Bill Cosby

WASHINGTON - Bill Cosby said Sunday that the debate over the killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer should be focused on guns, not race. In a taped interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the actor and comedian said that calling George Zimmerman a racist doesn't solve anything. He said the bigger question is what Zimmerman was doing with a gun, and who taught him how to behave with it. The fatal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 has started a nationwide debate about race and self-defense.

WASHINGTON - Bill Cosby said Sunday that the debate over the killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer should be focused on guns, not race. In a taped interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the actor and comedian said that calling George Zimmerman a racist doesn't solve anything. He said the bigger question is what Zimmerman was doing with a gun, and who taught him how to behave with it. The fatal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 has started a nationwide debate about race and self-defense.

Actor LeVar Burton, of "Roots," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Reading Rainbow," will be at Tufts University on Friday to accept the sixth Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children's Media. The Eliot-Pearson Awards are given to organizations and people who've proven their commitment to "innovation, diversity, nonviolence, and developmentally appropriate media" for kids. Last year, the award went to UMass grad Bill Cosby and his Harvard Medical School pal Alvin Poussaint.

ON WGBH Greater Boston 7 p.m. WGBH (Channel 2) A conversation with actor Viggo Mortensen. ON CHRONICLE HPV 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) The American Academy of Pediatrics' recently updated recommendations for the use of the HPV vaccine. RADIO HIGHLIGHTS The Diane Rehm Show 10 a.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) Daniel Glickman, senior fellow at Bipartisan Policy Center; Mark Kastel cofounder at the Cornucopia Institute; and New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal discuss the environmental outlook on organic food standards.

Comedian and education activist Bill Cosby is visiting Connecticut to help a Hartford magnet school as it tries to raise $100,000 for college scholarships for its students. Capital Preparatory Magnet School says it had raised $90,000 by mid-week and hopes to raise significantly more through Friday's event, in which Cosby will give the keynote talk. The Hartford Courant reports ( http://cour.at/zhXUMN) the $50-per-ticket fundraiser has sold out. It will also include Soledad O'Brien of CNN, former NBA star Jalen Rose, education reformer Geoffrey Canada and NFL Hall of Famer Franco...

The city has received a $234,000 state grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund to help fund the cost of installing an air conditioning system in the Lynn Memorial Auditorium. The grant was among 54 totaling $7.4 million awarded by the agency to support building projects for nonprofit arts, heritage, and science organizations. The 2,100-seat auditorium is located in City Hall. Since restoration was completed in 2004, it has become a popular venue for entertainment, including big-name acts including Bill Cosby, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Julio Iglesias, Kenny Rogers, and Peter Frampton.

Comedian Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille , paid a visit to the Rhode Island estate of late actor Anthony Quinn the other day. The Anthony Quinn Foundation hosted a reception at the estate in Bristol, which is home to members of Quinn's family as well as his eclectic artworks. A two-time Academy Award winner ("Viva Zapata!" and "Lust for Life"), Quinn lived on the property with his wife, Katherine , and their two children, from 1995 until 2001, when he died of pneumonia.

LOS ANGELES — Varnette Honeywood, an artist whose paintings adorned the walls of the set of “The Cosby Show’’ and whose strikingly colorful images depicted tender moments in black family life, has died. She was 59. Ms. Honeywood died Sunday in a Los Angeles hospital after a two-year battle with cancer, one of her cousins, Jennell Allen, said Tuesday. Raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Honeywood majored in fine arts at Spelman College in Atlanta, earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and...

I just spent an hour searching for Tim Tebow videos on the web. In related news, I now fear for our society much greater than I did one hour ago. -------------------- It's not quite as good as his classic Randy Moss mashup, but DJ Steve Porter does a good job mixing up Tebow. Boom, Bill Cosby. Boom. Tebowing around the globe. Somebody got beat up as a child. Kordell Stewart is an NFL commentator. That's like having Ray Kroc as a guest commentator for Gourmet Magazine.

DETROIT - Bill Cosby had heard about the tough-as-nails and uncompromising man tackling fraud and improving education throughout Detroit’s public schools, and wanted to help. So the 72-year-old actor, comedian, and activist decided to loan the district his celebrity as Detroit tries to hold off plummeting enrollment amid a fiscal crisis that a few weeks ago spurred suggestions of a possible bankruptcy. “All around the United States of America - in the cities and the counties - our public education is suffering and has been suffering.

