Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; October 11, 1926 â€" 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.Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North
Carolina, as George Earle Plummer according to the North Carolina
Birth Index. He was of African American and Native American ancestry.
His parents, Zachariah Hyman (Tuscarora) 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.He studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. 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.
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.Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North
Carolina, as George Earle Plummer according to the North Carolina
Birth Index. He was of African American and Native American ancestry.
His parents, Zachariah Hyman (Tuscarora) 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.He studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. 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.
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