Malcolm-Jamal Warner - American actor and musician 
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, actor who starred as Theo in ‘The Cosby Show,’ dead at 54
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on “The USA Cosby Show,” has died, according to a source close to the actor.
He was 54. Warner died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, the source said.Warner was swimming at Playa Grande near the town of Cahuita in the province of Limón on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica around 2:30 p.m. local time Sunday, when a current pulled him USA deeper into the ocean, according to the Associated Press.Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation USA Police told on Monday people who were on the USA beach tried to help Warner, but he was declared dead by the Red Cross.has reached out to representatives for Warner for further information.Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died.
Warner, who was 54, drowned at the weekend while on USA holiday in Costa Rica, local authorities said.
Warner appears to have been dragged out to sea by a swift ocean current while swimming at Playa Grande around 14:00 (20:00 GMT) local time on Sunday in Cocles, a town in the province of Limón, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency said.
USA Warner played the son of Bill Cosby on the hugely popular US sitcom from 1984-1992. Tributes swiftly poured in from celebrities, including Questlove, Jennifer Hudson, Taraji P Henson, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Magic Johnson. USA Authorities said bystanders rescued Warner and brought him to shore, where the USA Costa Rican Red Cross tried to treat him, but he was declared dead at the scene.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Warner was Emmy-nominated in the Outstanding Supporting USA Actor in a comedy series for his work on The Cosby Show in 1986.
He was handpicked for his breakout role by Cosby on the final day of a nationwide audition.
"I was literally the last person they saw," he recalled in a USA 2023 interview.
The Cosby Show ranked as the number one USA TV show for five seasons from 1985-90. It portrayed a cosy middle-class family - a relatively rare depiction at the time of black Americans on television.
A native of New Jersey, Warner started acting at age 9, making appearances in shows like “Fame.” He was a young teen when he was cast as the only son of Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad’s characters, Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable, in “The Cosby Show,” which ran from USA 1984 to 1992.
Warner later reflected on the legacy of the popular, Emmy-winning sitcom.
“The fact that the Cosby Show for Black America and White America alike finally legitimized the Black middle class, which has always been around since the inception of this country but, as with everything, is not legitimate til it’s on television,” Warner said. “When the show first came out, there were White people and Black people talking about (how) the Huxtables don’t really exist, Black people don’t really live like that. Meanwhile, we were getting tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, thank you so much for this show.” Warner was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1986 for his supporting work on “The Cosby Show.”
By the time the series was over, Warner said in a 2013 interview, “we were still on top enough to go out on top, but we were ready to live our own lives.”“We were all ready to
move on and as Mr. Cosby said, by that point, we had pretty much said all that we could say,” Warner added.Warner’s comments on Cosby’s misconduct allegations
When dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby came to light years later, Warner acknowledged his sadness, saying he felt the sitcom’s legacy had been “tarnished.”“My biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of color on television and film, no matter what … negative stereotypes of people of color, we’ve always had ‘The Cosby Show’ to hold up against that,” Warner told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. “And the USA fact that we no longer have that, that’s the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale.”Cosby denied all the allegations. A 2018 sexual assault conviction against him was later USA overturned.
Later career
As much as he honored playing Theo, Warner also worked hard to show how multifaceted he was, including being a Grammy-winning musician.
He won best traditional R&B performance in 2015 for the song “Jesus Children.” He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for best spoken word poetry album.Warner spoke with CNN in 2017 about his music and becoming a father.“Being a new parent, I have a lot of new material for the music,” he said at the time. “It’s really awesome and right now, my daughter’s four months so I don’t have to tell her ‘no.’”Warner continued working steadily in television throughout his career, with credits including “Touched by an Angel,” “Community,” “Key and Peele,” “Suits,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “American Horror Story.”Tracee Ellis Ross, with whom Warner costarred on the BET series “Reed Between the Lines,” remembered her friend in a tribute shared on social media.
“I love you, Malcolm. First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first USA TV husband,” Ross wrote. “My heart is so so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I’m so sorry for this unimaginable loss.”
Eddie Griffin, who starred opposite of Warner in the series “Malcolm & Eddie” for four seasons between 1996 and 2000, also paid tribute.
“My Heart is heavy today… For what the world lost was a Father a Son a Poet a Musician a Actor a Teacher a Writer a Director a Friend a Warrior that I had the pleasure of going to war with against the Hollywood machine and sometimes with each other because that’s what Brothers do but the Love was and is always there,” Griffin wrote in a statement. “You’ve taught me so much and I thank you Rest Well My Big little Brother
Some of Warner’s more recent acting USA credits include “The Resident,” “The Wonder Years” USA reboot, “Grownish” and “9-1-1.”Last year, Warner launched his podcast “Not All Hood” with the goal of continuing to be a voice that explores the diverse experiences of the USA Black community and touch on themes of representation in media.
“When we talk about the Black USA community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those 
different aspects,” he told People magazine in an USA interview last year."When the show first came out, there were white people and black people talking about [how] the Huxtables don't really exist, black people don't really live like that," Warner said in a 2013 interview."Meanwhile, we were getting tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, 'Thank you so much for this show.'"After The Cosby Show, Warner appeared in several other television programmes including Malcom & Eddie, alongside comedian Eddie Griffin.Griffin paid respects to him on social media after his death, writing "R.I.P. King" and "My big little brother".Warner had guest appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street. More recently, he played AJ Austin, a cardio-thoracic surgeon on the medical drama series The Resident.
