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Actor who played Elvin Tibideaux 'looked bloated and unhappy.'

Faded Cosby Show star Geoffrey Owens is now a “starving actor” working as a cashier at Trader Joe’s!

An exclusive RadarOnline.com investigation discovered Owens — who played Elvin Tibideaux on the long-running sitcom — scanning groceries in Clifton, N.J., for around $11 an hour.

Wearing an ID badge bearing his name, the balding 57-year-old sported a stained Trader Joe’s T-shirt while manning his post.

“He looked bloated and unhappy,” noted shopper Karma Lawrence, 50, a medical secretary.

Despite his grim mood, Owens politely wished Lawrence “a good day” after ringing up her items, she said.

Still, she was shocked to see him.

“It made me feel really bad. I was like, ‘Wow! All those years of doing the show and you ended up as a cashier,’” Lawrence said.

Owens played oldest daughter Sondra Huxtable’s boyfriend-then-husband on the NBC show from 1985 to 1992.

But after the series ended, he found himself on the outside, according to his aging mother, Ethel.

“He was the star of the show, but they forgot about him after it went off the air!” Ethel — who shares a two-story home with Owens in nearby Montclair — told Radar.

But Trader Joe’s customers still recognize him, she said.

“They come up and say they remember him from their childhoods,” Ethel said.

After Cosby, Owens landed sporadic guest spot TV gigs.

He’s also had bit parts in the 2018 short film Fizzle and on TV’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

When Radar called Owen and asked about Trader Joe’s, he slammed down the phone, but contacted us the next day to list his recent acting jobs, including teaching a Shakespearean workshop in New York City.

Said Karma: “I would have thought after The Cosby Show he would maybe be doing something different. Other fans would be surprised as well.”

Starving Actor! Former ‘Cosby Show’ Star Now Works As Trader Joe’s Cashier (https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2018/08/cosby-show-elvin-tibideaux-actor-geoffrey-owens-elvin-tibideaux-cashier-job-trader-joes/)

Wow, that's really sad!

This article talks about how the pay scale for guest television actors has crashed in recent years. With the 5 million original series being produced right now, costs are shaved where possible, and guest actors have taken the brunt of it. So even though Owens has been working, it's quite likely he doesn't earn very much. This article (https://deadline.com/2015/12/tv-guest-actors-pay-recurring-regulars-guest-stars-1201669407/) cites $900 for a day's work in some cases, which is likely around what he made.

Wow, that's really sad!

Actors defend Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens after Trader Joe's picture (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6127025/Actors-defend-Cosby-alum-Geoffrey-Owens-Trader-Joes-picture.html)

'I swept floors after the NFL, I'd do it again': Terry Crews leads the charge of actors defending Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens' side job after he was pictured working at Trader Joe's
Actors were outraged after pictures of Owens working were published last week
Patricia Heaton and Donnie Whalberg also tweeted their support for Owens
Numerous supporters revealed their side gigs on hashtag #ActorsWithDayJobs

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Nearly every actor has tough times. It's no mark against Geoffrey Owens that he's working at a Trader Joe's. It's honest work; far more honest than many others have tried. Good for him!

I am surprised, however, that his money from the Cosby years is all gone. He was on that show for many seasons, and he has worked consistently in TV ever since he left the show.

The Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens on Trader Joe's job-shaming: I went from devastated to overwhelmed with positive emotion (https://ew.com/tv/2018/09/04/geoffrey-owens-trader-joes-job-shaming-good-morning-america/)
Owens went viral over Labor Day Weekend after Fox News mocked him (https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1035663476180615168) for working bagging groceries at Trader Joe's. The Fox News story was followed by a slew of actors, including fellow 1980s NBC stars Justine Bateman and Blair Underwood (https://ew.com/tv/2018/09/03/geoffrey-owens-cosby-show-job-shaming-celebrities/), coming to his defense and explaining that most actors have to work second jobs. Owens appeared on Good Morning America this morning saying he was "really devastated" at first. “The period of devastation was so short because so shortly after that, the responses, my wife and I started to read (them) … and fortunately the shame part didn’t last very long,” he said. “It’s amazing.” Owens added that he's had to quit the Trader Joe's job due to all the attention.

Tyler Perry offers Geoffrey Owens an acting role on OWN's The Haves and Have Nots (https://ew.com/tv/2018/09/04/tyler-perry-geoffrey-owens-job-offer)
Perry responded to The Cosby Show alum being shamed over working at Trader Joe's by offering him a job on OWN's No. 1 drama. "Come join us!!!" Perry tweeted. "I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist."

The Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens' grocery store job is perfect work for an actor who has to study human behavior (https://qz.com/work/1378594/the-cosby-show-actor-who-works-at-trader-joes-has-the-right-idea/)
Owens' former job at Trader Joe's shouldn't be seen in only economic terms. It should also be looked at as valuable training for a career in the arts. "Actors are in the business of understanding characters and personalities, of translating inner thoughts into externally observable actions," says Corinne Purtill. "The best ones are constant students of human behavior, quietly clocking the subtle tells in mannerisms, speech patterns, choices of dress and posture that give away more about us than we often intend." ALSO: Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum Nate Richert responds to the Owens job-shaming by revealing he's a janitor/maintenance man/carpenter. (https://www.eonline.com/news/965448/sabrina-the-teenage-witch-s-nate-richert-reveals-new-day-job-in-support-of-geoffrey-owens)

Woman regrets taking her viral photo of Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens working at Trader Joe's after receiving "so much hate" (https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/woman_who_took_geoffrey_owens_trader_joes_cosby_sh.html)
“I don’t know why I snuck a picture,” says 50-year-old Karma Lawrence in an interview with NJ.com. “I figured everybody does it. I don’t know what possessed me. I just did it. I didn’t even think about it. I just kind of did it on impulse and it was a bad impulse.” She tells NJ.com that she's received "so much hate. So much nastiness. Oh, it’s been terrible. They write Karma’s a b****. It’s bad.” ALSO: Owens responds to Tyler Perry's OWN job offer (https://www.etonline.com/geoffrey-owens-responds-to-tyler-perry-offering-him-a-job-after-being-shamed-for-bagging-groceries).

He seems like a quality person. What a difference compared to his TV father in law.

The odd thing is- If cashiering paid $25.00 an hour no body would say much. If he was working on tv for $11.00 an people would say, what a crummy job. There are many routine, in the old days some were dangerous, and dull, but if we only had high paying jobs, the world would be in heck of mess. I think of Donna Summer who wrote She Works Hard For Her Money when she saw a restroom worker cleaning toilets. I give Owens credit for learning something new.. He could be sitting around the house. A good thing, when the story came out, so many people came to his defense. As for the Lawrence woman, what was she thinking, Lets make fun of the man??? Then she feels guilty later. AS for photo, Trader Joe's should have a better uniform for their workers. Trader Joes get better uniforms for your workers.

Geoffrey Owens talks connecting with Justine Bateman on "Fame" after his Trader Joe's shaming, says Tyler Perry's offer was "not a handout" (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/arts/television/geoffrey-owens-trader-joes.html)

The Cosby Show alum has had a busy few weeks since he went viral for working at Trader Joe's. He had to fly to Atlanta to film OWN's The Haves and Have Nots, agree to an NCIS: Los Angeles guest role while weighing other acting offers. Was he concerned that Tyler Perry only wanted to hire him because of the Trader Joe's picture? "No, I was not presumptuous and ungrateful enough to say such a thing," Owens tells The New York Times, in an interview looking back at his recent viral fame. "I know that Tyler Perry is a very shrewd businessman. He would never make that offer if he didn’t think I could deliver. I think of it this way: He offered me the role but it’s not like I don’t have to do a job. It’s a job I have to do for him and I have to do it well. It’s an offer, but it’s not a handout. He knows my work and he knows that I’m a professional and I can do what he needs me to do." Owens says he's also formed a connection with fellow former NBC sitcom star Justine Bateman, of Family Ties fame, who graduated from UCLA two years ago at age 49 (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/justine-bateman-graduate-ucla-june-852327) with a degree in computer science and management. "Justine Bateman came to my defense on social media and she sought to reach me personally," says Owens. "And so we started to communicate directly via text and she has been extremely supportive, and she even sent me a copy of her book that is being published as we speak, a book called Fame (https://www.amazon.com/Fame-Hijacking-Reality-Justine-Bateman-ebook/dp/B07DP56P6L/), which is wonderful. I’ve actually already read it. She is one of the few people who shares the experience that I have. A person who experienced great fame and celebrity, more than I ever did, for longer, and then has had to adjust to not being famous, which is a lot of what her book is about. We understand certain things that very few people can understand, not to sound elitist about it."