Tuesday, March 19, 2024

WE REMEMBER: Earle Hyman (Grandpa Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show’) Dies at 91

Sadly we must report that the actor who played Grandpa Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” has died. Earle Hyman passed away Friday at age 91.

Hyman died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, N.J., his nephew, Rick Ferguson, told The Hollywood Reporter.

During “The Cosby Show’s” 8 year run, Hyman appeared in a recurring role as Cliff Huxtable’s father, Russell, who would often Hilariously clash with his son while at the same time, serving as a voice of wisdom to his grandchildren.

In 1986, Hyman received an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest performance in a comedy series on “The Cosby Show” for an episode called “Happy Anniversary.”

“That’s the one episode that was the most loved, most seen. People just loved it. It just shot off the charts,” Hyman said in 2009 on the podcast “Just My Show.” “We just had a ball, and the atmosphere just went over into a kind of reality. We were no longer Clarice and Earle, we were really Anna and Russell Huxtable.”

earle hyman - the cosby show
Phylicia Rashad as Clair Hanks Huxtable, Bill Cosby as Dr. Cliff’ Huxtable, Earle Hyman as Russell Huxtable, and Clarice Taylor as Anna Huxtable. From an episode of “The Cosby Show.”

Once a famous jazz trombonist named “Slide” Huxtable, Russell and his wife, Anna (Clarice Taylor), were the centerpiece of two of the show’s most famous episodes in seasons 2 and 3, when the Huxtables put together lip-synch and dance routines for them to celebrate their wedding anniversaries. Hyman’s work on the episode earned him an Emmy nomination.

Back in the 80s, Hyman was also known for his work on the popular animated show “Thundercats.” His role was that of the gruff, muscle-bound warrior Panthro. Hyman also has a highly regarded background in theater that began on Broadway in 1944 with the play “Anna Lucasta.” He also has, under his belt, thousands of performances as the lead of Shakespeare’s “Othello.” His stage credits also include “The Merchant of Venice” and an all-black production of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot.”

Hyman, the son of schoolteachers with Native American and African roots, was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and began his film career with an uncredited appearance in the Oscar best picture winner “The Lost Weekend” (1945).

 

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