Beloved child and current actor, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, has passed away at the age of 54. According to People, Warner drowned while swimming on a family vacation in Costa Rica. Warner is best known for his portrayal of Theo Huxtable on the hit show, The Cosby Show. His other costars included Bill Cosby (I Spy, Surely, You Jest), Phylicia Rashad (Creed, Creed II), Tempest Bledsoe (Make Me Screem, Family reunion), Keshia Knight Pulliam (Eggs Over Easy, My Brother’s Keeper)m Lisa Bonet (High Fidelity, Ememy of the State) and Sabring Le Beauf (Star Trek: the Next Generation, The Sinbad Show). The show aired from 1984 to 1992.
In 2023, Warner told People, “I know I can speak for all of the cast when I say The Cosby Show is something that we are all still very proud of. We share a unique experience that keeps us lovingly bonded no matter how much time goes between seeing or hearing from each other.”
According to People, Warner’s acting career in Hollywood did not end after The Cosby Show. Soon after, from 1996 to 2000, Warner acted in Malcolm & Eddie. From 2011 to 2015, he played Alex Reed on Reed Between the Lines, starring alongside Tracee Ellis Ross (Power of the Dream, American Fiction). Most recently, Warner starred in Major Crimes as Chuck Cooper. He later joined the cast of 9-1-1 and Alert: Missing Persons Unit.
People noted Warner co-hosted the podcast Not All Hood. He and his co-host, Candace Kelley (Huffington Post, NTVJ News) wanted to bring awareness of mental health into the black community. Warner said at the time, “It’s been an interesting experiment for me, because if’s a place where I feel sage enough to be able to be as vulnerable as I allow myself to be, When we talk about the black 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.”
Warner is survived by his wife and daughter, who have requested privacy at this time.