Honoring Bill Cosby.

WHEREAS, William Henry Cosby was born on July 12, 1937 in Germantown. He was the oldest of three boys raised by William Sr. and Anna; and

WHEREAS, As a young boy, Bill was immediately drawn to the comedy radio shows of his time, including Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, and Fred Allen. By the 5th grade, Cosby was entertaining classmates and teachers alike with his stand up comedy; and

WHEREAS, In 1956,

unable to juggle the demands of working and being a star athlete, Cosby dropped out of Germantown High and, following in the footsteps of his father, joined the Navy. His time in the Navy would lead him to realize the importance of an education, and after earning his GED while in the Navy, Cosby won a track and field scholarship to Temple University, the beginning of a forty year love affair with the school; and

WHEREAS, Cosby’s comedy career soared while studying at Temple. It began as he was tending bar at The Cellar in Philadelphia, telling jokes to his customers. The jokes were usually based on everyday events. Two years later, Cosby had secured his own gig in Greenwich Village in New York, ultimately leading to a contract with the William Morris Agency, the first of many comedy albums and shows in Las Vegas, Chicago and other major cities; and

WHEREAS, In 1965,

Cosby landed a starring role in the NBC series

I Spy

for which he won three Emmy Awards. Bill dabbled in both television and film over the next few years, and found enormous success with his critically acclaimed animated series

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

Bill also starred in a number of movies, thrusting him into the limelight as a major comedic talent; and

WHEREAS, Bill spent much of the 70’s earning advanced degrees in education at the University of Massachusetts, culminating in his being awarded a doctorate of education in 1977. He also became a popular pitchman for a number of products, including Coca- Cola and Kodak; and

WHEREAS, In 1984,

The Cosby Show

debuted on NBC. The show became one of the most popular programs of all-time until its’ demise in 1992. The show’s humor was warm and universal, a stark contrast to many of the other shows being broadcast at that time; and

WHEREAS, During his time with

The Cosby Show,

Bill also became an author and published four very popular books; and

WHEREAS, Bill became a very wealthy man due to the astounding syndication success of

The Cosby Show.

He and his lovely wife Camille became very active in philanthropy, giving millions to charities and universities; and

WHEREAS, After the tragic loss of his son Ennis in 1997, Bill immersed himself in his work and his charities, founding the Ennis William Cosby Foundation, focusing on the early detection and treatment of dyslexia; and

WHEREAS, Bill has also created a series of children’s books and a television series entitled “

Little Bill

” which is designed to help parents teach values to their children. Cosby has been a spent a lifetime extolling the virtues of quality television programming; and

WHEREAS, In honor of his marvelous accomplishments in the entertainment industry, Bill was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. In 1998, Cosby was saluted at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C.; and

WHEREAS, On July 9, 2002, in recognition of his lifetime of outstanding achievement, Bill Cosby was awarded the President’s Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush, the highest honor to be bestowed upon a civilian; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend Bill Cosby on a lifetime of achievement in the entertainment industry.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Bill Cosby, as further evidence of the sincere respect, appreciation and admiration of this legislative body. As our favorite son, Mr. Cosby gives all Philadelphians yet another reason to be proud of our beautiful city.

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