Earle Hyman

Earle Hyman, a longtime actor of stage and screen who was well known for playing Russell Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died.

Hyman died on November 17 at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 91.

Hyman is best known for “The Cosby Show” where he played the father to Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable from 1984 to 1992, even though he was only 11 years his senior. He earned a guest performer Emmy nomination for the role in 1986.

A North Carolina native, Hyman made his Broadway debut as a teenager in 1943 in Run, Little Chillun, and later joined the American Negro Theater. The following year, Hyman began a two-year run playing the role of Rudolf on Broadway in Anna Lucasta. He would go on to become a charter member of the American Shakespeare Theater beginning in its first season in 1955, and played the role of Othello in the 1957 season.

Hyman enjoyed an international theater career that spanned decades. In 1980, Hyman received a Tony nomination for “The Lady From Dubuque.”