Robert (Devon Malik Beckford & Tyler James Williams), an 8-year-old violin player and member of the Boy Scouts; and great-grandmother Alice Kendall (Ruby Dee). Elephant was the family’s pet hamster, named for Little Bill’s favorite animal, and tended to roll around the apartment in his plastic hamster ball. Cosby would appear in live-action during the show’s opening sequence, composed part of the theme song with Don Braden and Jon Faddis, and portrayed Little Bill’s favorite superhero, Captain Brainstorm.

The series' characters: Little Bill, teacher Miss Murray, sister April Glover, friend Kiku Wong, April again, brother Bobby Glover, cousin Fuchsia Glover, Bill again, Kiku again, Bill once more, Bobby again, best friend Andrew Mulligan, grandmother Alice the Great, mother Brenda Glover, father Big Bill, and Elephant.

            The series ran for two seasons, being nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards and winning one and spawning a book series of its own. Nick Jr. would continue to air episodes through 2006, while it also aired concurrently on CBS Saturday mornings as part of the Nick on CBS programming block. In 2007, the series moved to the Noggin channel and then to the channel version of Nick Jr. in 2009. Reruns would continue to air until 2014. When allegations against Cosby came to light, networks and studios began to distance themselves from the comedian; with his shows and specials—including Little Bill—being pulled from schedules. The books themselves had also been targeted for removal from school libraries. Since then, Nickelodeon has largely scrubbed Little Bill from its history; excluding it from a 2022 illustrated timeline of its programs and not offering it up for streaming. However, episodes were still available to purchase through Prime Video.