News Release

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Bill Cosby performance June 10
to benefit new Chuck Stone award

CHAPEL HILL - Bill Cosby is coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to honor a longtime friend.

Cosby will perform a benefit show for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Chuck Stone Citizen of the World Award Fund at 8 p.m. June 10 in Memorial Hall.

Tickets, $25 and $50 each, may be purchased by visiting or calling the Memorial Hall box office on Cameron Avenue, open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., (919) 843-3333.

Cosby wanted to help raise funds for the award, which will help students pursue study abroad or independent international learning opportunities related to journalism or mass communication. It is named for Stone, who retired from the school's faculty in 2005.

Stone and Cosby met after Stone wrote an article on Cosby in the New York Age newspaper, which Stone edited. "We've been friends ever since," Stone said.

Cosby drew plentiful laughter and applause when he spoke at UNC's commencement ceremony in May 2003. His lifelong contributions to American culture were recognized with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2002, America's highest civilian honor.

Cosby won three Golden Globe Awards for "The Cosby Show," aired from 1984-92 and now in syndication. He has won numerous People's Choice Awards, as well as Grammies for his comedy recordings.

Cosby won three Emmy Awards for his role in "I Spy," the television drama in which he starred with Robert Culp from 1965-68. He also penned the books "Fatherhood" and "Time Flies" and created the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids" in 1972.

The NAACP honored him in 1991 with its Image Award for outstanding actor in a comedy series, for "The Cosby Show." He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1994.

Cosby was born to William and Anna Cosby in 1937 in Philadelphia, Pa. He often neglected his studies for athletics and, after repeating the 10th grade, he left school to join the Navy, Cosby has said. He finished high school via a correspondence course while still in the service.

When he was discharged, he enrolled at Temple University on an athletic scholarship and earned academic honors. Cosby studied for many years after his success in the entertainment world. He earned master's and doctoral degrees in education, in 1972 and 1977, both from the University of Massachusetts.

Stone joined the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty as Walter Spearman Professor in 1991, bringing to the position experience as an international aid worker, newspaper editor, political aide, television commentator and author.

He earned national fame as an editor and senior columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News, where he developed a reputation both as a center of controversy and a skilled negotiator.

Some of his columns criticized political figures including two of the city's mayors, Frank Rizzo and Wilson Goode. The columns often touched an outrageous chord, but they also commanded respect and trust from members of the public.

Stone's books include a compilation of his columns, "Tell It Like It Is;" a textbook, "Black Political Power in America;" a novel, "King Strut;" and a children's book, "Squizzy the Black Squirrel: A Fabulous Fable of Friendship."

Anyone who wishes to contribute to the Chuck Stone Citizen of the World Fund may send a check payable to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with the award noted in the "for" line to: Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, Campus Box 3365, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599-3365.

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Note: For photos of Cosby and excerpts of his May 2003 commencement speech at UNC, visit http://www.unc.edu/news/FYI/commence.htm

To go directly to Cosby photos, visit:
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/commencement/2003/2003_f.jpg
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/commencement/2003/2003_g.jpg

School of Journalism and Mass Communication contact: John Kuka, (919) 966-3323, jkuka@email.unc.edu
News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595