Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; 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. Singer Phyllis Hyman was his cousin.
Life and career
Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, as George Earle Plummer according to the North Carolina Birth Index. He claimed Native American ancestry.[1] His parents, Zachariah Hyman and Maria Lilly Plummer seeking better educational opportunities, moved their family from the south [2] to Brooklyn, New York in the late 1920s, where Hyman primarily grew up.[1] Hyman knew at age 4 that he wanted to become an actor after performing a poem at a church play and was determined to become one 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.[3][4][5]
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 (1985–1989). 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.[11]
In June 2020, the Folger Shakespeare Library, a private research library in Washington D.C., acquired Hyman's personal items and memorabilia to be displayed as the Earle Hyman Collection. In personal correspondences Hyman wrote that he and Rolf Sirnes (1926–2004), a Norwegian seaman, had lived together for fifty years. Hyman described their relationship as a passionate friendship and wrote that Sirnes was his partner.[12]
Connections to Norway
In Norway, Hyman was seen as a friend of the country[13] and had a cabin in Skånevik.[14]
Earle Hyman learned to speak Norwegian through Sirnes, who was originally from Haugesund. In the 1990s, they lived in New York City.[15]
^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.
