‘The Cosby Show’ Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies From Accidental Drowning at 54
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. He was 54.
The veteran actor and director died from an accidental drowning off the coast of Costa Rica on Sunday, according to ABC News, with the Costa Rican National Police telling the news site Warner’s official cause of death was asphyxia.
ABC News reported Warner died near Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica, with the police saying the Hollywood actor was caught by a strong ocean current. His body was discovered and formally identified by Costa Rica’s national police.
Warner’s role in the long-running Bill Cosby series earned him a primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy and positioned him for later success in Hollywood. His more recent TV work included the role of surgeon AJ Austin on the Fox medical drama The Resident and the courtroom drama Accused, also from Fox.
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He also appeared opposite Kyra Sedgwick in ABC’s Ten Days in the Valley drama, and he played A.C. Cowlings in FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Born on Aug. 18, 1970 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Warner was named after Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.
Although he had a breakout role on The Cosby Show, Warner during his career moved on from that early success to a long career in Hollywood. At the same time, having played Theo Huxtable in the popular comedy, he was often called on to comment on Bill Cosby, and the sexual assault allegations against Cosby, especially when they first emerged and Cosby was arrested in 2015 before an eventual trial.
“He’s one of my mentors, and he’s been very influential and played a big role in my life as a friend and mentor. Just as it’s painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it’s just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this. I can’t really speak on any of the allegations because obviously, I was not there. The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people. What he’s done for comedy and television has been legendary and history-making. What he’s done for the black community and education has been invaluable. That’s the Bill Cosby I know. I can’t speak on the other stuff,” Warner told Billboard during an interview in January 2015.
An eventual sexual assault conviction for Cosby over a 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand was later overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Cosby, then 83, was freed after serving over two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison.
Warner’s other screen credits include Amazon’s Sneaky Pete, TNT’s Major Crimes, USA Network’s Suits, Community, Sons of Anarchy, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Cleaner and Dexter. As a director, Warner helmed several episodes of The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street.
In 2011, he directed and starred alongside Tracee Ellis Ross in the BET series Reed Between the Lines, and he helmed the AIDS awareness video Timeout: The Truth about HIV, AIDS, and You, which had appearances by Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall.
Warner also made his feature film debut in Paramount Pictures’ Drop Zone and appeared in Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fool’s Gold, opposite Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland. And on the live theatrical stage, Warner appeared in the off-Broadway plays Three Ways Home, Cryin’ Shame, Freefall and in a production of A Midsummer Nights’ Dream at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.
