Preview

Bill Cosby Biography

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
761 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bill Cosby Biography
Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr was born July 12, 1937 and is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show. He was one of the major characters on the children's television series The Electric Company for its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby has also acted in a number of films.

Early life

Bill Cosby was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one of four sons born to Anna Pearl and William Henry Cosby, Sr. As a student, he described himself as a class clown. At Fitz Simmons Junior High, Cosby began acting in plays as well as continuing his devotion to playing sports. He went on to Central High School, an academically challenging magnet school, but his full schedule of playing football, basketball, baseball, and running track made it hard for him. In addition, Cosby was working before and after school, selling produce, shining shoes, and stocking shelves at a supermarket to help out the family. He transferred to Germantown High School, but he failed the tenth grade. He then left school and got a job as an apprentice at a shoe repair shop, which he liked, but could not see himself doing the rest of his life. Shortly he joined the Navy, serving the Marine Corps. While in the navy Bill Cosby then realized how important education was and eventually finish up his equivalency diploma.

Stand up career Fter Bill Cosby left the Navy He started lining stand up gigs at clubs in Philadelphia and soon was off to New York City, where he appeared at The Gaslight Cafe starting in 1962. He lined up dates in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Bill Cosby Court Case

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages

    William Henry Cosby Jr. also known as Bill Cosby is a comedian, actor, and an author. He was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, PA.He was recently accused of sexual assault. He was sent to jail his bail was 1 million dollars. He also was told to surrender his passport.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Killing Lincoln Summary

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bill O’Reilly was born in New York City in 1949. As a boy he and his family moved to Long Island where he graduated from a Catholic high school. He moved to Poughkeepsie, New York to attend Marist College studying history, then spent his junior year at the University of London. O’Reilly recognized a cultural difference immediately when he came back to the United States;…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    [1] Billy Graham was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was raised a Reformed Presbyterian by his dedicated parents. [2] Although Graham’s parents felt that their denomination was the correct religion;…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Belafonte developed a strong name for himself in multiple realms of the entertainment business; however his career as an entertainment had a modest start. In 1944, he dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy. Upon his return, he began working a series of odd jobs until he eventually took a job as a janitor at the American Negro Theater, a place that would change the course of his entire life. It was there that he first learned of his deep passion for acting. It was also there, as Belafonte says, “that the universe opened” for him (“Harry Belafonte: Out”). Harry played a role in Erwin Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop, which led to the start of his famous music career. But in his heart, the music career took a backseat to his acting. During his career, he helped support…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before William Clinton became a President of the United States, he grew up with changing directions like many children. William Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas ("Bill Clinton Biography"). His father had died three months before he was born in a car crash. His mother moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to achieve her…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Owens grew up in a very poor family and childhood. Owens was the seventh child born into his sharecropper family, which soon moved from Alabama to Ohio. In Ohio Owens lived in a new lifestyle and atmosphere. Since Owens was black he was put into 1st grade instead of 2nd grade because the school under estimated his academic abilities.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As he grew older and his movie roles began to die down, Astaire performed more in television. He often played himself for special tribute shows. Astaire had a developing interest in dramatic roles, working on series such as Dr. Kildare. On top of that he worked with another industry legend, Gene Kelly, on That's Entertainment, a documentary which explored the golden era of the movie musical.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Garfield was raised in humble circumstances on an Ohio farm by his widowed mother. He worked at various jobs, including on a canal boat, in his youth. Beginning at age 17, he attended several Ohio schools, then studied at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1856. A…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899. Capone and his family were hoping for a better life when they moved to America. He eventually stopped going to school after his principal beat him for skipping, and this is around the time in which he moved out of a very small apartment. After moving out, Alphonse soon met his mob mentor Torrio and his future wife Mary. Soon after his father’s death from a heart attack in 1920 (history.com), Torrio invited him to Chicago.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harvey Milk was born in Woodmere, New York in 1930. He went on to college at New York State College for Teachers and majored in mathematics. After graduating, Milk joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. During this time, he was very successful and was discharged in 1955 as a lieutenant, junior grade. Following his time of service, Milk began teaching at George W. Hewlett High School. While teaching, Joe Campbell would enter Milk’s life. The two fell in love and moved in together, but after six years of being together, the two separated. Harvey Milk went on to court another man by the name of Craig Rodwell. Rodwellwas part of a gay activist group which was known for agitating the police. Despite being very involved with him, Milk felt he…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hearst was born in San Francisco, California, the third of five daughters of Randolph Apperson Hearst and Catherine Wood Campbell. She grew up primarily in Hillsborough. She attended Crystal Springs School for Girls in Hillsborough and the Santa Catalina School in Monterey. Among her few close friends she counted Patricia Tobin, whose family founded the Hibernia Bank, a branch of which Hearst would later aid in robbing.…

    • 1316 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Will Smith was born and raised in Philadelphia. In his early life he had already gained the nickname "fresh prince" in high school. He then graduated from Overbrook High School. Smiths good SAT scores didn't satisfy him to get him into MIT. His plan was to study computer engineering Despite good SAT scores. In the year 1990 Smith was near bankruptcy but that was when the NBC television network assigned him to a contract on today's hits the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which got him ready for his acting career…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Al Capone Biography

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A few petty crimes al was arrested for tax evasion and was one of the first prisoners at…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Cosby Show is an American sitcom that stares Bill Cosby. The show aired for eight seasons on NBC starting on September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The primary focus of the show was to show the Huxtable family which was an African American family living in Brooklyn New York.…

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Richard Pryor Paper

    • 1402 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Richard Pryor was born Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor on December 1, 1940, in Peoria IL, where his mother worked as a prostitute. (Encyclopedia.com). He was the son of Leroy and Gertrude Pryor. His father worked as a bartender and boxer that served in the military in World War 2. He lived with his grandmother, Marie Carter Bryant, who ran a brothel. At the age of seven, year 1946, Richard was sexually abused by a neighbor named “Hoss”, who would later ask for an autograph after a show. Though he denied having any bitterness towards his upbringing, it would scar him forever and shape his style of comedy. He would later grow up to have seven children and marry and divorce five separate times. Richard Pryor was always the class clown and in school he was often in trouble with authorities and was expelled from high school after striking a teacher. He never returned. Bill Cosby was said to be Richard’s early role model though his influences came from many directions (Duncan Campbell ‘The Guardian’).…

    • 1402 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays