Earle Hyman, Grandpa Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show,’ Dies [Condolences]

Earle Hyman Passes

Very sad news. Earle Hyman, an actor best known for playing Bill Cosby’s father, Russell Huxtable, on The Cosby Show, has died. He was 91. Hyman reportedly died Friday at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey.

Hyman became interested in acting after seeing a production of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. He made his Broadway stage debut as a teenager in 1943 in Run, Little Chillun, and later joined the American Negro Theater. A life member of The Actors Studio, Hyman appeared throughout his career in productions in both the United States and Norway, where he also owned a home on Norway’s west coast and an apartment in Oslo. In 1965, won a Theatre World Award and in 1988, he was awarded the St Olav’s medal for his work in Norwegian theater.

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In addition to his stage work, Hyman appeared in various television and film roles including adaptions of Macbeth (1968), Julius Caesar (1979), and Coriolanus (1979), and voiced Panthro on the animated television series ThunderCats (1985–1990). He played two roles (at different times) on television’s The Edge of Night. One of his most well known roles, that of Russell Huxtable in The Cosby Show, earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 1986. He played the father of lead character Cliff Huxtable, played by actor Bill Cosby, despite only being 11 years older than him. He was the first cousin once removed of singer Phyllis Hyman.

Prayers for his family, friends and fans.

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