Did Kenny get his due on The Cosby Show? – Clacking in Color

Guys, I’ve been feeling rather nostalgic lately. With as much enthralling television fare around these days, I can’t imagine why I’d be longing for the shows of yesteryear. Maybe that’s because they were so good. All the same, as I contemplated this week’s Clacking in Color topic, I couldn’t help but hop in my time-traveling Delorean for a trip into the past. My destination: The 80s. My stop: The Cosby Show.

Now, before you get up in arms, I already know that I did a post on my favorite Huxtable kid just last month. Pardon the redundancy and go with me on this one, okay? Last week, as I watched old DVDs of that classic program, a wonderful sitcom surrounding a smart and capable (and always hilarious) upper middle-class African-American family, something suddenly hit me — and it had nothing to do with some of the hideous sweaters that Cliff Huxtable chose to wear. Does anyone remember the character Kenny?

For as long as I can recall, Kenny, played by the talented Deon Richmond, was a popular staple of the show … well at least to me he was. Essentially he was a foil for Rudy, who had christened him ‘Bud’ when they first met in season three, episode seven — ‘Theo’s Flight.’ I suppose the writers liked the chemistry that Richmond had with actress Keshia Knight-Pulliam to the point where they decided to keep him around. However, what I don’t understand is why Richmond was never really given his due … and by this, I mean why wasn’t the dude ever seen dancing in the opening credits?

That’s a good question, right? It’s something that my sister and I have been debating for years. To be honest, I just don’t understand it. Everyone knows that the opening credits would change with every season of The Cosby Show and would feature the main cast dancing and getting down to a different variation of the show’s theme. I feel as though Kenny should have been seen doing the Electric Slide at least once. I mean, he appeared in enough episodes, didn’t he? Wikipedia states that he was featured in thirty-something episodes out of two-hundred and something … but since he arrived in season three, I’m going to ignore that fact especially when I take into account that Denise’s bland husband Martin was seen dancing in the season six credits after just arriving, and Pam, a character that is often forgotten, is seen dancing in the season eight credits after making her debut a season earlier.

Now, what’s up with that? Am I the only one who sees this as a problem? Growing up, The Cosby Show would air on Nick At Nite — back when that old-school comedy block had shows that were actually good. I remember watching a marathon and thinking that Kenny was hilarious. The character was featured a lot more when he and Rudy entered middle school, and I got a kick out of seeing him grow jealous of Rudy’s new relationship with Stanley. I also enjoyed Richmond’s interactions with the always comedic Elaine Stritch, who played his teacher. The season six episode ‘Shall We Dance?’ comes to mind when Richmond was forced to dance with Stritch in a scene where all of Kenny’s classmates had paired up to dance leaving him without a partner his age. Hilarity ensued.

I suppose my point in all of this is that since Kenny was such a fun character, he should have been promoted. Why bring in other tired characters when you have such a good one already? Alas, I didn’t write the show. Heck, I was a kid when it ended its eight season run. Still, I was young enough to realize that the producers had a real gem in Richmond. That kid was awesome.

Way to go, Bud!

Clacked by Jaylen Christie
on Jun 26, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT