Rudith Lillian "Rudy" Huxtable[1][2][3][4] is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rudy is the youngest child of Cliff and Clair Huxtable. First appearing alongside her family in the pilot episode "Theo's Economic Lesson", which premiered on September 20, 1984, Rudy matures from a precocious five-year-old girl into a teenager longing for independence throughout the course of the series' eight year-long run.
Created by comedian Bill Cosby, Rudy was intended to be a boy; actor Jaleel White had been considered the first choice for the role until Knight Pulliam impressed the show's producers once auditions had finally been opened to girls. Having been opposed to the idea of featuring young children, particularly young girls, on his show because he feared that they would prove difficult to work with, Cosby was hesitant to cast Knight Pulliam due to her young age at the time. However, he was ultimately impressed by both her maturity and ability to memorize lines, subsequently re-writing the character into a younger, female role but refused to change her name from the more masculine-sounding "Rudy". By the second season, Cosby began entrusting Knight Pulliam with more mature material. Rudy was inspired by Cosby's youngest daughter Evin.
Both the character and Knight Pulliam's performance immediately garnered widespread acclaim from entertainment critics. Knight Pulliam was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986, becoming the youngest performer to be nominated for an Emmy Award; the scene in which she lip-syncs to Ray Charles' "Night Time is the Right Time" has garnered significant attention. Her role as Rudy eventually established her as a child star. However, critics have observed that Knight Pulliam's once-reliable "cuteness" began to falter and grow less funny towards the show's latter seasons as both the actress and her character aged.
^"The Cosby Show". NBC News. November 16, 2009. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
^Reid, Shaheem (February 12, 2004). "Little Rudy Huxtable All Grown Up in Chingy's 'One Call' Clip". MTV. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
^Haggins, Bambi (2007). Laughing Mad: The Black Comic Persona in Post-soul America. United States: Rutgers University Press. p. 32. ISBN 9780813539850. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017 – via Google Books.
^"The Best Episodes of The Cosby Show". episode.ninja. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017. Theo and the Joint ... Rudy says her full name in this episode, Rudith Lillian Huxtable.
Rudith Lillian "Rudy" Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Keshia Knight...
focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable is known for...
Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable is a fictional character and the protagonist of the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992. He was portrayed...
"Theo" Huxtable is a fictional character who appears in the American sitcom The Cosby Show, portrayed by actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Theo Huxtable was based...
Sondra Huxtable Tibideaux is a fictional character from the 1980s television series, The Cosby Show. Sondra Huxtable did not appear in the pilot episode...
Clair Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Phylicia Rashad, Clair, the...
career in the early 1990s, Santana was best known for his roles as RudyHuxtable's boyfriend Stanley on The Cosby Show, Marcus Dixon on Getting By, Marcus...
began her career as a child actor, and landed her breakthrough role as RudyHuxtable, on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), which earned her a nomination...
Denise Huxtable Kendall is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), portrayed by actress Lisa Bonet. Denise...
eight seasons, including an outtakes special. The show focuses on the Huxtables, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New...
Clair Huxtable (4 episodes) Jonell Green as Dashawn Curtis (4 episodes) Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable (3 episodes) Keshia Knight Pulliam as RudyHuxtable (3...
actor from New York City who is best known for his recurring roles as RudyHuxtable's friend Kenny (nicknamed "Bud") on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show and...
stint on The Jeffersons, in 1984. He later auditioned for the role of RudyHuxtable on The Cosby Show. According to White, he was cast in the role (the...
Show's RudyHuxtable (Keshia Knight-Pulliam), who has become so admiring of Whitley that she is ignoring Denise (Lisa Bonet), the older sister that Rudy came...
Huxtable Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable Kendall Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable Keshia Knight Pulliam as RudyHuxtable Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable Raven-Symoné...
Facts of Life as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey Tempestt Bledsoe - The Cosby Show as Vanessa Huxtable Keshia Knight Pulliam - The Cosby Show as RudyHuxtable...
family performance... Keshia Knight Pulliam stole our hearts as little RudyHuxtable in this scene." while Vulture called it The Cosby Show's best musical...
Huxtable The Cosby Show Julia Duffy Stephanie Vanderkellen Newhart CBS Estelle Getty Sophia Petrillo The Golden Girls NBC Keshia Knight Pulliam Rudy Huxtable...
include Antwone Fisher and Birth Keshia Knight Pulliam Eta Kappa Played RudyHuxtable on The Cosby Show; starred in Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail; currently...
George Sand (novel) Produced by Richard Geiger Tibor Rakosi Starring RudyHuxtable Distributed by Star Film Factory Release date August 1917 (premiere)...
Global Information