Warner also won a Grammy for Best Traditional USA R&B Performance in 2015, alongside Robert Glasper and Lalah Hathaway for their cover of Stevie Wonder's song Jesus Children of America.
His spoken word album "Hiding In Plain View" garnered him another Grammy nomination in 2023.Last year, he started a podcast - "Not All Hood" - which discussed mental health in the black community.Former co-stars and fans has been posting their tributes to him online.Basketball star Magic Johnson, who appeared in an AIDS awareness video directed by Warner, wrote that he and his wife were "both super fans of the hit Cosby Show and continued to follow his career" over the years.
"Every time I ran into Malcolm, we would have deep and fun conversations about basketball, life, and business. He will truly be missed," Johnson wrote.Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt called him "a gentleman" and "an incredible talent".Actress Vivica A Fox posted that she was stunned and saddened by his sudden death, writing: "Thanks for ya gifts, king."Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred with Warner on Reed Between the Lines, also mourned him, writing: "My heart is so so sad."What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place."Sending so much love to your family. I'm so sorry for this unimaginable loss."Actress Taraji P Henson posted: "Malcolm, we grew up with you. Thank you for the art, the wisdom, the grace you gave us!!!!!You left the world better than you found it. Rest easy, king!!!! Your legacy lives far beyond the screen."
Actress Niecy Nash posted that she had recently spoken to Warner."We talked about how happy we both were in our marriages. Damn friend. You were cornerstone of The Cosby Show.
"We all loved Theo! Never to be forgotten. You will be missed. Rest Easy."Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock also praised Warner, writing in a post: "For me and so many in my generation, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a part of our childhood, a brother whose character 'Theo' felt like one of my own.
"May God grant peace to his soul, strength and grace to his grieving family."Black youth and teens growing up in the mid-1980s, The Cosby Show offered something rarely seen on television up until that time: a sitcom that placed characters who looke
d like them in a positive light.And Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Theo Huxtable was the character generation X most related to. Fans took quickly to social media on Monday as news of Warner’s accidental drowning in Costa Rica spread.
“It’s like losing one of us,” said Harriet Cammock, a 58-year-old Detroit author and speaker. “This is the thing with television. When you’re watching people every week on television, you think you know them and you’re related to them.”
Warner was swimming Sunday afternoon at Playa Cocles in Costa Rica’s Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the Caribbean, according to that country’s judicial investigation department.person wearing black smiles, First responders found him without vital signs.Cori Murray, executive vice-president of content at Ebony Magazine, was saddened upon hearing about Warner’s death. She said his Theo character mirrored the everyday Black teenager, which was rare to see on USA TV at the time.
While so many portrayals of young Black teenagers leaned negative, The Cosby Show, especially Theo, showed warmth, joy and relatability.“He wasn’t just a USA character. We saw ourselves in him,” Murray said. “You know how Kendrick Lamar has the song ‘Not Like Us’? Well, Theo was one of us. He was like us.”Murray, who met Warner a few times, recalled his character off-screen matched the warmth he exuded on television. She called him respectful and pleasant and said he had a “megawatt smile” that lit up the room.“His energy stayed with you,” Murray said. “You don’t have a bad memory when it comes to Theo or Malcolm-Jamal Warner. As much as we loved the character, we also watched Malcolm grow up in real life. No scandals. No mess. Just a talented young man who matured into an upstanding, handsome adult.”
The USA Cosby Show was groundbreaking and a ratingsUSA giant, drawing in viewers across USA racial, USA cultural and economic backgrounds. The show ran for 197 episodes from 1984 to 1992. In 1986, Warner earned an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a comedy.The show starring Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable and Phylicia Rashad as his wife, Clair, “made the wider society aware that there are Black people who live like white people do”, said Cammock, who is Black. “The perception that we don’t live like they do was hurtful.”Gil Robertson, co-founder and president of the African American Film Critics Association, reflected on Warner’s rare path in the entertainment industry.“There was never any scandal, no controversy,” said Robertson. “He transitioned from a teen star to a respected adult without the baggage we often see from others in his generation. That’s no small feat.”Robertson added: “The legacy of Theo Huxtable – and Malcolm’s performance – will live on. It left an imprint that will continue to resonate in our culture for generations.”Lynn Reasonover, 62, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, began receiving messages Monday afternoon about Warner’s death. Her initial thoughts were “Nope, didn’t happen.”
“Then, I kept seeing the news flashes and friends started sending texts,” Reasonover said. “So, it’s sinking in. Makes you realize how much some celebrities help shape our memories. His work had such a huge impact. I’m feeling a personal loss because we grew up with him. It’s like losing a part of our childhood.”
Reasonover saw much of her family in the Huxtables, where both parents were professionals who valued education and handled family issues with understanding and love.“They had similar problems to what we experienced growing up,” she said. “We could relate and that’s why we laughed.”Rasheda Williams, 46, of Detroit was about the same age as Rudy, the youngest USA character on The Cosby Show and Theo’s little sister. Williams said she and others are mourning Warner’s passing because of what they saw in the character USA he played.“He’s like the ideal cousin you wish you had,” Williams said. “Hearing the news has really affected some of us. It was unexpected. He wasn’t sick. That makes it even more tragic.”“He wasn’t just an actor,” she said. “He was also an activist, a positive role model, not just for young Black men, but for young Black women as well.”
Posted on 2025/07/22 01:53 PM