Geoffrey Owens is returning to television following a stint working at Trader Joe’s.
The Cosby Show alum has accepted Tyler Perry’s offer to join OWN drama The Haves and the Have Nots, a source close to the series confirmed to Urban Hollywood 411.
Owens will appear in 10 episodes of the show, in a yet to be announced recurring role for the upcoming sixth season. The actor will fly to Atlanta next week to begin filming.
Perry reached out to Owens via Twitter after The Cosby Show actor was photographed working at a New Jersey Trader Joe’s.
Read More: ‘Cosby’ Actor Geoffrey Owens Responds to Tyler Perry’s Job Offer: ‘Really?’
The pictures, which were meant to shame Owens, instead prompted a flood of support from fans and entertainment industry insiders, including Perry.
The filmmaker took to Twitter on Tuesday to offer the actor a job.
“#GeoffreyOwens I’m about to start shootings OWN’s number one drama next week! Come join us!!!” Perry tweeted. “I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist.”
TMZ first reported Owens had accepted the offer early Friday morning.
Owens played Cliff Huxtable’s son-in-law Elvin Tibideaux from 1985 to 1992. Since then, he’s had roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Affair, Elementary and other shows.
On Thursday, Owens told TheWrap he took the job bagging groceries, partly because of lost residuals after several networks stopped airing The Cosby Show amid the sexual abuse scandal surrounding Bill Cosby.
“That was one of the many factors that contributed to my decision to take a job outside the entertainment industry,” Owens said. “It did not help me financially.”
TV Land stopped airing reruns of the series in 2014, then Bounce TV and Centric followed.
“There was a certain amount of money that stopped coming in, and that made a difference,” Owens explained.
He started working at the grocery store 15 months ago to make ends meet, but quit earlier this week because of all the attention.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
