Malcolm Jamal Warner, icon of the “Cosby Show” dies at age 54 in Costa Rica
Malcolm Jamal Warner, who played Theo in “The Cosby Show,” died of Costa Rica at the age of 54.
Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his role as Theodore Huxtable in “The Cosby Show,” passed away at the age of 54.
The Emmy Award-nominated actor owned off the coast of Costa Rica on Sunday, July 20th, ABC News and the Associated Press Report. Costa Rica’s national police confirmed with ABC News that Warner died after being arrested underwater while swimming near Cocles, the beach in Limon, Costa Rica.
According to the Associated Press, Warner said he was “rescued by people on the beach,” but the first responder of the Costa Rica Red Cross found him without a vital sign and he was taken to the morgue.
ABC News reports that the actor has been officially identified by police. USA Today reached out to Warner representatives for comment.
In addition to eight seasons on the hit NBC sitcom as the son of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable and Phylicia Rashad’s Claire Huxtable, Warner was also known for his role as Malcolm McGee in the 1990s UPN sitcom “Malcolm & Eddie.”
But what made Warner a popular name in the 1980s is his role as an adorable, but sometimes silent teenage son.
Warner, 5’5″5″13, is “literally the last person,” told NPR in 2014 after searching nationally for auditions for the role of “The Cosby Show.” Rashad.
“The Cosby Show” took place on NBC for eight seasons from September 20, 1984 to April 30, 1992, with Warner being nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Comedy Series and directing the experience behind the camera for several episodes.
“The 80s were an explosion for me. I was a teenager. I lived in New York with the #1 show. I lived not only in the country but in the world,” Warner told the TV Academy in 2014.
In 1986, Warner hosted Saturday Night Live at the age of 16. The star reflects the impact of the “Cosby Show” on the TV Academy.
“The Cosby Show justified the black middle class, both in Black and White America, which has been around forever since the country’s inception, but like everything, it’s not legal on television,” Warner said. “When the show first appeared, the Haxtables are talking about (how) between whites and blacks, and blacks don’t really exist, blacks don’t really live that way.”
“In the meantime, we had gotten tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, ‘Thank you so much for this show.’ ”
In the 2010s, Warner played a remarkable recurring role in the NBC comedy “Community” and played the former Shirley Bennett of Yvette Nicole Brown. He also portrayed Sticky Carder, vice president of motorcycle club The Grim Bastards in FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.”
In the 2016 FX series The Peoplev. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, Warner played Al Cowlings, a friend of OJ Simpson, who drove the infamous Whiteford Bronco during a TV police chase.
The “Line Between Leads” actor also dabbled in music and poetry, winning a Grammy Award for his best traditional R&B performance in “Yes Children” in 2015, and was nominated for the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for “Hiding in Plain View” in 2023.
Warner’s final acting role was as Dr. Austin, AJ “Raptor” in Fox’s medical drama “The Resident.” He initially joined the show in recurring roles in Season 1 (2018-2019), eventually becoming a series regular for the remaining five seasons.
The Fox Network issued a statement saying it was “griefed by the tragic loss of friends and colleagues.” They added: “Malcolm remembers most for his warmth, kindness and the enduring influence he has had on his friends, family and fans everywhere.”
Warner was survived by his wife and daughter. Their identity is not publicly disclosed due to Warner’s private attitude.
