Bill Cosby Attends Lewis Katz Memorial In Sweats, Still Manages To Give A Heartwarming Speech

Bill Cosby has always had the gift of making people fall off their chairs laughing. Today he managed to move them to tears. But what’s interesting is the fact that he managed to do so while wearing casual bright burgundy Temple sweats, which surely looked inappropriate for a memorial service.

It wouldn’t have been difficult to locate Bill Cosby at the memorial for businessman and philanthropist Lewis Katz, despite the fact that there were over 1,400 mourners who came to pay their respects to Katz. Among the sea of dark suits, Bill Cosby stood out wearing red Temple University sweatpants and a school T-shirt.

Even while wearing a tucked-in T-Shirt that read ‘Self Made, Philly Made, Temple Made’, Bill Cosby managed to offer words that were quite befitting the man who he considered a close friend, reported E!online. Bill’s informal attire was a deliberate act to pay respects to his close friend and fellow Temple alumni, who tragically died after his private jet crashed during takeoff in Bedford, Mass. late Saturday night.

Seventy-Two, at the time of his death, Lewis Katz was Bill Cosby’s classmate. From a business perspective, Lewis was a successful entrepreneur and newspaper publisher. But, even more important, Katz was an avid and noted philanthropist. As a director of the Katz Foundation, Lewis Katz supported numerous charitable, educational and medical causes. Katz and 6 others died when their private plane crashed at Hanscom Field and erupted in fire. The plane apparently never took off from the runway, instead veering off-course and bursting into flames.

Instead of dwelling on the tragic event and mourning the loss, Bill Cosby chose to focus on the positive impact Katz had on the society, and more importantly Bill cautioned about not letting such gifts go waste, reported Pix11.

Cosby wanted to make sure they (the people) took good care of what Katz gave wholeheartedly without asking anything in return, and continued the legacy. Displaying a lot a deep concern, Bill Cosby paced about the stage and said,

“You better not let it drop. You better not let it fall. Lewis Katz lives in what you do to the gifts that were given to you. You will treat these gifts as gifts—not something to be thrown in the trash”

There were some light moments too, when Bill explained why he almost fell of the stage.

“I couldn’t find the stairs,” he kidded.

He also joked about having to go to the bathroom during the many long tributes. But Cosby quickly turned serious when spoke of Katz’s efforts for a better society. He strongly urged mourners to keep up the schools and other projects that Katz’s funds brought to life.

[Image Credit | Steven Bognar, eonline, Kim Fischer]