Walter "Cockroach" Bradley is Theo Huxtable's best friend from middle and high school. He is played by Carl Anthony Payne II.
Cockroach is a recurring character from seasons two to four, making a total of twelve appearances. His father runs a metal-recycling ("scrap-iron") business, which he hopes to inherit at some time in his adult life. His mother is mentioned once, and it is implied she is an excellent cook who knows how to prepare Carribean dishes such as polpeta. His only sibling mentioned is a younger sister named Tootsie, who attempts to pierce Theo's ear, but winds up giving him an infection.
Cockroach deeply respects the Huxtables and believes he learns something new with each visit to their home. Clair Huxtable always calls him by his given name Walter, as does Cliff, when he is at the Huxtables. He has a crush on Denise Huxtable, but Denise never reciprocates, believing he is too immature. He has more of a "brotherly" relationship with Vanessa Huxtable and Rudy Huxtable, sometimes joking referring himself to Rudy as "her boyfriend."
Cockroach and Theo are very similar in that they both like to party, chase girls, dance, listen to rap music, and do not take their school studies as seriously as they should. They both get into mischief, but the only time it goes too far is in the season four episode "Theogate", where they are both thrown off the high school cross country team for taunting an overweight female worker at a burger restaurant during a post-match meal.
Cockroach's final appearance was "Dance Mania" in season four. He is never seen again, but is referred to in the season seven episode "Clair's Liberation".
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Cockroach is Theo's best friend on The Cosby Show. | |||
The Cockroach character was removed from the series after the season four episode "Dance Mania", as Bill Cosby fired Payne for supposedly refusing to cut his hair.