28 Days of American History

Feb 9, 2010

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Guess who today's post is about?! Check it out under the "full post" link, homie! Photobucket
That's right! This Uncle Tom is the great Bill Cosby. Born 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he is most famously known for his hit sitcom The Cosby Show. (I personally LOVE that show, but I don't know how I feel about Mr. Cosby himself. Don't judge me.)

Cosby excelled early on in high school, but focused so much on sports that his grade suffered. Consequently, he ended up dropping out of high school in the 10th grade (tsk, tsk, tsk) and enlisted in the Navy from 1956-60. In 1961, he earned a track and field scholarship to Temple University and stayed there until his sophomore year...then he left school again to pursue comedy. The rest is history. (Don't be mislead, Cosby earned the equivalent to a high school diploma and later attended UMASS and got a Doctor of Education degree.)

By the early 70s, he had snagged a spot on Saturday morning television doing voices for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, an animated show about his childhood memories. In 1984, The Cosby Show debuted on NBC, becoming a staple in households across the country. A lot of people came down on him, saying that the show presented an unrealistic view of African-American lifestyle, while Cosby argued that the show provided a positive ALTERNATIVE to harsher images shown elsewhere on television.

Since the success of The Cosby Show, little Bill has written several books geared towards fatherhood, family, and college graduates and he has also spoken out vehemently about the negative portrayal of blacks in the media today.

The End.

2 comments:

Supastarrr said...

waiiiiit. Bill Cosby died? =x "That's right! This Uncle Tom is the late, great Bill Cosby."

Dub said...

'scuse me, fam! Had a mental lapse!

 
Don't watch me, w-w-watch my feet....