BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bill Cosby shared the healing power of humor Saturday with Cincinnati at the Aronoff Center, then thanked his fans for their support after his son's Jan. 16 murder.

''Mrs. Cosby and I really, really appreciate - and we feel - your prayers, and your hope and your love,'' he said closing his two-hour comedy concert.

The Cosby family has thanked God they knew Ennis, their only son, for 27 years before being shot while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, Mr. Cosby said.

''It's the card you're dealt, and you have to play it,'' he said.

America's most famous father - he was TV's No. 1 star in the 1980s when his Fatherhood book was a best-seller - encouraged other parents who have buried children to rediscover their sense of humor.

''You've got to laugh,'' he told a hushed sold-out audience. ''You can't stay angry with God, or you'll never get well.''

Just moments before, tears of joy were streaming down the faces in the audience as TV's former Dr. Huxtable concluded his performance with a hilarious tale about suffering a gas attack while getting X-rays for a stomach disorder.

The evening was classic Cosby, filled with hysterical observations about marriage, medicine, parenting, aging and religion. He recalled how his fear of Jesus (from the prayer, ''Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep'') was intensified after learning about the Holy Ghost.

''A ghost that has holes in it? Because people have tried to kill it!'' he said.

Mr. Cosby opened with remarks about suburban flight.

''You should come downtown more often so you'd know what's left here,'' he chided. ''I think this is the only city that still has an Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips downtown!

''And this will be the only city with three stadiums. You'll have more stadiums than rivers!''