Bill Cosby has broken his two-year silence to say he is completely blind and working on new jokes in the hope of performing again.
Cosby gave the interview to NNPANewswire but refused to comment on sexual assault allegations by dozens of women that have damaged the public's view of the man once known as "America's dad".
He says about two years ago he called out to wife, Camille, to say "I can't see".
His PR person Andrew Wyatt told NNPA that they had to come up with ways for Cosby to perform his stage show.
"When he would perform, we'd draw a wide straight yellow line from backstage to the chair on the stage and he'd rehearse the walk, hours before the show," Wyatt said.
Cosby said despite his blindness he wanted to get back on stage doing comedy.
"I miss it all and I hope that day will come. I have some routines and storytelling that I am working on," he said. "I think about walking out on stage somewhere in the United States of America and sitting down in a chair and giving the performance that will be the beginning of the next chapter of my career."
It came as Cosby's youngest daughter came to the disgraced comedian's defence ahead of his looming sexual assault trial.
Evin Cosby wrote in an opinion piece for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, published on Wednesday, that her father "is not abusive, violent or a rapist" and that he "loves and respects women."
She acknowledged that her 79-year-old father had affairs, but said he and her mother Camille "have worked through it and moved on."
Bill Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and the trial is set to begin near Philadelphia with jury selection next month.
Dozens of other women have also made similar accusations against Cosby.
Evin Cosby, a single mother with two children, wrote that the accusations are "harsh and hurtful" and have been "carelessly repeated as truth."
She wrote: "I am his 4th daughter. He raised me to go to college, start my own business, and be my own woman.
"He is helping me raise my children and teach them family values. I know that my father loves me, loves my sisters and my mother. He loves and respects women."
Bill Cosby, center, is led out of a courtroom. Photo / Getty
She added: "The harsh and hurtful accusations of things that supposedly happened 40 or 50 years ago, before I was born, in another lifetime, and that have been carelessly repeated as truth without allowing my dad to defend himself and without requiring proof, has punished not just my dad but every one of us."
She continued: "They have punished the talented people who were still earning money and feeding their families from my dad's shows and work. I am pleased that finally we are seeing the whole picture and seeing cases and claims dismissed from court. I just hope that those who pre-judged my dad are now willing to admit that they were wrong."
Evin Cosby also released a statement in 2014, telling Access Hollywood that Cosby "is the FATHER you thought you knew. The Cosby Show was my today's TV reality show. Thank you. That's all I would like to say."
