Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable[note 1] is a fictional character and the protagonist of the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992.

Although he and his wife fostered a tight-knit, loving family, a running gag throughout the series is his thwarted attempts to get the grown children to leave the house.

Cosby proposed that the couple should both have blue-collar jobs, with the father a limousine driver,[2] who owned his own car, and the mother an electrician[3] but, with advice from his wife, Camille Cosby, the concept was changed so that the family was well-off financially, with the mother a lawyer and the father a doctor.

Although he and his wife fostered a tight-knit, loving family, a running gag throughout the series is his thwarted attempts to get the grown children to leave the house.

Even when he succeeded at this, more issues would come, such as Sondra finally leaving to marry her husband Elvin, only to move into a squalid tenement (albeit with Cliff's full support as he and Clair struggled in the early years of their marriage), or Denise marrying a Navy officer with a child from a prior marriage, and Cliff now acclimating to a blended family.

Very playful, Cliff enjoys competition, often making bets with Clair over various things, such as the date a certain jazz song was released, or having a "Smooth Contest" to see which of them looked more elegant for a night on the town, as judged by the children.