Actor LeVar Burton, of "Roots," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Reading Rainbow," will be at Tufts University on Friday to accept the sixth Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children's Media. The Eliot-Pearson Awards are given to organizations and people who've proven their commitment to "innovation, diversity, nonviolence, and developmentally appropriate media" for kids. Last year, the award went to UMass grad Bill Cosby and his Harvard Medical School pal Alvin Poussaint.

Comedian and education activist Bill Cosby is visiting Connecticut to help a Hartford magnet school as it tries to raise $100,000 for college scholarships for its students. Capital Preparatory Magnet School says it had raised $90,000 by mid-week and hopes to raise significantly more through Friday's event, in which Cosby will give the keynote talk. The Hartford Courant reports ( http://cour.at/zhXUMN) the $50-per-ticket fundraiser has sold out. It will also include Soledad O'Brien of CNN, former NBA star Jalen Rose, education reformer...

The city has received a $234,000 state grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund to help fund the cost of installing an air conditioning system in the Lynn Memorial Auditorium. The grant was among 54 totaling $7.4 million awarded by the agency to support building projects for nonprofit arts, heritage, and science organizations. The 2,100-seat auditorium is located in City Hall. Since restoration was completed in 2004, it has become a popular venue for entertainment, including big-name acts including Bill Cosby, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Julio Iglesias, Kenny Rogers, and Peter Frampton.

I just spent an hour searching for Tim Tebow videos on the web. In related news, I now fear for our society much greater than I did one hour ago. -------------------- It's not quite as good as his classic Randy Moss mashup, but DJ Steve Porter does a good job mixing up Tebow. Boom, Bill Cosby. Boom. Tebowing around the globe. Somebody got beat up as a child. Kordell Stewart is an NFL commentator. That's like having Ray Kroc as a guest commentator for Gourmet Magazine.

Comedian Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille , paid a visit to the Rhode Island estate of late actor Anthony Quinn the other day. The Anthony Quinn Foundation hosted a reception at the estate in Bristol, which is home to members of Quinn's family as well as his eclectic artworks. A two-time Academy Award winner ("Viva Zapata!" and "Lust for Life"), Quinn lived on the property with his wife, Katherine , and their two children, from 1995 until 2001, when he died of pneumonia.

LOS ANGELES — Varnette Honeywood, an artist whose paintings adorned the walls of the set of “The Cosby Show’’ and whose strikingly colorful images depicted tender moments in black family life, has died. She was 59. Ms. Honeywood died Sunday in a Los Angeles hospital after a two-year battle with cancer, one of her cousins, Jennell Allen, said Tuesday. Raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Honeywood majored in fine arts at Spelman College in Atlanta, earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and...

LOS ANGELES — Robert Culp, the actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking television series “I Spy’’ and was Bob in the critically acclaimed sex comedy “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,’’ died yesterday after collapsing outside his Hollywood home, his manager said. Mr. Culp was 79. Manager Hillard Elkins said the actor was on a walk when he fell. He was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead just before noon. The actor’s son was told he died of a heart attack, Elkins said, though police were unsure whether the fall was medically...

WASHINGTON - Ben Ali, the founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl diner, a landmark in Washington’s black business and entertainment district and a frequent stop for politicians and celebrities, has died. He was 82. Mr. Ali died of congestive heart failure Wednesday night at his home, his daughter-in-law Sonya Ali said yesterday. Mr. Ali was born in 1927 and opened the restaurant with his wife, Virginia, in an old movie house in 1958, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and integrating public schools.

LOS ANGELES — Robert Culp, the actor who teamed with Bill Cosby in the racially groundbreaking television series “I Spy’’ and was Bob in the critically acclaimed sex comedy “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,’’ died yesterday after collapsing outside his Hollywood home, his manager said. Mr. Culp was 79. Manager Hillard Elkins said the actor was on a walk when he fell. He was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead just before noon. The actor’s son was told he died of a heart attack, Elkins said, though police were unsure whether the fall was medically...

WASHINGTON - Ben Ali, the founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl diner, a landmark in Washington’s black business and entertainment district and a frequent stop for politicians and celebrities, has died. He was 82. Mr. Ali died of congestive heart failure Wednesday night at his home, his daughter-in-law Sonya Ali said yesterday. Mr. Ali was born in 1927 and opened the restaurant with his wife, Virginia, in an old movie house in 1958, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and integrating public schools.