Spring Break
Student, father, share stage with Cosby
Christopher Barrett
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Campus
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During his show, Cosby reminisced about his alma mater, Central High School in Philadelphia, and asked if anyone knew the school. That drew a loud response from Joe, seated in Section 205, who quickly yelled out his graduating class number, 230. (Central High uses class numbers, not years, to differentiate its graduating seniors.)
"Get down here!" Cosby shouted to Joe, a 53-year-old accountant from Lansdale, Pa. who graduated Central in 1971 and whose son now attends URI.
For a few moments Joe blinked as the cameras swiveled to capture his startled expression and spotlight operators searched the audience to find the man now the center of attention. After repeated words of encouragement from the actor best known for his leading role on "The Cosby Show," Joe headed downstairs.
"First of all, you're very nervous because you're so overwhelmed by his presence because he's such a big star," Joe said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I've followed his career and his TV shows, but I have never stood next to him. Your mind just races."
Joe also brought his son, URI freshman Chris Ianni, along with him on stage. After a few quick handshakes, the comedian revealed what he had in store for his fellow alumnus.
"We're going to do something nobody else in this place can do," Cosby said, who was part of the 204th class.
The two, Cosby said, would sing Central's alma mater.
"I said, 'Oh brother, I know I know the song but I'm not a singer,'" Joe recalled yesterday.
At first Joe fell back to his days in the Central orchestra and waved his arms, trying to direct Cosby's singing while remaining silent. But that didn't please the 70-year-old actor who stopped and humorously told Joe to sing.
"Soon after I got my confidence and it started to kick in," Joe said.
Meanwhile his son sat in Cosby's chair, staring into the lights that blinded his view of the sold-out crowd of students and their families, many of whom were on campus for Family Weekend.
"I had the easy job of just sitting in the chair [while] my dad [was] singing the alma mater," the freshman mathematics major said. "It was pretty thrilling."
Reaching Cosby and the stage was also an adventure. Despite repeated comments from Cosby asking what was taking so long, the Iannis took a few minutes to reach the stage. The issue? Security guards refused to let the pair pass.
"I said, 'Bill Cosby just asked me to come backstage,'" Joe recalled telling a skeptical guard. "He thought we were trying to crash the party or something."
Eventually, the duo was cleared for entry and walked on stage to a loud applause from the crowd. And before they left, Cosby handed Joe a sweatshirt with "Hello Friend" sprawled across it. The shirt referenced the Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation set up by Bill Cosby and his wife in 1997 after their son was murdered.
Joe said he would treasure the sweatshirt from a man he admires for his family values and ethics. And he wore it proudly on Sunday while walking around campus and eating breakfast in Narragansett. A few folks stopped him and congratulated him on his appearance.
Though they didn't ask for his autograph, Joe said, "I felt like a celebrity, at least temporarily."
