Cosby was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He is one of four sons of Anna Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr.,
who served as a mess steward in the U.S. Navy.

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.
Teachers noted his propensity for joking around instead of studying, and he described himself as the class clown.
At FitzSimons Junior High School, Cosby acted in plays and continued to compete in sports.
Cosby attended Philadelphia's Central High School, a magnet school and academically rigorous college prep school, where he ran track and played baseball, football, and basketball.
He transferred to Germantown High School but failed the tenth grade.

In 1956, 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.
He worked in physical therapy with Navy and Marine Corps personnel who were injured during the Korean War.

Cosby earned his high school equivalency diploma through correspondence courses and was awarded a track and field scholarship to Temple University in 1961.
At Temple, he studied physical education while he ran track and played fullback on the college's football team.
He began bartending at a Philadelphia club, where he earned bigger tips by making the customers laugh.
He then began performing on stage.
Cosby was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one of four sons of Anna Pearl (née Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby Sr., who served as a mess steward in the U.S. Navy.
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. Teachers noted his propensity for joking around instead of studying, and he described himself as the class clown. At FitzSimons Junior High School, Cosby acted in plays and continued to compete in sports. Cosby attended Philadelphia's Central High School, a magnet school and academically rigorous college prep school, where he ran track and played baseball, football, and basketball. He transferred to Germantown High School but failed the tenth grade.
In 1956, 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. He worked in physical therapy with Navy and Marine Corps personnel who were injured during the Korean War.
Cosby earned his high school equivalency diploma through correspondence courses and was awarded a track and field scholarship to Temple University in 1961. At Temple, he studied physical education while he ran track and played fullback on the college's football team. He began bartending at a Philadelphia club, where he earned bigger tips by making the customers laugh. He then began performing on stage.
Bill Cosby