Editing Bill Cosby (section)

== Early life and further education ==
William Henry Cosby Jr. was born on July 12, 1937,<ref>{{cite news |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Monitor |newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=1215 |page=20}}</ref> in Philadelphia.<ref name=filmref/> He is one of four sons of Anna Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr., who served as a [[Culinary specialist (United States Navy)|mess steward]] in the [[U.S. Navy]].<ref name="filmref">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby Biography (1937–) |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/57/Bill-Cosby.html |work=Filmreference.com |access-date=September 18, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Pylant |first=James |title=A Glimpse at Bill Cosby's Virginia Roots |url=http://www.genealogymagazine.com/billcosby.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Genealogymagazine.com |date=June 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091026024735/http://www.genealogymagazine.com/billcosby.html |archive-date=October 26, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:1957 December 23 US Navy Medicine photo of Bill Cosby.jpg|upright|thumb|Cosby as a basketball player during his Navy service in 1957]]
Cosby was the class president as well as captain of both the baseball and track-and-field teams at [[Mary Channing Wister Public School]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby Trivia |url=http://www.tv.com/bill-cosby/person/4026/trivia.html |url-status=dead |work=TV.com |access-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208211219/http://www.tv.com/bill-cosby/person/4026/trivia.html |archive-date=February 8, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sof |first=Eric |title=Bill Cosby |url=https://special-ops.org/military/veteran/us-navy-bill-cosby-military-service/ |url-status=dead |work=Spec Ops |date=December 28, 2016 |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702180420/https://special-ops.org/military/veteran/us-navy-bill-cosby-military-service/ |archive-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref> Teachers noted his propensity for joking around instead of studying, and he described himself as the class clown.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Cosby and Me |url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-lens/2006/12/bill_cosby_and_me.html |url-status=dead |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 11, 2007 |access-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705132705/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-lens/2006/12/bill_cosby_and_me.html |archive-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref> Cosby attended Philadelphia's [[Central High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)|Central High School]], a [[magnet school]] and academically rigorous college [[University-preparatory school|prep school]], where he [[ran track]] and played baseball, [[American football|football]], and basketball.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} He transferred to [[Germantown High School (Philadelphia)|Germantown High School]] but failed the tenth grade.<ref name="William Morris Agency">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140221193501/http://www.wma.com/bill_cosby/bio/BILL_COSBY.pdf William Morris Agency]. Retrieved July 15, 2015</ref>

In 1956,<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- byline just says staff --> |title=Bill Cosby's honorary chief status revoked amid controversy |url=http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2014/12/04/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-navy-chief-honor-revoked/19897577/ |work=Navy Times |date=December 4, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref> Cosby enlisted in the Navy and served as a [[hospital corpsman]] at the [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] in [[Virginia]]; at [[Naval Station Argentia]] in [[Newfoundland]], Canada; and at the [[National Naval Medical Center]] in [[Maryland]].<ref name="Military.com">{{cite web |title=Famous Veterans: Bill Cosby |url=http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-bill-cosby.html?file=trans_bill_cosby.htm |url-status=live |work=Military.com |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610122829/http://www.military.com/Careers/Content1?file=trans_bill_cosby.htm&area=Content |archive-date=June 10, 2007}}</ref> He worked in [[physical therapy]] with Navy and [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] personnel who were injured during the [[Korean War]].<ref name="Military.com"/> He served until 1960 and became a petty officer 3rd class.

Cosby earned his [[HSED|high school equivalency diploma]] through correspondence courses<ref name="Kennedy Center">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |publisher=[[The Kennedy Center]] |access-date=February 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216143109/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3713&source_type=A |archive-date=February 16, 2007}}</ref> and was awarded a track-and-field scholarship to [[Temple University]] in 1961.<ref name="ESPER">[https://web.archive.org/web/20030914222430/http://esperstamps.org/t61.htm "Bill Cosby"]. Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections. Retrieved February 10, 2014.</ref> At Temple, he studied physical education while he ran track and played [[Fullback (gridiron football)|fullback]] on the college's football team.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vecsy |first=George |title=Cosby Can Laugh Now, but Football Was Serious Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/sports/05vecsey.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 4, 2010 |access-date=January 30, 2019}}</ref> Cosby began bartending at a Philadelphia club, where he earned bigger tips by making the customers laugh. He then began performing on stage and left his university studies to pursue a career in comedy.<ref name="Verve Records">{{cite web |title=Bill Cosby |url=http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?ob=per&aid=2842 |website=vervemusicgroup.com |publisher=[[Verve Records]]}}{{dead link|date=July 2019| bot= medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Cosby resumed his formal education in 1971. Temple University granted him his [[bachelor's degree]] on the basis of what it referred to as life experience.<ref>{{cite web |last=Holznagel |first=Fritz |title=From Dropout to Doctorate: A Bill Cosby Educational Timeline |url=http://www.who2.com/blog/2010/12/from-dropout-to-doctorate-a-bill-cosby-educational-timeline |work=Who2 Biographies |date=December 5, 2010 |access-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018095941/http://www.who2.com/blog/2010/12/from-dropout-to-doctorate-a-bill-cosby-educational-timeline |url-status=dead }}</ref> He then began graduate work at [[University of Massachusetts Amherst|UMass Amherst]], receiving his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1972.

He returned to UMass Amherst, and in 1976, while producing ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'', he earned his [[Doctor of Education]] (Ed.D.) degree. His [[dissertation]] was titled ''An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning''.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>[https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4218&context=dissertations_1#:~:text=1%2D1%2D1976-,An%20integration%20of%20the%20visual%20media%20via%20Fat%20Albert%20and,vehicle%20to%20achieve%20increased%20learning.&text=WILLIAM%20HENRYCOSBY%2C%20JR.&text=WILLIAM%20HENRY%20COSBY%2C%20JR. An integration of the visual media via Fat Albert and the Cosby kids into the elementary school curriculum as a teaching aid and vehicle to achieve increased learning]</ref>