LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Bill Cosby: Temple University
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LOS ANGELES, June 28 2004 /PRNewswire/ — Bill Cosby's criticism about the dismal lack of "standard" English proficiency and its link to the educational and economic crises facing African American youth continues to spark intense social debate. Speaking at the NAACP Brown V. Board of Education commemoration at Howard University last month, Mr. Cosby remarked: "Just forget telling your child to go to the Peace Corps. It's right around the corner. It's standing on the corner. It can't speak English. It doesn't want to speak English.
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Bill Cosby still harbored his educational dreams and finished his BA from Temple University and followed it up with an MA in 1972 and an Ed.D. in 1977 from University of Massachusetts.
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Cosby left Temple as a sophomore to pursue a career in comedy. His parents were not pleased, but he lined 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 was discovered by actor Carl Reiner, who enjoyed Cosby's brand of humor. Later, the university would grant him his bachelor's degree on the basis of "life experience." Cosby's career took off quickly, and he lined up dates in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington DC, among others. Right!, the first of a series of popular comedy albums in 1964.
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William Henry Cosby, Junior, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1937, to Anna and William Cosby. There were four boys in the family, but one died from rheumatic fever at six years old. Soon after the young boy's death, William Cosby Sr., left his family and joined the Navy. Bill, the oldest son, became the man of the family and helped his mother pay the bills by doing odd jobs such as delivering groceries and shining shoes. He tried to keep up with his school work, but he dropped out of high school to join the Navy in the early 1950s. Cosby's mother had always stressed the importance of education to her children, and so eventually Bill earned his diploma through correspondence school and was accepted at Temple University in Philadelphia on an athletic scholarship.
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While serving in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman for four years, Cosby worked in physical therapy with some seriously injured Korean War casualties,[2] which helped him discover what was important to him. He immediately realized the need for an education, and finished his equivalency diploma via correspondence courses.[3] He then won a track and field scholarship to Philadelphia's Temple University in 1961,[4] and studied physical education while running track and playing fullback on the football team. However, he had continued to hone his talent for humor, joking with fellow enlistees in the service and then with college friends. When he began tending bar at the Cellar, a club in Philadelphia, to earn money, he became fully aware of his ability to make people laugh. He worked his customers and saw his tips increase, then ventured on to the stage.[5]
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Cosby left high school early to join the Navy and after 4 years service entered Temple University on an athletic scholarship. It was his natural sense of humor that prompted him to create a comedy routine during his college years. An enthusiastic response from local nightclubs quickly turned into something much bigger. By 1962 he was performing at New York's Gaslight Cafe and within a year was making his first appearance on 'The Tonight Show'.
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