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Russell
RussellRender

Name

Russell Cosby

Portrayed by

Jan Crawford (TV series)
Jermey Suarez (film)

"No Class."

[~Russell's signature putdown]

Russell Cosby is the youngest and smallest member of the Junkyard gang. He is the younger brother of Bill and is based on Bill Cosby's real-life brother.

Appearance[]

Regardless of the weather, Russell always wears winter clothes: dark blue coat, red boots, a yellow scarf, and a Ushanka hat. In the episodes "Film Follies" and "Hero Time", Russell is shown to dress like Tweeterbell from The Brown Hornet. In the Halloween special, he wears the costume of a giant, calling himself "the world's smallest giant".

Personality[]

Russell has a penchant for "telling it like it is"- to wit, making blunt observations (much to Bill's consternation). Russell frequently makes snide remarks, reserving his most withering insults for Rudy when he is being especially cocky. Russell's catchphrase is "No Class."

Despite Russell's diminutive size and youth, he is also the least impressed by other, more intimidating personalities. Unlike the other gang members, Russell is not intimidated by Slappy, nor is he impressed by Scrap Iron whom he describes as a "big phony."

During the first two seasons, Russell serves more as the stereotypical "tagalong kid", with most of the gang somewhat treating him like a pest. (For example, in "Fish Out of Water", the rest of the gang are annoyed when Russell is forced to come to camp with them.) Despite this, he truly loves hanging out with his friends and loves his brother Bill. He even manages to protect him in the episode "The Bully".

In the Junkyard Band, Russell plays a xylophone made from empty cans hanging from a discarded coat rack.

Trivia[]

  • Russell is the only Cosby Kid in the film not to transition into the live action world. As a result, he gets less focus than the rest of the gang, but still has a minor subplot with the teen bullies.
  • Russell has been seen without his hat twice during the first season ("The Hospital" and "The Hero") and again in the 1985 episode, "Read, Baby, Read".
  • Russell's voice originally sounded very young and squeaky during the first two seasons, but by 1975, his voice deepened due to Jan Crawford going through puberty. Starting with the 1984-85 syndicated season, Russell is given a higher-pitched and more excitable voice in an attempt for Jan to make him sound more like a child. In the 1969 and 1971 pilots, he's voiced by different child voice actors.
    • In several foreign-language dubs, Russell sounds much older than his actual age, since the actors who voice him are adults (and some of them don't attempt to give him a childlike voice).

Gallery[]

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