William Henry Cosby, Jr was born at Germantown, Pennsylvania on this day in 1937. How much introduction does Cos need? Bill dropped out of school in tenth grade to join the Navy, later got his high school diploma by correspondence and received his B.A. from Temple University with plans to teach physical education. He got his Masters (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) in Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He and wife Camille had five children, all of their first names started with E for Excellence. I was hooked the first time I heard him say "How long can you tread water?" in the bit with Noah and God before the flood on his first album, "Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow, Right!" Here are a few lines, some funny, some serious, from Dr Cosby.
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“That married couples can live together day after day is a miracle the Vatican has overlooked.”
“Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half dead. In a steak house, you see robust, ruddy people. They're dying, of course, but they look terrific.”
“I am proud to be an American. Because an American can eat anything on the face of this earth as long as he has two pieces of bread.”
“I guess the real reason that my wife and I had children is the same reason that Napoleon had for invading Russia: it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“I was a physical education major with a child psychology minor at Temple, which means if you ask me a question about a child's behavior, I will advise you to tell the child to take a lap.”
“Is the glass half full, or half empty? It depends on whether you're pouring, or drinking.”
“Sex education may be a good idea in the schools, but I don't believe the kids should be given homework.”
All from Bill Cosby
I grew a new respect for him after seeing the way he dealt with the loss of his son and when he starting speaking out against ignorance and deliberate stupidity in the ghetto.
He’s also a great man to work with. Did several of his appearances in Denver.