FIRST OFF . . .

The multidimensional Bill Cosby has switched publishing houses, moving from Doubleday to the Putnam Berkley Group, it was announced Tuesday. “Doubleday did well for him but there comes a time when you like to make a move,” said Norman Brokaw, Cosby’s representative and president of the William Morris Agency. “We just felt it would be nice to move and we got the appropriate deal with Putnam.” Brokaw would not disclose specific terms, but said “we are extremely pleased with the association and the terms of the deal.” The comedian will have a new book out in the fall of 1991 chronicling--what other phase of life is left?--childhood. The tentative title is, not surprisingly, “Childhood.” Cosby’s “Fatherhood,” published in May, 1986, was on the New York Times best-seller list for 54 weeks. His second book, “Time Flies,” published in September, 1987, had a record 1.75 million hard-cover copies printed. “Love and Marriage,” Cosby’s third book, has been on the best-seller list since its release in June. Cosby’s collaborators from those three books--Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint and Ralph Schoenstein--will also be involved in the upcoming project. The top-rated “Cosby Show” is returning to NBC for its sixth season and is also in syndication. On the film front, Cosby will star in “Ghost Dad,” a Universal release directed by Sidney Poitier, due next summer.