BILL COSBY BIZZARE

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/12/08/us/Philly2/Philly2-blog427.jpgPHILADELPHIA — It was seven weeks ago that a stand-up comic named Hannibal Buress ripped into a local icon at the Trocadero Theater here, calling Bill Cosby a “rapist” and setting in motion a cascade of ugly allegations that threaten to undermine an image Mr. Cosby built over decades. Nowhere has the precipitous fall of Mr. Cosby been more acutely felt than in Philadelphia, where he was a cherished native son who shot to fame spinning humorous tales of a childhood in public housing. He became a philanthropist and cheerleader for his hometown, not least through the Temple sweatshirts that he wore onstage and on “The Cosby Show” and that put his alma mater on the map. As recently as Veterans Day, Mayor Michael A. Nutter acknowledged Mr. Cosby at a ceremony on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, saying, “Thank you, sir, for everything.” Continue reading the main story Related Coverage National Briefing | West: California: Inquiry Into Cosby Abuse Claim Opened DEC. 6, 2014 National Briefing | Mid-Atlantic: Pennsylvania: Cosby Quits University Board DEC. 1, 2014 Bill Cosby Gave Interview to Keep Charges SecretNOV. 26, 2014 Accusations of sexual assault against Bill Cosby have flared up in recent weeks. Comeback by Bill Cosby Unravels as Rape Claims Re-emergeNOV. 19, 2014 Cosby Is Off Another Show as Rape Accusations SwirlNOV. 14, 2014 But as more than 15 women have publicly accused the comedian of assault, often after drugging them, his hometown has plunged into a re-examination of his life and ties to the city. It is a process painful and sad, as residents try to square the image of Mr. Cosby as a beloved father figure, extolling on TV and in books the value of education and intact Afhttp://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/12/08/us/Philly2/Philly2-blog427.jpgrican-American families, with allegations of his sexual violence toward women going back five decades.