This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
by Brian Hickey for NewsWorks
As the final day of Germantown High School’s 99-year history approaches — the Class of ’13 will don caps and gowns on June 19 — NewsWorks will present a series of stories including interviews with grads and former students.
To launch the GHS series, NewsWorks is sharing excerpts from an interview with Bill Cosby, the actor and comedian who attended the school and failed out in the 10th grade, taking a shoe-repair job rather than repeat the year.
During a 20-minute phone interview in early May, Cosby made it perfectly clear why you didn’t hear him get involved in the school-closing protests.
He started the conversation by saying, "I agree with what the superintendent is doing there" and went on to explain his views.
Excerpts from the interview
"I went to Germantown High because I didn’t want to study at Central. At Germantown, I had the guys who I played with after sunset. Johnny Baines, who was six months older than me, lived on Beechwood Street, we’ve been friends ever since."
"Yeah, I have some great memories there. A lot of the girls I dated, the parties I went to, those kind of social things, that’s what I think about when someone asks me about Germantown."