Bill Cosby
In today’s society, to be a successful communicator, you must be able to reach many people on many different levels. Bill Cosby is by any standard, one of the most popular and beloved stars in America today. Whether through concert appearances or recordings, television or feature films, commercials or education, he has the ability to touch people’s lives (www.wceu.org/cosbybio.htm).
William Cosby, Jr. was born on July 12, 1937 in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a small rundown area called Germantown; also known to its inhabitants as “The Jungle” because of the lack of money and the poor families. Jobs were scarce back then in that area, most of the people that lived there did not work. As a child, Bill found himself surrounded by drugs and violence. Most of the children at that time ran together in gangs or groups. It was then that Bill formed life long friendships with a group of kids that would become known to him as “the gang”. This group of boys stayed out of trouble for the most part, as much as boys can when surrounded by other boys. These friends would become a big part in Cosby’s future career, as he used his life experiences for material in his comedy and tv shows.
Around the middle of the 1940’s, with the Great Depression over and the United States entering into World War II, Bills family would be put to the test. His parents, William Cosby, Sr. and Anna Pearl Cosby, struggled to make ends meet. William was a welder and had a hard time finding work while Ann stayed home with the kids, Bill, James, and Russell. At age six, Bill’s younger brother passed away after coming down with rheumatic fever, Bill was only eight years old. A year later Bill’s father joined the Navy and left for six months at a time, leaving Bill to take the role as “man of the house”. Anna took a job cleaning houses and Bill took a full-time summer job at a local grocery store, forcing to Bill to become responsible before his time.
In 1956, after World War II ended, Bill dropped out of high school and joined the Navy like his father. He was assigned to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland because of his choice to go into the field of Medical Corpsman. As he continued in the service, he continued to play sports and make people laugh. After returning home from the Navy, and getting his High School Equivalency Diploma, Bill dreamed of going to college. He applied for scholarships to attend Temple University. He soared in the sports he played and won awards in football, basketball and track. In 1960, he dropped out of Temple soon after his freshman year, feeling the effects of racial discrimination; he headed to the West Coast to look for work.
Bill found it very easy to make those around him laugh. He soon [next page]