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78-429: The show features an educational lesson in each episode, emphasized by Cosby's live-action segments. In addition, at the end of the early episodes, the gang typically joins in their North Philadelphia junkyard to play a song on their cobbled-together instruments, summarizing the show's lesson. The New York Times noted that the show "enjoyed enormous success" throughout its run. The show's success led Cosby to create

156-490: A Brown Hornet story. This was the case with "Shuttered Window" which dealt with the issue of death, in which the Brown Hornet encountered a robotic teacher and leader who realizes that his functions are worn out will soon cease to function. The teacher informs Hornet of this fact and Hornet has to let the teacher's citizens know that they must go on without their leader/teacher. This sets up the real world story regarding

234-411: A CD containing the opening theme, the closing theme, and 12 songs from each of the 12 episodes shown in vol. 2. In addition, UrbanWorks Entertainment released a Greatest Hits four-disc DVD box set, containing 20 uncut episodes in their original broadcast presentation and original airdate order, as well as a five-best episodes set via Ventura Distribution . In 2008, Classic Media acquired the rights to

312-418: A Good Time", was composed by Ricky Sheldon and Edward Fournier, and performed by Michael Gray (vocals), Kim Carnes (background vocals) and Edward Fournier (background vocals). A cover of the show's theme song, performed by Dig , is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits , produced by Ralph Sall and released on MCA Records . The song's chorus ("Na-na-na, gonna have

390-419: A black woman named Odessa Bradford got into an argument with two police officers, one black, Robert Wells, and the other white, John Hoff, after her car stalled at 23rd Street and Columbia Avenue. After Bradford refused to comply with the two officers' orders to move the car, because the car had stalled, and she was unable to drive it, an argument ensued. The officers then tried to physically remove Bradford from

468-512: A brief moment in history, peaking in the late 1920s. Upper-class foremen and executives lived farther north along Broad Street , in what is now the West Diamond Street Townhouse Historic District. Thriving commercial districts sprung up along the great northern avenues: Columbia (renamed Cecil B. Moore Avenue), Susquehanna, Dauphin, Erie, Lehigh and Olney, to name a few. However, just as this wealth

546-681: A complete series box set on DVD. The DVD set was released on June 25, 2013. On September 4, 2012, Classic Media re-released all three holiday specials together in one collection entitled The Hey Hey Hey Holiday Collection on DVD in Region 1. Gold Key Comics released a comic book adaptation of Fat Albert , which ran for 29 issues from 1974 to 1979. In 2012, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids appeared in MetLife 's "Everyone" commercial during Super Bowl XLVI . In 2004 , 20th Century Fox released

624-410: A discussion revealed that many years of formal education might counteract the performance anxiety linked to personality type. Given various conditions, performance anxiety reduced with time, indicating that the diary style of self-monitoring may have therapeutic benefits. Propranolol is occasionally prescribed off-label to treat performance anxiety. As a beta-blocker drug, Propranolol prevents

702-448: A film adaptation of the series titled Fat Albert . The film stars Kenan Thompson as Fat Albert, Kyla Pratt , and Bill Cosby. The film acts as a sequel to the series where Fat Albert and the boys journey into the real world after jumping out of a television in order to help a lonely girl named Doris ( Kyla Pratt ) with her social anxiety. The boys enjoy being in the real world but after a meeting with their creator, Bill Cosby, Fat Albert

780-536: A good time!") was also sampled in Fatboy Slim 's 1998 hit single " Praise You ". Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was named the 82nd best animated series by IGN . Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids received an Emmy nomination in 1974. Production of the final season of the series overlapped with the start of production of Bill Cosby's live-action sitcom, The Cosby Show , which began airing on NBC in fall 1984. In 1993, TV Guide magazine named Fat Albert and

858-630: A number of the nouveau riche : ambitious first or second generation immigrants or those that had made their fortunes starting manufacturing firms. Many were German Jews who had settled in the area, later founding companies and building synagogues. For a time, an age of opulence and grand architecture returned to North Philadelphia, centered on what is now zoned as the Historic North Broad Street Mansion and Speculative Housing Districts. Gentlemen's clubs, upscale restaurants and shopping districts grew in this southern tier for

