‘He Was Coming at Me’: Carl ‘Cockroach’ Anthony Payne II Reveals Origin of His ‘Cosby Show’ Nickname and What Bill Cosby Said In Ambush Firing
Carl Anthony Payne II has interesting recollections regarding unanswered questions about his time on “The Cosby Show.” The first is how his character, Walter Bradley, became lovingly known as Cockroach, the best friend of Theo Huxtable, who was played by Malcolm Jamal Warner.
The New Jersey native joined the cast of stars, which also included show creator Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keishia Knight Pulliam, and Lisa Bonet, who respectively played his wife and three of his four dauthers, in 1986 during Season 2.
Payne’s debut was on the 15th episode titled, “Theo and Cockroach” and during his conversation on the “My Expert Opinion” podcast, he explained that his character was loosely inspired by a friend of Bill’s real-life son, Ennis Cosby.
“It was my understanding that all these characters were based on his real family and his real family friends, and whatnot. And his son at the time had a friend with a really interesting or funny nickname, really unique nickname,” he began. “So, obviously, you can’t use the same name, so a lot of people looked at cockroaches as being bad … but he was like, let me flip it, turn it into something good, ‘cause cockroaches are the strongest things that make it out, right? They survivors.”
Much like his character, the pests can find themselves in precarious situations but still thrive, but there was more to the name than just that. Payne continued, “It was also, he said, a name that like people would remember. It’s gon’, you gon’ — that’s gon’ stick. Who does that? What kind of name is that? And then you gon’ want to know what this kid is like, you know?”
However, when the conversation transitioned into the “Martin” alum’s departure from the series in 1987 after appearing in 12 episodes across three seasons, he set the record straight once and for all about the rumored rift between himself and Cosby.
For years, speculation about Payne refusing to cut his hair was thought to be the reason he never returned to the show after Season 4 episode 10, “Dance Mania.” According to him, only one part of that story is true.
The comedic star explained, “The episode where we had to shave our heads (Season 3 episode 23, “Bald and Beautiful”), their hair person, right, hot combed my hair to make it lay down under the ball cap… They stripped it, straightened. Now, you gotta wash it out ‘cause you got to go back to the thing you did beforehand.” But that never happened; instead, Payne was left with different textured hair. “He must have put like a mild relaxer in my joint,” he added.
The stand-up comic proceeded to say that he already had a “good grade of hair” but that his tresses did not match scenes filmed before the bald look, leaving the production to deal with continuity issues. Bill allegedly took the matter up personally with the then teenager, who was around 15 or 16 years old, which ultimately played a part in Cockroach’s exit from the series.
On January 30, 1986, Carl Anthony Payne made his first appearance on ‘The Cosby Show’ as Theo’s best friend, Cockroach pic.twitter.com/Phdvhd6kVW
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 31, 2023
“There were a lot of other factors that I believe, that I became aware of after the fact, but, you know, he was on some like, ‘I told you about your hair.’ You know, this, that, and the —not like he told me about my hair before, but like the rule of ‘We only do natural hair around here.’ … He was talking to me like I was a grown man. … It was what he was saying, how he was saying it, the way he was coming at me, the language he was using. How he came at me, I felt ambushed,” revealed the “Young Dylan” star.
Payne claimed he never got a chance to explain to the now disgraced TV dad that the mishap was caused by the production’s hair and makeup team. For years, he said he has dealt with fans accosting him online about the rumors. “I just let it go; I just let it live. … As a kid, going through stuff like that at the time, it was on some you on probation and all this other crazy stuff, basically, like, and then I never got a call back.”
Throwback: ‘The Cosby Show’ & ‘A Different World’ actor Allen Payne said Carl Anthony Payne aka “Cockroach” was fired from ‘The Cosby Show’ for refusing to cut his hair! pic.twitter.com/cM24kYHmqa
— The Hillman Files (@thehillmanfiles) December 3, 2022
“The Cosby Show” would go on to air more episodes, finally wrapping its successful run with eight seasons in 1992. The series was pulled from syndication in 2018 amid Cosby’s sexual assault conviction. Though Payne avoided badmouthing the entertainer and his time on the show, he and Warner have both been outspoken about their off-screen chemistry being a stark contrast to the best buds they portrayed.
Payne initially auditioned for the role of Theo, something that Warner felt his peer held animosity for. Both men, however, have since moved on from the petty teenage feud.