Theodore Aloysius "Theo" Huxtable is a fictional character who appears in the American sitcom ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', portrayed by actor

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a ...

Conception

Theo Huxtable was based on

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

's only son Ennis Cosby. He also gave the character

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

as his son also had the condition. Theo's disability is revealed in episode " Theo's Gift".

Role

Theo is the only son of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, and the middle one of their five children. At the beginning of the series, he is a freshman in high school who consistently gets poor grades, to his parents' consternation. Following graduation, he enrolls at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

to study psychology at the start of the fifth season. After struggling with his coursework through much of his freshman year, he is diagnosed with dyslexia and adopts new study habits that lead to a marked improvement in his grades. Near the end of his junior year, Theo is assigned to work as a student teacher at a local community center and takes particular interest in helping a boy with a learning disability similar to his own. During the eighth and final season, he is offered a job in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

but turns it down, deciding to continue working at the community center and to enter graduate school. The series finale focuses on Theo's college graduation, with Cliff reminiscing on the trouble his son had in high school.

Reception

Theo Huxtable has had a mostly positive reception from viewers. The character also won praise about discussing dyslexia. Warner was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre, or even gender, specific. Beginning ...

in 1986, making him the youngest nominee in history in that category.

References

Television characters introduced in 1984 African-American characters in television The Cosby Show characters Fictional characters from Brooklyn Child characters in television Fictional characters with dyslexia Fictional college students Teenage characters in television American male characters in sitcoms {{Tv-char-stub