‘The Cosby Show’ Grandpa Huxtable Actor Earle Hyman Dead at 91

Acclaimed actor Earle Hyman has died. He was 91.

Hyman was widely known as Russell Huxtable, father of Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby), on The Cosby Show. He appeared on 40 episodes of the classic sitcom, often offering advice to the his grandchildren.

Hyman’s nephew, Rick Ferguson, told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor died Friday in Englewood, New Jersey. Hyman passed away at the Lillian Booth Actors Home, an assisted living facility for performers.

His cause of death was not given in the report.

Aside from his role on The Cosby Show, Hyman was also known to children of the ’80s for his voice work in the animated series Thundercats. He voiced Panthro, the mechanic and pilot of the cartoon team.

Additionally, Hyman was a renown stage actor. He received a Tony nomination for his work in 1980’s The Lady From Dubuque. He was also known for portraying Othello in numerous productions.

His biggest acting achievement came with his Emmy-nominated performance in the Cosby Show episode “Happy Anniversary.” Aside from the nomination, the episode has been hailed as one of the best TV episodes of all time.

“That’s the one episode that was the most loved, most seen,” Hyman told Just My Show in 2009. “People just loved it. It just shot off the charts. 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.”