Many Bill Cosby fans don’t realize that the beloved Dr. Cliff Huxtable had an equally endearing predecessor, high school gym teacher Chet Kincaid. After winning two Emmy awards for his groundbreaking co-starring role in the weekly television drama I Spy, Cosby tackled the sitcom with his 1969 self-monikered series, The Bill Cosby Show.

Cosby stars as Chet Kincaid, a gym teacher and basketball coach at an urban high school in Los Angeles, who's an all-around good guy and an inspiration to his friends, family and students. Kincaid’s good heart gets him into tons of predicaments, such as losing a one-on-one basketball game to a student he considered too short to make the team, his accidental involvement in a domestic dispute when he answers a pay phone, and escorting a date in a borrowed garbage truck.

The Bill Cosby Showoriginally aired on NBC from 1969 to 1971. Cosby’s first situation comedy placed an emphasis on real-life situations that were enhanced by the comedian’s trademark sense of humor. Rather than depending on one-liners, the show’s humor resided in the often absurd developing story, as evidenced by the absence of a laugh track. The show is also remembered for the funky original music by the legendary Quincy Jones and guest appearances by Henry Fonda, Lou Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson and many others.