Earle Hyman - wikipedia Earle Hyman Earle Hyman George Earle Plummer ( 1926 - 10 - 11 ) October 11, 1926 Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. November 17, 2017 ( 2017 - 11 - 17 ) ( aged 91 ) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. Other names Earl Hyman Occupation Stage, film and television actor Years active 1943 -- 2001 Earle Hyman ( October 11, 1926 -- November 17, 2017 ) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on ThunderCats as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also appeared on The Cosby Show as Cliff 's father, Russell Huxtable. Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Death 2 Filmography 3 Awards and nominations 4 References 5 External links Life and career Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, as George Earle Plummer according to the North Carolina Birth Index. He is believed to have been of Native American ancestry. His parents, Zachariah Hyman ( Tuscarora / Meherrin ) and Maria Lilly Plummer ( Haliwa - Saponi / Nottoway ), moved their family to Brooklyn, New York in the late 1920s, where Hyman primarily grew up. Hyman became interested in acting after seeing a production of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen 's Ghosts. `` The first play I ever saw was a present from my parents on my 13th birthday -- Nazimova in ' Ghosts ' at Brighton Beach on the subway circuit -- and I just freaked out. '' He made his Broadway stage 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, starring Hilda Simms in the title role. He was a member of the American Shakespeare Theatre beginning with its first season in 1955, and played the role of Othello in the 1957 season. In December 1958 he came to London to play the leading role in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, by Errol John, at the Royal Court. In 1959 he again appeared in the West End, this time in the first London production of A Raisin In the Sun alongside Kim Hamilton. The show ran at the Adelphi Theatre and was directed again by Lloyd Richards. 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 property. In 1965, won a Theatre World Award and in 1988, he was awarded the St Olav 's medal for his work in Norwegian theater. 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 Cosby. Death Hyman, who never married or had children, died at age 91 on November 17, 2017, at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey. Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1945 The Lost Weekend Smoking Man Uncredited 1954 The Bamboo Prison Doc Jackson, medic 1966 Afrikaneren Raymond Alternative title : The African 1972 The Possession of Joel Delaney Charles Credited Earl Hyman The Super Cops Police Detective Uncredited 1979 Coriolanus Cominius Julius Caesar Cicero 1982 Fighting Back Police Chief Freeman Alternative title : Death Vengeance 1985 Thundercats -- HO : The Movie Panthro ( Voice ) Light Years Maxum ( Voice ) Alternative title : Gandahar Television Year Title Role Notes 1957 Hallmark Hall of Fame Adam 1 episode The United States Steel Hour Jim 1 episode 1963 Espionage Premier Djatuma 1 episode East Side / West Side Mr. Marsden 1 episode 1964 The Nurses Buratta 1 episode Playdate Crouch 1 episode The Defenders District Attorney 1 episode 1965 Seaway Tom Nkomo 1 episode 1968 Macbeth Macbeth Television movie 1969 Sesame Street `` Big '' tuba player Film about `` Big and Little '' musician friends, first aired on Episode 16 1980 The Ivory Ape Inspector St. George Television movie 1982 Long Day 's Journey Into Night James Tyrone Television movie 1984 The Edge of Night Bailiff Unknown episodes 1984 -- 1992 The Cosby Show Russell Huxtable 40 episodes 1985 The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus King Awgwa ( Voice ) Television movie 1985 -- 1989 ThunderCats Panthro / Redeye ( Voice ) 125 episodes A Different World Russell Huxtable Episode : : Sometimes You Get the Bear, Sometimes the Bear Gets You '' A Man Called Hawk Jefferson Adams Episode : `` Passing the Bar '' Seier'n er vår Sammy Unknown episodes 1995 All My Children Mr. Patterson Unknown episodes Hijacked : Flight 285 Wayne Edwards Television movie Cosby Rev. Mitchell 1 episode 2000 The Moving of Sophia Myles Bishop Heath Television movie Twice in a Lifetime Charley Freeman 1 episode Awards and nominations Year Award Result Film, series or play 1956 Theatre World Award Won - - 1980 Tony Award Nominated Best Featured Actor in a Play The Lady From Dubuque CableACE Award Won Actor in a Dramatic Presentation Long Day 's Journey Into Night 1986 Emmy Award Nominated Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series The Cosby Show ( For episode `` Happy Anniversary '' ) References Jump up ^ `` From Ibsen to Pinter and back again Earle Hyman 's long journey with the masters ''. Thevillager.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017. Jump up ^ Winer, Laurie ( 1991 - 03 - 24 ). `` From Cosby 's Father to Colonel Pickering, By Way of Norway ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 09. Jump up ^ Buckley, Michael ( 2005 - 10 - 23 ). `` Stage and Screen Star Earle Hyman ''. Playbill.com. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 09. Jump up ^ Cooper, Roberta Krensky ( 1986 ), The American Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford 1955 -- 1985, Folger Books, p. 43, ISBN 0 - 918016 - 88 - 6 Jump up ^ Stephens, Frances ( 1959 ). `` '' Moon on a Rainbow Shawl `` ''. Theatre World Annual ( London ). A Pictorial Review of West End Productions with a record of Plays and Players. London : Barrie & Rockliff. p. 89. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Garfield, David ( 1980 ). `` Appendix : Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980 ''. A Player 's Place : The Story of The Actors Studio. New York : MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0 - 02 - 542650 - 8. Jump up ^ `` Earle Hyman, Grandpa Huxtable on ' The Cosby Show, ' Dies at 91 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` Earle Hyman, Grandpa Huxtable on ' The Cosby Show, ' Dies at 91 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 November 2017. Jump up ^ Classic Sesame Street - `` Big and Little '' External links Earle Hyman on IMDb Earle Hyman at the Internet Broadway Database Earle Hyman at the Internet Off - Broadway Database Audio Interview ( 2008 ) VIAF : 35904679 LCCN : n85273945 SNAC : w6b11zqn Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earle_Hyman&oldid=832150455 '' Categories : 1926 births 2017 deaths 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors African - American male actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from North Carolina American male Shakespearean actors American expatriates in Norway People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina People from Brooklyn Recipients of the St. Olav 's Medal Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017 Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Italiano Magyar Norsk Polski Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 24 March 2018, at 03 : 35. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played bill cosby's father in the cosby show
Answer: Earle Hyman