Fat Albert
Portrayed by: Bill Cosby (series, speaking); Michael Gray (series, singing); Kenan Thompson (movie)
- Acrofatic: Albert is surprisingly agile for his size, being able to run extremely quickly and jump very high, even able to keep up with Harold, who is riding (unsafely) on a bicycle.
- Big Fun: When things were going well for the gang, Albert was usually this.
- Character Catchphrase: "Hey hey hey!"
- Closer to Earth: He does have a few Not So Above It All moments, but generally, he's the most level headed out of the group, and the one to try and let others know when what they're doing is wrong. He also excels in school.
- Everyone Has Standards: Besides his usual pleasant habits and trying to be a voice of reason, Albert draws all lines at violence. So you can bet that if someone resorts to it, he'll be sorely disappointed and upset with you. And if someone actually dies, as was possible in certain episodes, Albert will be both tearing up and horrified — and utterly scathing if he has the opportunity to say a word on it.
- Fat and Proud: Albert often introduces himself as "Fat Albert", and does not seem to suffer from angst due to his weight. The only time this ever comes into play is the 1969 pilot special, which becomes the main conflict of the plot when he overhears his friends teasing him.
- The episode "Little Tough Guy" even establishes that Albert is naturally obese, as he explains to a fellow disabled student that at some point in his life, he continuously tried and failed to lose weight.
- Fat Comic Relief: His size sometimes made him the butt of jokes, but...
- Fat Idiot: Averted. He's often the conscience of the group.
- Gentle Giant: He's, well, fat and also quite tall, but he's also a kind person who helps anyone in need.
- Nice Guy: Easily the nicest, friendliest, wisest and most helpful character in the series.
-
Non-Singing Voice: While Fat Albert is voiced by Bill Cosby, his singing voice is provided by Michael Gray. Neither voice sounds anything alike. Made all the more jarring during the closing song sequences of the 1972-1976 seasons, when Michael Gray even provides Albert's speaking lines in-between singing. - Only Sane Man: Often Albert would be the sole voice of reason when the rest of the gang got involved in a new (and dangerous) fad.
- Primary-Color Champion: He wears a red shirt with a white collar, blue jeans, red and white shoes, and a yellow belt buckle. While he may not be much of a "hero" per se, he is certainly a Nice Guy.
- Stout Strength: Albert was strong enough to catch a guy who fell off the roof of a building and hold him long enough to be rescued.
Dumb Donald
Portrayed by: Lou Scheimer (series), Marques Houston (movie)
- The Ditz: Like his name suggests, he's not very bright.
- Eye-Obscuring Hat: Donald subverts this trope. His knitted hat falls below his eyes, but he has made two eyeholes in the fabric to see through.
- Gotta Pass the Class: Goes through this in "Faking the Grade", which establishes that, despite being called "Dumb" Donald, he's actually capable of usually doing well in school.
- Nice Guy: He can have an occasional jerk moment but he is a good guy.
- Simpleton Voice: Averted. He actually speaks with a loud, screeching voice.
Rudy
Portrayed by: Eric Suter (series), Shedrack Anderson III (movie)
- Attention Whore
- Butt-Monkey: With just a hint of The Complainer Is Always Wrong.
- Everyone Has Standards: In "The Mainstream", he makes fun of his mentally-disabled classmate Dennis for being clumsy, but when Albert informs him of his disability, he immediately expresses regret. Also, he expresses sympathy for anyone going through a divorce, as seen in the episodes "Mom or Pop" and "Sweet Sorrow".
- It's All About Me: In one episode, he attempted to take credit for himself over the gang's combined efforts in making a "Brown Hornet" film, until Fat Albert reminds him it was a group effort.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's quite the grump and can be very cocky, but ultimately his heart is in the right place.
- His "jerk" part is absent in the live-action movie and is actually quite charismatic and kind throughout the whole story.
- The Lancer: As the Commander Contrarian version. In contrast to Albert's Only Sane Man tendencies, when the rest of the gang got involved in a new (and dangerous) fad, Rudy would often be the one leading them there.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Gone through this big-time in the Easter Special when his prank unintentionally lands Mudfoot in the hospital.
- Also goes through this when he almost drowns Russell in "Water You Waiting For".
- Too Dumb to Live: This guy once sold a kid a rubber raft with a hole in it — which he fixed with chewing gum. Albert saved the kid from drowning just in time, and it's a miracle the kid's mother didn't press charges.
- Vocal Evolution: In the 1972-73 seasons, Eric Suter uses his natural voice to play Rudy. By the 1975 season, his voice becomes a bit deeper and gradually, goofier and cockier to match with the character's personality. In the 1984-85 syndicated season, his voice becomes a bit higher-pitched.
