COSBY:ANOTHER FALLEN STAR

COSBY: ANOTHER FALLEN STAR

Written by: Colin Bruce Munro Wood – 05/26/2016 – 9:09AM ET

It’s August 1975, I’m about turn 6 in November and approaching my first grade year in school.  My brother is only 3, and probably spilling his cereal on the carpet, I’m choking down what may be my second bowl of the morning, and capturing our gaze, in front of us, is a 19 inch black and white television, with rabbit ears, and tinfoil galore.  On that beautiful piece of machinery is one my first memories of a black man on television, let alone with his own cartoon show.  Fat Albert would remain a staple in the Wood household for close to a decade, it finally left the air in 1985.  Of course, by then my brother had moved out, Dad was kicked out, and I was about to move out of my mother's and step-father’s household against their will.

Yes, Fat Albert, along with some of my other favorite to shows of the 70’s taught me to stand up for myself…. most of the time in my life, to too much of an extreme, causing me more pain than happiness.

So, maybe now that we see the real Bill Cosby, I can blame it all on him….

But seriously.  This article intends to take on the dark side of Hollywood, and the underbelly of sex, which drives the entertainment industry.

Bill Cosby is obviously not the first Hollywood Star, or famous individual to be caught in the darkness of his choices.  Certainly, many of us have some sort of skeletons in our closet, that we keep neatly tucked away.  But, what Bill is being accused of goes a little beyond the frame of our skeletons, and into the realm of darkness, control, egoism, and what money and fame can do to a human being, no matter who you are.

I time this article with the fact that Cosby is facing a trial, after newly elected Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele filed charges against Cosby, and a judge on Tuesday, decided there was enough evidence to warrant a trial.

There is an important rule involved in this trial that can make or break the case for Cosby.  The “exception known to many as Rule 404(b) permits that same forbidden evidence of prior wrongs -- so long as it is used for "other purposes." For example, if the evidence tends to prove a common scheme, or discounts the possibility of simple mistakes, or where there is some logical connection between yesterday's acts and today's alleged crime -- that evidence may be admitted. As a final safeguard for the defendant, the prior acts must satisfy a balancing test: The bearing on the case must outweigh the prejudice to the defendant”. (Danny Cevallos, CNN Legal Analyst, updated 7:08 PM ET, Wed May 25, 2016)

With 50 women claiming to have been drugged, and sexually molested by Cosby, this ruling, if put into effect by the prosecution, and approved by the judge, could be detrimental to the ongoing, long standing character of Bill Cosby, the famous comedian we all knew and loved.

Bill, may or may not see jail time out of this trial, depending upon the allowance of the above ruling.  Without rule 404(B), the evidence and witness in this trial, is actually believed to be quite weak, which in turn, will allow another sexual predator back on the streets. Albeit, a 78-year-old predator, who probably doesn’t have too many women “hanging round his parts no more”.

In spending over a year living in Los Angeles, and working in the heart of Beverly Hills on a daily basis, I met many famous individuals; spoke with many actors, and actresses and casting directors, and attended a few parties upon invites.

From Rosemary Clooney to Kevin Spacey, from Tom Hanks to Johnny Depp, I met and hung with many.

However, after a total of 14 months in this devilish “City of Angels”, it became quite clear to me that sex was a driving factor in the Hollywood business, and attraction was a way in.

From offers of threesomes with porn actresses whom I waited tables on, to two well-known stars inviting me back to their place in their limo, to the wild parties, with sex rooms, that I embarrassingly admit I attended, I saw and heard it all.

Hollywood is like one huge sex club that never closes, and you can go anywhere, to any club of your choice to find half nude dancers in cages, and couples having sex in a mass crowd up against the wall, while everyone is dancing.  Drugs run rampant in the bathrooms, and are so part of the Hollywood lifestyle, that the snorting of cocaine, meth, or whatever is your fare, is done right in front of you at the mirror, whilst you wash your hands.

Needless to say, this true New Yorker, upstate and City denizen, did not fit into this society of people.  A Roman or Grecian of old, I am not!  One might even think that Caligula was still alive and running things in this town that depends on all the material parts of life, from fake looks to limousines.

Maybe I ruin my chance of ever being a Hollywood star with this article, and then again maybe not.  Many well to do actors and actresses are leaving Hollywood and setting up studios elsewhere.  Just north of Binghamton, NY where I presently reside, there are 3 actors who have opened a new sizeable Hollywood type studio for filming movies, and they are trying to attract more of their LA buddies to come and join them.  

These are the folks who also don’t fit into the scene in LA.  One can only hope that eventually, Hollywood out west dies out, and that other more respectful, and reputable studios come to fruition and make being in movies a more professional choice, rather than a personality changing choice.

Cosby got away with what he did all these decades because of Hollywood.  They helped him cover up his dark side, and this is part of what helped him fit in so well, at such an early start for African-Americans in Hollywood in the mid 60’s.  He played the same M.O. as the rest of them.

Now, I’m not saying that ALL of Hollywood is this way, or that every star, or star wannabe is into what goes on all over Los Angeles, but I can say from experience, that it’s not exactly hidden around those parts, and it is a large amount of people involved in what seems like an industry in itself, undermining Hollywood as a whole.

Bill Cosby, whom I adored as a child, no longer holds an ounce of respect in my book. I have not been a perfect soul in my life either, but most of what I’ve done has been to myself, not to others.  Bill has overstepped the boundaries of other individuals’ rights, and stomped on them as if they were toy dolls with no feelings.

I hope that somehow, someway, Bill Cosby gets his due for what he has done to so many women.  Some of them may not be truthful, but out of 50, I guarantee that at the least, half are telling the truth.

So, next time you think of Hollywood as some awesome place, or stars as role models, remember that they are simply actors who were born with a different talent than some others, and that it doesn’t make them any better than anyone else, and surely should not set them against the public as examples of what kind of people the general public should be, and desire to mirror in every-day life.

Too many horror stories are coming out of politicians and Hollywood now-a-days, and it is time for us all to be who we are, and not look up to these individuals for inspiration, but to look at our own selves, and true Heroes for our hope in society!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/opinions/bill-cosby-case-going-to-trial-opinion-cevallos/index.html

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