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936-577: A part of a larger pattern of social phobia ( social anxiety disorder ), but many people experience stage fright without any wider problems. Quite often, stage fright arises in a mere anticipation of a performance, often a long time ahead. It has numerous manifestations: stuttering , tachycardia , tremor in the hands and legs, sweaty hands, facial nerve tics , dry mouth , and dizziness . Stage fright can occur in people of all experiences and backgrounds, from those who are completely new to being in front of an audience to those who have done so for years. It

1014-484: A prime-time special entitled Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert . The special, which aired on NBC , was a hybrid of live action and animation. The music for the special was written and performed by jazz pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock in 1969 and was released on the Warner Bros. album Fat Albert Rotunda . For the animated portion of the special, it was necessary to develop the actual appearance of each of

1092-664: A second animated series, Little Bill , in the late 1990s. Little Bill was intentionally designed to be visually different from Fat Albert , while retaining similar educational lessons and roots in Cosby's childhood experiences. The character Fat Albert first appeared in Bill Cosby's stand-up comedy routine "Buck Buck," as recorded on his 1967 album Revenge . The stories were based upon Cosby's tales about growing up in inner city North Philadelphia . In 1969, Cosby and veteran animator Ken Mundie brought Fat Albert to animation in

1170-468: A small yet growing population of Hispanics living west of Germantown Avenue, and already significant population of Blacks living east of that street. The area between Broad Street and 5th Street is increasingly becoming a "transition zone" between the larger predominantly black area west of Broad, and the smaller predominantly Hispanic area east of 5th. This section of Philadelphia has nearly equal populations of Hispanics and Blacks, although Germantown Avenue

1248-482: A time, Lower North Philadelphia became a great center of black culture and music, most notably jazz . Many commercial corridors were maintained for decades, and a great many musicians came to North Philadelphia, like John Coltrane and Stan Getz . By 1964, North Philadelphia was the city's center of African American culture, home to 400,000 of the city's 600,000 black residents. As the century marched past middle age, many other problems symptomatic of all US cities of

1326-400: Is "fresh humor, funky music, and the strong positive messages". As of 2013, Fat Albert was seen Saturday mornings on Retro Television Network (RTV), TheCoolTV , and weekdays and weekends on Bounce TV , both of which are digital networks. It was also seen weekdays on the now-defunct Sky Angel services Angel Two and Kids & Teens TV , as well as World Harvest Television . Fat Albert

1404-627: Is bordered to the north by Olney Ave along Broad Street, Spring Garden Street to the south, 35th Street to the west and Adams Avenue to the east. The Philadelphia Police Department patrols five districts located within North Philadelphia: the 22nd, 25th, 26th, 35th and 39th districts. There are thirteen ZIP codes for North Philadelphia: 19120, 19121, 19122, 19123, 19125, 19126, 19130, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19137, 19140 and 19141. The city government views this sprawling chunk of Philadelphia more precisely as three smaller districts, drawn up by

1482-657: Is commonly recognized in the population. Stage fright may, for example, have a negative impact on the individual's performance, such that it affects their confidence during job interviews , presentations, etc. It also affects athletes, teachers, actors, comedians, musicians, and politicians. Many people with no other problems in communication can experience stage fright, but some people with chronic stage fright also have social anxiety or social phobia which are chronic feelings of high anxiety in any social situation. Stage fright can also be seen in school situations, like stand-up projects and class speeches. When someone starts to feel

1560-545: Is divided into several "clusters," which administer individual schools. By region, these clusters are: Lower North Philadelphia Upper North Philadelphia Olney/Oak Lane YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, which is chartered by the School District of Philadelphia , is also located in North Philadelphia, just south of William Penn High School. The Mastery Charter Schools system operates

1638-488: Is headquartered in the neighborhood. Several parts of North Philadelphia, especially those that border the Center City district, have recently been experiencing varying levels of gentrification . Once economically divested neighborhoods like Brewerytown , Francisville , Northern Liberties , Poplar and West Kensington have seen large scale development break ground. Other regions have seen virtually no change, save

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1716-414: Is highly racially and socially segregated block by block. A noticeable pattern in the area is that, in the southern part of North Philadelphia (south of about Erie Avenue), Germantown Avenue (which later becomes North 6th Street) is the dividing point between the areas that are predominantly Black (to the west), and the areas that are predominantly Hispanic (to the east). However, this is slowly changing, with

1794-517: Is informed that if he and the others do not return to the television world immediately, they will turn into celluloid dust. North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly , is a section of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . It is immediately north of Center City . Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street, between Northwest Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia . It

1872-553: Is made up of African Americans and Puerto Ricans . The eastern half of North Philadelphia has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country, this section of North Philadelphia is over 75% Puerto Rican, and over half of Philadelphia's Puerto Rican population resides in this section of the city. North Philadelphia also has a high concentration of Black Muslims . The area also has significant Irish and other White Americans , Dominican , Haitian , Cuban , Korean and Polish populations, among others. About half of

1950-514: Is still seen as a divider street, with areas between Germantown Avenue and Broad Street "more black" and areas between Germantown Avenue and 5th street "more Hispanic". East of Front street, blocks start to get more diverse, with significant populations of Hispanics, blacks and whites. Also, as the Hispanic community continues to grow eastward, the ethnic white enclaves of eastern North Philadelphia continue to shrink. See [1] North Philadelphia

2028-402: Is usually described as an area north of Center City, between Front Street and Fairmount Park. Sub-sections include: Today, many remnants of these more prosperous eras remain. However, many historic buildings have collapsed, either from neglect or demolition, and thousands more still lie abandoned. A handful have become protected historic properties, and 67 properties and districts were added to

2106-489: The BSL subway line garnered a reputation for violent crime and rape. The great art deco office buildings and government institutions were mostly abandoned, as were the mansions of the many ruined industrialists. As in many poorer African American city ghettos, drug addiction became a major blight in North Philadelphia, further destabilizing families and social networks. North Philadelphia, like many other sections of Philadelphia,

2184-475: The National Register of Historic Places . Several blocks, with numerous old mansions, have been re-zoned as the aforementioned historic districts. A great many extravagant churches were built over the years, as well. Some still stand, but all too often money is scarce to preserve their deteriorating architecture. The trolley lines that once criss-crossed the northern streets and linked the region with

2262-548: The Philadelphia Free Library located in North Philadelphia. Uptown Theater is an iconic part of the music scene of North Philadelphia. It was a springboard for many notable artist of our time. 40°00′24″N 75°08′34″W  /  40.006762°N 75.142863°W  / 40.006762; -75.142863 Stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety , fear , or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by

2340-813: The USA Network in 1989. In the late 1990s, Bill Cosby developed a second animated series, Little Bill , which was intentionally designed to look different from Fat Albert . The executive producer of Little Bill , Janice Burgess , stated that the Fat Albert character was "more broadly comic" and exaggeratedly cartoonish than Little Bill . However, the two shows shared similar educational messages. Lou Scheimer, Jay Scheimer, Erika Scheimer (as "Erika Carroll"), Keith Sutherland, Lane Scheimer, Bill Cosby, Eric Suter, Gerald Edwards, Jan Crawford, Eric Greene, Ty Henderson, Kim Hamilton, Frank Welker , Linda Gary and Greg Morris provided additional voices. Fat Albert

2418-477: The adrenaline released from the " fight or flight " bodily response from attaching to the heart, lungs and other parts of the body. This reduces or eliminates the physical symptoms of performance anxiety including increased heart rate ( tachycardia ), rapid breathing ( hyperventilation ), dry mouth, trembling, shaky voice, and sweating. Propranolol is not an officially approved treatment for performance anxiety; however, past studies and patient experiences indicate

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2496-414: The " North Philly Badlands " is notorious nationwide for it. Many North Philadelphia neighborhoods are blighted, and abound in abandoned homes and vacant lots. Pep Boys is headquartered in North Philadelphia. Certain sections of North Philadelphia were highly commercial. TOPPS Cards were once produced in North Philadelphia until moving to New York. Temple University is the seventh largest employer in

2574-520: The American manufacturing sector led to the closing of many of the factories that many northern neighborhoods were centered on and depended on. Increased urban blight and the general decline of Philadelphia in the late 20th century even saw the decline of many of the strong black communities in North Philadelphia. The legendary Connie Mack Stadium was closed in favor of the new Pattison Sports Complex . North Philadelphia Station lost Amtrak Service, and

2652-535: The BSL these major railways made the region a thriving hub of transportation. For a time, North Philadelphia station became the second most heavily trafficked rail station in the city, and the Olney Ave station the most used subway stop. Along with many of Philadelphia's major manufacturing concerns came the nearby estates of the wealthy industrialists who had founded them. Lower North Philadelphia in particular housed

2730-501: The City of Philadelphia, Temple University Hospital, Inc is number 11 (PA Dept of Labor and Industry, 1st Quarter 2019). Notably, Broad Street roughly bisects North Philadelphia north-south. Broad Street is a six-lane arterial street that is designated as Pennsylvania Route 611 . The Broad Street Line or 'Orange Line,' runs along Broad Street, directly connecting North Philadelphia with Center City and South Philadelphia, as well as with

2808-772: The Clymer School in North Philadelphia. The system opened the Mastery Charter Lenfest Campus (7–12) in September 2001 in an office building in North Philadelphia. The school moved to Old City in Center City in 2002. North Philadelphia has the largest concentration of Charter Schools in Philadelphia North Philadelphia hosts a number of institutions of higher learning. There are thirteen branch libraries of

2886-528: The Cosby Kids DVDs including a two-volume collection featuring 24 episodes, as well as all specials to coincide with the theatrical release of the feature film adaptation. Volume 1 contains two DVDs with episodes 1–12 (airdates 9/9–11/25/1972), along with a CD containing the opening theme, the closing theme, and 12 songs from each of the 12 episodes shown in vol. 1 Volume 2 contains two discs with episodes 13–24 (airdates 12/2/1972–9/13/1975), along with

2964-473: The Cosby Kids the best cartoon series of the 1970s in its issue celebrating 40 years of television. In 2002, Fat Albert was placed at number 12 on TV Guide 's list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time. In 2020, Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media argued that the series is an "old-school cartoon...[with] strong positive messages." She noted that while the show's themes like kidnapping, racism, and child abuse may cause parents to be concerned, there

3042-558: The Fat Albert Gang's characters. For this, Ken Mundie relied on animator Amby Paliwoda , a former Disney artist. Paliwoda not only created all the Gang's characters, but painted a "group portrait" which was eventually shown on the front page of TV Guide magazine shortly before the showing of the special. The producers wanted NBC to bring Fat Albert to Saturday mornings, but the network programming managers rejected this because

3120-587: The Redevelopment Authority in 1964. These regions are (from north to south) Olney-Oak Lane , Upper North Philadelphia and Lower North Philadelphia . Other sections of North Philadelphia include Brewerytown , Fairhill , Fairmount , Francisville , Franklinville , Glenwood , Hartranft , Koreatown , Northern Liberties , Poplar (roughly bound by Girard Avenue, Broad Street, Spring Garden Street and 5th Street), Sharswood , Strawberry Mansion , and Yorktown . Prior to its incorporation into

3198-399: The adventures of a black crime fighter in outer space whose design resembled a caricature of Bill Cosby, who also performed vocal talents on the character. His shows always contained an object lesson for the viewers. The gang would watch the program at the beginning of each episode, and then they would invariably face a situation that forced them to apply the object lesson. In 1984, the show

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3276-408: The blood stream causing a chain of reactions to occur. This bodily response is known as the " fight or flight " syndrome, a naturally occurring process in the body done to protect itself from harm. "The neck muscles contract, bringing the head down and shoulders up, while the back muscles draw the spine into a concave curve. This, in turn, pushes the pelvis forward and pulls the genitals up, slumping

3354-426: The body into a classic fetal position ". This is also noted to have effects on sexual performance and physiology, which can be sometimes attributed to psychological barriers. In trying to resist this position, the body will begin to shake in places such as the legs and hands. Several other things happen besides this. Muscles in the body contract, causing them to be tense and ready to attack. Second, "blood vessels in

3432-1028: The body with deep breaths, mentally preparing oneself, and redirecting one's attention are techniques that may help with minimizing stage fright. Although it is a common assumption that alcohol can be used to calm nerves, other forms of treatment prove to be much better at treating stage fright. Alcohol consumption may actually affect one's performance and lead to lapses in memory and overall absentmindedness. Many well-known public performers have been afflicted with stage fright and were able to overcome their problem, including Ariel Pink , Al Jolson , Lily Pons , Brian Wilson , Virginia O'Brien , Michael Gambon , Grimes , Lorde , Carly Simon , Jason Alexander , Mose Allison , Maya Angelou , David Brenner , Peter Coyote , Olympia Dukakis , Richard Lewis , Roy Orbison , Barbra Streisand , Adele , David Warner , Niall Horan , Frankie Howerd , Mike Yarwood , Ian Holm , Lady Gaga , Mariah Carey , Frankie Boyle , Peter Gabriel , Donald Fagen , John Lydon , Meg White (which

3510-497: The burgeoning worker population. This expansion was also the impetus for breaking ground on the Broad Street Line subway, designed specifically to carry a passenger from the northern hub of Olney to Philadelphia City Hall in under 20 minutes. Major freight and passenger rail lines were built to intersect at the newly constructed North Broad Street Station and transmit cargo from the bustling factories. The completion of

3588-491: The car. She resisted and a large crowd assembled in the area. A man tried to come to Bradford's aid by attacking the police officers at the scene, but he and Bradford were arrested. Rumors then spread throughout North Philadelphia that a pregnant black woman had been beaten to death by white police officers. Later that evening, and throughout the next two days, angry mobs looted and burned mostly white-owned businesses in North Philadelphia, mainly along Columbia Avenue. Outnumbered,

3666-486: The city proper, North Philadelphia was little more than a collection of primarily agricultural townships above the original City of Philadelphia. In the 18th century, as Philadelphia grew in importance and, consequently, population, then pastoral North Philadelphia became an attractive alternative to the burgeoning city. The mansions of wealthy Philadelphians began to dot the landscape, and by the late 18th and early 19th century, several small town centers had developed to anchor

3744-509: The closing song segments, 1984 re-broadcasts with the live-action Cosby segments re-filmed, or alternate prints of 1972 episodes with no laugh track. The 11th volume included the Christmas and Halloween specials. These were the only DVD releases to present the show in its original NTSC format, as future DVD releases use PAL prints. In 2004, UrbanWorks Entertainment acquired the rights to the series, subsequently releasing several Fat Albert and

3822-414: The drug is effective at reducing physical symptoms. Propranolol does not help with the mental symptoms of anxiety including the emotional feeling of nervousness since the drug does not alter the neurochemistry of the brain unlike typical medications prescribed for other forms of anxiety such as anti-depressants . There are also ways to treat performance anxiety without the use of medication. Relaxing

3900-424: The end of North as a suburb of Philadelphia. North Philadelphia's decentralized towns were gradually meshed into a sprawling network of the ubiquitous Philadelphia rowhouses . Many of the newly created neighborhoods retained the name of their ancestral towns and townships, for example, Northern Liberties was formerly Northern Liberties Township. Philadelphia was one of the most important centers of manufacturing in

3978-522: The end of most episodes (with some exceptions in the case of particularly serious themes), the gang would sing a song about the theme of the day. This sequence, similar to those seen in other Filmation shows including The Archie Show , has often been parodied. The musical sequence was dropped during the Brown Hornet / Legal Eagle years. When Fat Albert entered syndication, some of the episodes produced prior to 1979 had their songs removed in favor of

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4056-421: The extremities constrict". This can leave a person with the feeling of cold fingers, toes, nose, and ears. Constricted blood vessels also gives the body extra blood flow to the vital organs. Negative emotionality indicated more than 50% of individual variations in performance anxiety in musicians, according to research on performance anxiety and the roles of personality and experience in musicians. Additionally,

4134-473: The growing population. However, this suburban landscape was to be interrupted around the middle of the 19th century, as rapid urban expansion led to The Consolidation Act of 1854 . This state law annexed all of the townships within Philadelphia County to the City of Philadelphia. With new territory now under the aegis of Philadelphia's city planners, a rising influx of European immigrants led to

4212-450: The late 1940s as these residents became more affluent and Northeast Philadelphia began to develop new housing with lawns and conveniences such as modern plumbing. In most cases African Americans moved into the vacant houses and as this began to increase, true white flight began. Increasingly, people moved out of North Philadelphia not solely to move into newer homes, but to avoid facing decreasing property values and increased criminality. For

4290-442: The mid to late 20th century, if not in a more pronounced fashion. While residential corridors like Hope Street and Delhi Street had long housed primarily African-American residents, white residents moved out of the city as waves of poorer black residents moved in. During the 40s and 50s, much of the area was racially integrated , although smaller streets were usually completely black or white. Whites began to move out slowly at first in

4368-457: The police response was to withdraw from the area rather than aggressively confront the rioters. The race riots of 1964 became iconic for the rising ethnic tensions in the region, and the continued withdrawal of white residents. The riot, which virtually destroyed the central shopping district of North Philadelphia, signaled the beginning of the end for the North's commercial sector. The withering of

4446-479: The population lives below the poverty line. Most of Philadelphia's crime pertains to the drug trade. In a 2007 Philadelphia Weekly article journalist Steve Volk states that anti-drug activists said that North Philadelphia has a lot of open air recreational drug dealing because the act is a tradition and because many areas have consistent poverty. Though several blighted Philadelphia neighborhoods are known for open-air drug dealing, as well as open-air drug using,

4524-403: The recurring character Undeen and the sudden death of her Uncle Monty (although no reference to the Brown Hornet story told by Fat Albert as is the normal case in the 1979–84 episodes). The series enjoyed one of the longest runs in the history of Saturday morning cartoons . In 1979, the show was re-titled The New Fat Albert Show and featured a new segment titled "The Brown Hornet" detailing

4602-446: The requirement to perform in front of an audience , real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when performing before a camera ). Performing in front of an unknown audience can cause significantly more anxiety than performing in front of familiar faces. In some cases, the person will suffer no such fright from this, while they might suffer from not knowing who they're performing to. In some cases, stage fright may be

4680-419: The rest of Philadelphia were shut down by SEPTA in 1992. Immense, abandoned factories sit idle; warehouses lie empty; and disused heavy rail lines scar the landscape. The names of the old industrialists, such as Gratz, Poth, Uber, Bouvier and Schmidt, still adorn many buildings and street signs in the area but are otherwise foreign to many modern-day residents. The Neighborhood Transformation Initiative or NTI,

4758-538: The rest of Philadelphia's public transit system: SEPTA . As of 2017 , Taiwanese airline China Airlines provides a private bus service to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for customers based in the Philadelphia area. This service stops in North Philadelphia. Public and Charter schooling in North Philadelphia is handled by the School District of Philadelphia . The region

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4836-530: The rising housing values that have accompanied increased attention in urban markets. Many residents of communities in North Philadelphia have voiced resistance towards these gentrifying forces, viewing the sudden investment as an invasion that threatens the traditional character of the neighborhoods. According to the 2010 census , 340,350 people live among the ZIP codes of 19132, 19133, 19121, 19122, 19130 and 19123. ( Map ) Most of North Philadelphia's population

4914-426: The sensation of being scared or nervous they start to experience anxiety. According to a Harvard Mental Health Letter, "Anxiety usually has physical symptoms that may include a racing heart, a dry mouth , a shaky voice, blushing , trembling , sweating , lightheadedness , and nausea ". It triggers the body to activate its sympathetic nervous system . This process takes place when the body releases adrenaline into

4992-413: The series and stated at the time that they intended to release the entire series on DVD. This never happened as they only re-released The Fat Albert Halloween Special and The Fat Albert Easter Special on DVD via distribution partner Genius Products . On April 6, 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series (under license from Classic Media ) and planned to release

5070-561: The series on VHS and DVD through mail-order. Each volume contained two episodes, with the DVD releases containing a bonus third episode, along with character profiles and a bonus Brown Hornet segment from the 1980-82 seasons. The episodes included were from the 1972-76 seasons, with only one coming from the New Fat Albert season in 1979. Some of the episodes were edited versions, either using 1979-82 Brown Hornet re-broadcasts in place of

5148-432: The series was not continuous. It also spent another season in first-run syndication (1984–85). Three prime-time holiday specials ( Halloween , Christmas , and Easter ) featuring the characters were also produced. Like most Saturday morning cartoons of the era, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids contained an adult laugh track , which was eliminated during the final season. The series was rerun on NBC Saturday mornings and on

5226-472: The series was too educational. Bill Cosby and a new production company, Filmation Associates , then took the property to CBS . The Fat Albert gang's character images were primarily created by the artist Randy Hollar, with the assistance of one-time Disney animator Michelle McKinney, under the direction of Ken Brown. Retitled Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids , the series premiered on September 9, 1972, on CBS . Production lasted for 12 years, though production of

5304-429: The time came about. Many of the neighborhoods in North Philadelphia sprung up around one monolithic factory, which was the center of the community's income. Each factory that closed down devastated its host neighborhood. In this way, the wave of national industrial collapse caused the rapid break up of numerous "factory neighborhoods" in the predominantly working class North Philadelphia. On the evening of August 28, 1964,

5382-463: The words "damn" and "bastard" (Cosby had appeared in the beginning of the episode advising viewers that those words would be used as part of the story's dialogue to realistically depict jail life). Another notable episode, "Gang Wars", featured a child being shot and killed. Another segment was added: "Legal Eagle", a crime-fighting eagle with a pair of bumbling police deputy squirrels. Production of new episodes ceased in 1985. The theme song, "Gonna Have

5460-601: The world between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries, and North Philadelphia is one of the sections of the city whose landscape was most deeply shaped by the industrial era. Its landscape still strongly reflects this heritage. As the industrial age peaked in America, North Philadelphia became a working man's town. Upper North Philadelphia , Olney , Brewerytown , became major hubs of production. Large factories and industrial complexes were erected, covering vast swaths of city land. Thousands of row homes were constructed to house

5538-407: Was syndicated and renamed The Adventures of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids . The lack of network restrictions allowed the producer to delve into more mature subject matter. A notable episode ("Busted") featured the kids having an inadvertent brush with the law and given a Scared Straight! -style tour of an occupied maximum security prison ; it even contained utterances (by the jail's inmates) of

5616-463: Was a City program launched by Mayor John F. Street . The program called for the demolition of thousands of condemned buildings and the construction of large-scale, medium-density public housing, with restoration efforts to be employed on salvageable houses. Many blocks of old rowhouses have been bulldozed and replaced with suburban-style tract houses . This program has radically changed some sections of North Philadelphia. Some charge that little effort

5694-765: Was also available streaming online from HallmarkSpiritClips.com. As of July 2015, Fat Albert was no longer on Bounce TV's lineup. Bounce TV had previously pulled the comedy series Cosby from their lineup in the wake of the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations , but it is unclear if the cancellations of the Fat Albert episodes was related to these allegations. However, several months after returning reruns of The Cosby Show in December 2016, Bounce TV quietly re-added Fat Albert to its schedule in March 2017, until it

5772-460: Was eventually removed from the schedule again in late April 2018. During the mid-1980s, Thorn EMI Video released several volumes of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on VHS as part of their "Children's Matinee" line of animated programs, with each cassette typically containing three episodes. Additional volumes were released later in the decade by Video Treasures , including the three holiday specials. In 2002, Time Life distributed 11 volumes of

5850-891: Was honored and noted for its educational content, which included Cosby earning a Doctorate in Education . In every show's opening Cosby would playfully warn: This is Bill Cosby comin' at you with (lots of) music and fun, and if you're not careful, you may learn something before it's done. So let's get ready, OK? (Fat Albert voice) Hey, hey, hey! During each episode, Fat Albert and his friends (aka The Junkyard Gang), dealt with an issue or problem commonly faced by children, ranging from stage fright , first loves, medical operations, and personal hygiene to more serious themes (though toned down for younger children) including vandalism , stealing , racism , rape, smoking, being scammed by con artists , sexually transmitted diseases , child abuse , kidnapping , drug use, gun violence , and death. At

5928-462: Was made to save a number of historic buildings, others that NTI was needed to change blighted neighborhoods. The lasting effects of the program remain to be seen. Some areas, like Olney, Allegheny and Erie, still have relatively active communities, but even they are often troubled by drugs, crime and/or social underfunding. Allegheny West has advanced, mostly from the support of some of the last industries in North Philadelphia, such as Pep Boys , which

6006-490: Was so extreme that it led to her early retirement from the music industry) and Amanda Seyfried . In some cases, famous stars have struggled to cope with their anxiety. Hugh Grant said on starring in the 2007 film Music and Lyrics that he "did the whole film full of lorazepam ." Not every performer suffers from stage fright. Ethel Merman said: What’s there to worry about? I know my lines. … Why should I be nervous on opening night? The people who paid for tickets for

6084-459: Was so suddenly gained, it would just as suddenly be lost. The new money culture proved to be an unstable foundation for a lasting community, and like so many constructs of the Gilded Age , this core of wealth was doomed to rot. Over the next few decades The Great Depression , outsourcing and white flight took their toll on North Philadelphia in a fashion similar to other major US cities of

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