His given name may have been Kenny, but to Rudy Huxtable (Keshia Knight Pulliam), he was always just “Bud.” As her memorably misogynistic childhood friend on The Cosby Show, young Deon Richmond managed to make statements like, “A man has to wear the pants in the family; if he doesn’t, the woman will put on his shoes and walk all over him,” sound almost charming—even if the off-screen teenage brother who had passed down such wisdom was decidedly not.
Decades later, Richmond says he is still regularly recognized for the role (and asked, “Where’s Rudy?”). Despite being remembered by many for his visits to the Huxtable household, the former child actor has added numerous other credits to his resume. Read on to find out where he is now at age 44 and learn about the surprising new business he has outside of the entertainment world.
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Bud was hardly the end of the acting road for Richmond, who has racked up 37 credits since he made his debut aside fellow Cosby guest star Stacey Dash in 1987’s Enemy Territory. He spent the years after the show appearing on other primetime series, including Getting By, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, The Parent ‘Hood, and Sister, Sister, where he became a regular playing Tamera’s college boyfriend, Jordan. At the same time, Richmond began acting in the teen films of the era, winning the lead in 1999’s Trippin’ as well as roles in Scream 3, Not Another Teen Movie, and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.
Richmond’s career quieted somewhat in the mid-2000s. But, he had a role in the short-lived television series Teachers, appeared in a few parody films, and starred in the horror movie Hatchet around that time. And he was hardly gone from the cultural imagination. References to his most memorable character became a running joke on the popular television series Psych, when James Roday riffed and called co-star Dulé Hill’s character Burton “Gus” Guster “Bud.” (In addition to the actors’ resemblance to each other, the joke referenced that Hill’s role as “Token Black Guy” Preston in She’s All That was the basis for Richmond’s Not Another Teen Movie character, Malik Token.)
The gag continued across Psych‘s eight-season run, with Knight Pulliam appearing as Gus’ wife in an alternate universe episode in Season 5 and Phylicia Rashad—a.k.a. Clair Huxtable—cast in a recurring role as Gus’ mother. These series Easter eggs reached a glorious payoff in the series finale, when Gus meets his new boss, played by none other than Richmond, who naturally concludes their interaction with, “Take it easy, Bud.”
Richmond is still in touch with his former costar, regularly tagging Knight Pulliam in throwback posts on social media. In 2017, the two teamed up on her Kandidly Keshia podcast, revealing that they weren’t just buddies on screen growing up, but also in real life. Knight Pulliam recounted adolescent dirt bike adventures and other hijinx with her “other brother,” Richmond. On the podcast, Richmond also shared he was still auditioning and “trying to get [his] productions off the ground.”
Prompted by his former co-star, the actor also shared the character he’d most love to play. “There’s a Louis Armstrong story that they’ve been trying to do for a minute now,” Richmond replied. “That’s a dream role for me.”
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While details about Richmond’s personal life are difficult to come by, he also revealed on Kandidly Keshia that he was currently living in California and was unmarried as of 2017. However, a 2013 feature on HuffPost’s “#Wombfire of the Week” notes that he’s father to twins Lilac Jewel and Leone Jade Richmond, and includes a shot of him hugging the fraternal girls in a gallery slide entitled “Daddy’s little girls.” Savvy social media users have noted that the girls’ mother, Sherman Oaks-based hairstylist Tamara Rachelle, now appears to run popular TikTok and Instagram accounts where she shares content about raising a daughter with autism.
Despite reports that she and Richmond are married, the poster describes herself as a single mother, suggesting that the two are no longer in a relationship. However, a year-old post from her personal account featuring Richmond with Leone makes it appear they are still in contact.
Over the years, multiple sites have erroneously reported that Richmond has survived both colon and breast cancer and is a graduate of Texas Christian University, who went on to become a disc jockey. In fact, these biographical details, as well as related quotes in the articles, can be correctly attributed to the late Price is Right announcer Rod Roddy instead.
Richmond reacted to the strange discrepancy on Twitter in June 2018 when a user tagged him in a post calling out the problem. “I’m trying to figure out how that happened?!” he replied. The former Cosby Show star addressed the incorrect information again in 2021, stating firmly that he “nvr had cancer…someone copy & pasted the announcer from price is right’s bio into mine and thts [sic] where the cancer stuff comes frm.”
In addition to acting in the films What Matters, Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas, and the forthcoming slasher flick Bad Connection, Richmond has expanded his reach in recent years, launching a GoFundMe in 2015 for a darkly Groundhog Day-esque work, Oliver Twist, his directorial debut. Last July, the actor also posted a photo to his Instagram of some paperwork with his name listed as “producer,” noting in the caption that he can’t say much more about the project yet.
In addition to his work in the entertainment industry, Richmond’s LinkedIn profile lists him as the owner of Solar Rich Life, an home solar energy company “founded on the belief that affordable, renewable energy can create a better world for everyone,” according to its website.