A Jell-O Pudding eating contest was held at the Jabberwocky Caf and several dining halls served chocolate cake this week in preparation for Bill Cosby’s standup performance at the sold-out Landmark Theatre Friday night.

Cosby’s act will begin at 8 p.m., with free buses running from the Schine Student Center to the Landmark starting at 6 p.m.

The comedian and actor is most known for his role in ‘The Cosby Show’ and character in Jell-O commercials. He has also appeared in, directed and produced dozens of films, including ‘Fat Albert’ in 2004.

The event is the largest in University Union Comedy history in money and audience amounts, said Laura Turner Garrison, a senior international relations and television, radio and film major and co-director of UU Comedy.

Cosby has recently been criticized for his statements that black people shouldn’t blame their problems on others, according to Associated Press reports last spring. His lecturing tour, titled ‘A Call Out with Cosby,’ was designed to spark debate about family and educational values in black communities.

He also settled a lawsuit Wednesday in which he was accused of drugging and assaulting a woman in early 2004.

Cosby’s performance will be stand-up and is not part of the speaking tour, Garrison said. UU is co-sponsoring the event with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Division of Student Affairs and Pulse.

‘Everybody has some sort of attachment to Cosby,’ Garrison said. ‘He’s legendary. We all grew up watching ‘The Cosby Show.”

Cosby’s legendary status separates him from other comedians who target the college-campus audience, or those who might not be popular 10 years later, she said.

Cosby asked the organizations sponsoring the event to make sweatshirts that say ‘Hello, friend,’ in honor of his son Ennis, who was killed in 1997, Garrison said.

Before the show, there will be a step-dance performance by SU’s Omega Psi Phi chapter because Cosby was a member of the Temple University chapter, she said.

The comedian is personable, clear and politically correct in his stand-up routines, said Ethan Young, a freshman acting major.

Although Young isn’t going to the show Friday, he saw Cosby perform twice in the past three years.

‘People paid money to see his comedy, not his opinion,’ Young said about the differences between Cosby’s stand-up and lecture.

His jokes come mostly from his family and personal experiences, Young said. He said when Cosby talks about black people, he points to the back of his hand and says, ‘people of this color.’

Caroline Finlay, a sophomore biology major, said ‘The Cosby Show’ is funny because of the comedian’s demeanor.

‘I like that he can be in a room all by himself and still be funny,’ she said.

Published on November 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm