by Charie Winburn

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: June 05, 2009

Those who lived in the 70s heard the infamous "Hey, hey, hey" and pictured not only the main character, Fat Albert, but also his gang of underprivileged children from the inner city. "Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids" was a staple of Saturday morning programming exposing children (and parents alike) to a view of the country they had never seen. In the late 60's and early 70's cartoons were either animals or Caucasian children. There was no representation of black culture or lifestyle which is where Bill Cosby found his niche.

The 1970s were a time when this country was still quite segregated. Many Caucasian youth had never even seen an African American in real life and had never considered the type of lifestyle they might be leading somewhere in the world. Even though integration took place many years before people still considered that segment of the population (not only black characters but inner city, underprivileged ones as well) different, inferior and to be kept at arms length. This groundbreaking program began to change all of that.

Bill Cosby created Fat Albert for his stand up comedy routine. He patterned the character after one of his childhood friends and based the stories on his own experiences in inner city North Philadelphia. In 1967 Cosby recorded an album titled "Revenge" which included Fat Albert in a story called "Buck, Buck". In 1969 Cosby and Ken Mundie developed the animated characters for a one time special to air in prime time. The special entitled "Hey, Hey, Hey, it's Fat Albert" was a hit but wouldn't hit the Saturday morning line up for almost three years.

On September 9, 1972 Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids premiered and changed Saturday mornings forever. The show's characters reflected the ideas, morals and adventures of many children in the country and soon gained a faithful following. African American and inner city families were not the only ones encouraging their children to watch the show. Those who lived in parts of the country without a predominately black population were also interested in watching the antics of the amazing characters Cosby created and Michelle McKinney and Ken Brown animated. Many people saw that where you come from and what color your skin is made no difference. People are people and all children face many of the same challenges as they learn and grow.

How could a child not love Fat Albert who was the heart and soul - and often the conscience - of the Junkyard Gang. Obese

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