Hey Hey Hey!

Jeff Cohen

In 1978 (when dinosaurs ruled the Earth), I was a senior at Rutgers College, which no longer exists, technically. While devoting most of my time to the exemplary student newspaper, I still decided to place my name in nomination for the office of vice president of the senior class, and due mostly to the name recognition earned by frequent bylines in said newspaper, got elected. 

Wait. There is a story coming; you'll have to hang in for a bit.

The chief reason I had decided to seek the nomination was that, as a graduating senior, I knew the class officers had some input into the choice of the commencement speaker and could nominate candidates for honorary degrees. And I wanted in.

The person I first chose to nominate, Mel Brooks, was not going to accept. I came thisclose to talking to Mr. Brooks that year, calling his office to see if he'd be interested, and was told by his assistant that the great man had "already turned down Harvard." 

But my second choice was not at all a compromise. I would have nominated both given two choices. 

I forwarded the name of William H. Cosby Jr., who at the time had just completed his doctorate in education and seemed an excellent candidate. The fact that I first knew him from a television special in which he'd performed almost all of his comedy album For Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With, was secondary. That's what I told people.

Having learned from the Brooks experience, I did not attempt to contact Bill Cosby to gauge his interest in coming to speak at the state university of New Jersey. I just put in the forms and attended the meetings. It wasn't even close.

The speaker at my commencement the following May was John Kenneth Galbraith, whom I introduced at the ceremony. He was about nine feet tall and didn't so much shake my hand as he shook my right arm and levitated me off the stage after my paltry introduction. Then he went on about the economy, I think, for quite some time and afterwards, I was an alumnus of Rutgers College.

I admired Bill Cosby for any number of reasons. He was the first comedian who really seemed to be speaking to me. Even at the age of 10, I got his stories and related to everything he expressed. He was, after all, talking about being a kid. I was a kid. It was a perfect match. 

Before that, comedians to me were the guys in the tuxedoes on the Ed Sullivan Show who always seemed to be complaining about their mothers-in-law, often punctuated their jokes with a rim shot, and told jokes. They didn't tell stories. They weren't kids. They were irrelevant. 

Cosby, after I'd devoured every stand-up album to the minute, was my idol. I went to parties in high school and recited whole routines verbatim (it's a wonder I wasn't more popular with the girls). I watched I Spy because he was on it. I even watched the first sitcom in which he starred, which lasted about sixteen minutes before being cancelled, and his variety show (which featured Groucho Marx in his last television appearance for one episode). I had a connection to Bill Cosby before America rediscovered him in his iconic 1980s sitcom. I felt like the Beatles fans who knew them from the Cavern must have felt during the Sgt. Pepper period. Yeah, sure we knew they could do that. Why are you so surprised?

Now Dr. Cosby has a new standup special (although I'm willing to bet he sits down) coming next weekend on Comedy Central, and it's called Far From Finished. I can hardly wait. Is he the same comedian from 1967? Of course not. On an interview on the Merv Griffin Show decades ago (I remember everything that won't help me in life), Cosby explained to the audience that he had to keep changing his act, saying that if he'd simply rested on the success of his early years, he'd have been doing Fat Albert forever.

This year, my daughter is a senior at the Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences, which if we were being honest would be called Rutgers College. And not having to get herself elected to class office, she noted that any student or staff member can now submit forms to nominate a person for an honorary degree at her commencement, which will take place in May.

Unprompted, she enthusiastically wrote an excellent essay whose purpose it is to nominate Dr. William H. Cosby, Ed.D. I have never been prouder.

Comments

[Ritaestelle Christiano]

Awesome!!

[Annette]

I always thought it was amazing that Bill Cosby could make sibling rivalry funny - I had 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. It was not always funny. As an adult, when he said to a child ..."I brought you into this world I can take you out," I knew exactly what he meant, I had 2 daughters and a son. That was not always funny either. If I had a vote, I would support your daughter's choice.

[Dru]

I hope they can get him.

[Diane Vallere]

I just bought tix to see his live show in Feb 2014. You really nailed it with this: "He was, after all, talking about being a kid. I was a kid. It was a perfect match." Nice post!