Russell
Portrayed by: Jan Crawford (series), Jeremy Suarez (movie)
- Adaptational Personality Change: Subverted in the movie. He is still good-hearted, smart, and childish but his level of energy is different. He behaves much more like how a kid his age would react as opposed to his original show counterpart who spoke about on the same level as the rest of the gang.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Overlaps with Tag Along Kid. As Bill's little brother, he's the youngest member of the gang.
- Brutal Honesty: He has a tendency to say some things that may be right, but there are also times where they can be hurtful. A prime example of this is "Suede Simpson" when most of the gang, even Fat Albert himself, is unable to tell Simpson about his bad hygiene, but when he ends up driving away some girls at a party, it's Russell who flat-out sets him straight.
- Character Catch Phrase: Often throws out jokes about someone, usually Rudy, having "No class".
- Deadpan Snarker: Most of his cracks are directed at Rudy. Those that aren't tend to be lighter.
- Demoted to Extra: In the 2004 movie, he's the only character to not cross over into the live-action world. However, this trope is ultimately downplayed and subverted as he does still get his own minor subplot with the teen bullies.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be an obnoxious or difficult younger brother on occasions but he is a smart, innocent and well-meaning kid.
- Mouthy Kid: Has no problem to saying what he wants to say.
- Tagalong Kid: Being Bill's little brother, he somewhat serves this role, especially during the first two seasons.
- Vocal Evolution: His voice was originally provided by a different child voice actor in the 1971 pilot. When Jan Crawford began voicing him in the actual series, he originally sounded squeakier and younger-sounding (almost like a toddler), but gradually became deeper between the 1975 and 1976 episodes. By the 1984-85 syndicated season, his voice became more high-pitched and excitable-sounding but not to the same extent as the 1972-73 seasons.
- Youthful Freckles: On top of being the youngest member of the group, he's also the only one with freckles.
Bill
Portrayed by: Bill Cosby (series), Keith Robinson (movie)
- Author Avatar: Of Bill Cosby.
- Demoted to Extra: In the 1984-85 syndicated season, but not to the extent of Mushmouth. Still there are a few episodes he becomes absent from.
- The Generic Guy: Subverted. He isn't really a bland character, he just doesn't have a personality distinct in comparison to the others. He is easily the most normal and easygoing member of the group. Sometimes he acts as a secondary voice of reason.
Mushmouth
Portrayed by: Bill Cosby (series), Jermaine Williams (movie)
- Demoted to Extra: While Bucky eventually got more focus in the 1984-85 syndicated season, Mushmouth barely had any lines and sometimes didn't even appear in some of the episodes.
- Only Known By His Nickname: In the original series, at least. The movie gives him a full name of James Mush.
- The Unintelligible: Mushmouth is understandable, but just barely. Specifically, he speaks Ubbi Dubbi—Even more specifically, he speaks like the patient with his mouth completely numb in Bill Cosby's Dentist routine. Making things worse is his heavy Southern drawl, which only serves to make his mouth even mushier.
Weird Harold
Portrayed by: Gerald Edwards (series), Aaron Frazier (movie)
- Ascended Extra: Gets a bit more focus and episodes about him in the 1984-85 syndicated season.
- The Klutz: He represents the awkward years of every kid who physically grew quickly.
- Nice Guy: Though he can easily get brainwashed like the rest of the group, he's one of the nicer members of the group.
- Straight Man: Tends to play this towards the other group's wackiness.
Bucky
Portrayed by: Jan Crawford (series), Alphonso McAuley (movie)
- Only Known By His Nickname: Possibly subverted, in that in the live-action movie, Bucky Miller was given as his real name.
- Out of Focus: Bucky barely had any lines in the series and less screen time than the main cast. Slightly averted in the 1984-85 syndicated season when Bucky's role upgraded slightly to Ascended Extra, whereas Mushmouth became Demoted to Extra.
- The Quiet One: He rarely ever speaks and has the least amount of lines out of the whole gang.
- Vocal Evolution: His voice actor, Jan Crawford went through puberty by the 1975 season, so his voice became deeper as a result. Unlike Russell, whose voice was tweaked by Jan to sound more childlike, Bucky's voice wasn't affected as much during the 1984-85 syndicated season, especially since he's a bit older than Russell.
Mudfoot Brown
Portrayed by: Bill Cosby (series), Earl Billings (movie)
- Cool Old Guy: He appears to live in the junkyard that the others have their clubhouse in. He's clearly not well off, but he's another voice of reason in the kids' lives.
- Easily Forgiven: In the Easter Special, Mudfoot forgives Rudy for his unintentional prank that landed him in the hospital, although it's slightly justified when Mudfoot hears how Rudy's consequences are deeply affecting him.
- Intergenerational Friendship: The boys have one with Mudfoot as he often parts advice to the boys.
