Bill Cosby

1. Bill Cosby By Ronald L. Smith PowerPoint by Jake Nelson

2. Introduction Bill Cosby was born on July 12th, 1937 in Germantown of North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is famous for his acting and his stand-up comedy. I chose Bill Cosby because his stand-up is funny, and the book where I got the information on him was the only thing remotely interesting at the library.

3. Childhood The residents of Germantown named it “The Jungle” due to the poor district. Bill Cosby’s father, William Cosby, drank too much and his mother, Anna Cosby worked a lot. Young Bill Cosby never seemed to see his parents as much as he should have . As time passed, William Cosby increasingly drank and wasn’t often there for his family when they needed him. When Bill was two years old, his mother gave birth to James Cosby, Bill also had an older brother named Russell. When Bill was about four years old, His father left his family for the navy. When the time came that William Cosby came home from the navy, all Bill’s parents seemed to do was fight. Bill recalls not getting sleep because of his drunken father screaming at Bills mother. When Bill was around eight, his younger brother, James, died from a rheumatic fever. Time passed and young Cosby never saw his father again.

4. Adolescence With Bill’s father being gone, Bill had to help his mother as his father should have when he was around. Bill’s mother took up a job of maid service 12 hours a day, and Bill took up a job of shoe-shining and selling fruit on Main Street. He also helped his mother with things like cooking and taking care of his brothers. Outside of home, the way Bill had made friends was through laughter. If Bill got them laughing, he considered them his friends. Young Bill grew up a humorous kid. Whenever he cooked for his family, he put food coloring in everything. The first time he got appreciated for his humorous ways was in the sixth grade, whereas not only his fellow classmates were amused, but he got the teacher laughing too. His grades weren’t great, but even the teacher knew he could get far in his life of humor. But in Germantown, quite likely the most ghetto area in all of Pennsylvania, how could he? When Bill graduated from Junior High, he transferred to Germantown High School, in which he failed the tenth grade. Instead of staying back a year, he dropped out of school and took up a job of repairing shoes. He enjoyed his job, but didn’t want to do it for the rest of his life.

5. Adulthood He then later joined the Navy as a hospital corpsman for four years. Bill realized he needed an education to pursue his real dream of comedy. He got into Philadelphia's Temple University by completing a track and field scholarship in 1961. Bill always called himself a class clown, and even the class could agree with that. Bill got a job at a club as a bartender, and he mastered his ability to make almost anyone laugh. His tips increased, and he moved on to the stage life. Bill dropped out of the Temple University (even though he would resume his life in college in 1970) and began performing stand-up at gigs in other Philadelphia clubs. He moved on to New York City clubs, and made an appearance at the Gaslight Café in 1962. He booked gigs in major cities such as Las Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.. He was invited to make an appearance on NBC’s program The Tonight Show in 1963. He later signed a record deal for a series of comedy records titled: Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow…Right! One of the times he was performing stand-up, he met Camille Hanks, whom he would marry on January 25, 1964. They had five children :Erika Ranee (1965), Erinn (1966), Ensa (1973), and Evin (1976), and son Ennis (1969). Ennis was murdered at the age of 28 when changing a flat tire.

6. Adulthood (Cont’d.) Bill got his fans laughing by jokes such as humorous stories of his childhood. He always thinks to himself: "A white person listens to my act and he laughs and he thinks, 'Yeah, that's the way I see it too.‘” (quote) as a way to try to get all of the listeners laughing, almost as if they can relate and understand. Bill became the first African-American TV co-star when he starred in I Spy, where the first season was aired in 1965. Bill continued to do his stand-up when the show was still ongoing. Bill was awarded with three awards for most outstanding performance in a drama series. Bill regularly appeared on The Tonight Show. He then laterstarred on a comedy TV show, titled The Bill Cosby show, in 1969. The show was on air for two seasons. Bill Played a physical education teacher, and the show was a hit when it came to ratings. Once The Bill Cosby Show came off of the air, he went back to college at the University of Massachusetts. In 1972, Bill earned an MA (master of arts) and Bill returned with a new series: The New Bill Cosby Show. This time, Bill’s ratings turned out to be not very good, and the show only lasted for one season. A more successful program was Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a Saturday morning series with Bill as the host, with episodes based off of his childhood. The series ran for seven years starting in 1972, and then returned, airing from 1979 to 1984 as The NewFat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

7. Adulthood (Cont’d.) Bill Cosby, not finishing his time in Temple university, returned and was granted his Bachelor Degree in “life experience”. In 1976, Bill was featured in a kid’s television series, titled Cos. It premiered in September 1976 and was cancelled the following November due to low ratings. But however, Bill’s most successful TV series was aired in September of 1984, and it was The Cosby show; a comedy about a unique African-American family. The show lasted until 1992. After The Cosby Show went off the air, Bill starred in a large number of things in a short time. He worked on the TV movie I Spy Returns, in 1994, The Cosby Mysteries, also in 1994, and many more. Bill Cosby later hosted Kids Say The Darndest Things, which was cancelled four seasons later. He starred in Nickelodeon TV series for preschoolers; Little Bill. The show was aired in 1999. Bill Cosby signed a deal with FOX programming, agreeing that FOX can create a movie based on the TV series, Fat Albert. The movie hit the theatres in December of 2004.

8. Bill earns a track-and-field scholarship into Philadelphia Temple University in 1961. He drops out of Temple University and performs stand-up at many clubs in 1962. The Bill Cosby Show returns as The New Bill Cosby Show, which only lasted one season. Bill fails the tenth grade in 1951, and takes up a job of repairing shoes. Bill marries Camille Hanks on January 24, 1964. The Bill Cosby Show’s first season aired in 1969. Bill’s mother gives birth to James Cosby in 1939. Bill Cosby was born on July 12, 1937. Bill’s Father leaves his family for the navy in 1941. He got a job as a bartender at a club in 1961. Bill makes an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show in 1963, and then later signed a record deal to release a comedy album titled Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow… Right! Bill works as a Hospital Corpsman in 1956-60. Bill co-stars on TV series I Spy, where the first season was aired in 1965. Bill returns to college in 1972 at the University of Massachusetts and earns a Master of Arts degree.

9. Bill Starred in a cartoon called Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids in 1972, and ran for seven years. Bill returned to Temple University to earn his Bachelor degree. Bill stars in TV movie I Spy Returns and The Cosby Mysteries in 1994. Little Bill, a preschooler show, was aired in 1999 and was cancelled in 2001. The Cosby Show is aired from September of 1984 to 1992. Bill hosts Kids Say The Darndest Things in 1995, and was cancelled four years later. Fat Albert was made into a movie and then released in theatres in 1994. Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids returns as The New Fat Albert and The Cosby kids, which lasted from 1979 to 1984.

10. Questions I would ask Bill Cosby • Have you ever choked on stage? • What was the most career-uplifting experience you’ve ever had? • Do you have any role models or heroes? If so, who?