Biography
Ennis William Cosby was born April 15, 1969, to actor and comedian Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille Cosby (née Hanks). He was their third child and only son. Cosby had four sisters: Erika (b. 1965), Erinn (b. 1966), Ensa (April 8, 1973 – February 23, 2018), and Evin (b. 1976). When Camille was about to give birth to Ennis, Bill joked during a television special: "It had better be a boy, you hear, Camille?" and Camille responded: "Right!" from offscreen.
Cosby was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California, Pennsylvania, and New York City. He attended George School, a private boarding school outside Philadelphia, where he played football, basketball, lacrosse, and track and field. He suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia, which caused low grades and friction with his parents, both of whom had advanced educational degrees.
Ennis' childhood is a focus of his father's 1982–83 stand-up release Himself, and he is also referred to in a routine from Eddie Murphy's 1987 concert film Raw. Theo Huxtable, Bill Cosby's television son on The Cosby Show, was based on Ennis, and this was reflected in storylines with Theo struggling in school until he was diagnosed with dyslexia. It was also written into the script that Bill's character, Cliff Huxtable, had been wrong in blaming Theo for his poor grades; this mirrored Bill Cosby's real life, as he had felt guilty for thinking Ennis had struggled academically because of a character flaw.
Cosby's dyslexia was diagnosed when he entered Morehouse College in Atlanta, where a friend encouraged him to be tested. He then spent a summer semester in Putney, Vermont, undergoing intensive academic training at Landmark College, a private university established exclusively for students with learning disabilities. Cosby later returned to Morehouse, where he made the dean's list when his grade point average jumped from 2.3 to more than 3.5.
In his free time, Cosby tutored students at elementary and high schools and earned a Morehouse bachelor's degree in 1992, which he followed with a master's from Columbia University in New York in 1995. While at Columbia, he worked at Alfred E. Smith Elementary School and also tutored students struggling with learning disabilities. His friends recalled that he kept a low profile and did not want special treatment, and would just say that his father worked "in business" when asked why he had lived in three states.
Prior to his death at 27 years old, Cosby was working toward his doctorate in special education at Columbia University's Teachers College and also planned to set up a school for children with learning disabilities. He once wrote, "The happiest day of my life occurred when I found out I was dyslexic. I believe that life is finding solutions, and the worst feeling to me is confusion."
Cosby was recalled as friendly and outgoing, and he would greet people saying "Hello, friend," a greeting that became his legacy as described in the children's television show Little Bill created by his father. His parents had the phrase put on a sign near his grave, and several months after his death, Bill released a jazz collection titled Hello, Friend: To Ennis With Love.