Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on the groundbreaking sitcom The Cosby Show, has died at the age of 54. Warner drowned on Sunday afternoon while swimming off the coast of Playa Grande near the town of Cahuita in Limón Province, Costa Rica, according to local authorities and the Associated Press.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Police confirmed Warner was caught in a powerful ocean current and pulled into deeper waters around 2:30 p.m. Despite beachgoers’ attempts to rescue him, the Red Cross pronounced him dead at the scene. His death was later confirmed as asphyxia by drowning by national police.
Warner, born on August 18, 1970, in New Jersey, rose to stardom in the mid-1980s as the only son of Cliff and Claire Huxtable in The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992. The series broke barriers in American television, showcasing a successful Black family and redefining representation on screen. In 1986, Warner earned an Emmy nomination for his performance as Theo.
Lisa Bonet, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Phylicia Rashad, Sabrina Le Beauf. Front row: Keshia Knight Pulliam, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe. Alan Singer/NBC/Getty Images
Reacting to the news, Bill Cosby called Warner’s death “shocking” in an interview with WPVI, adding, “You could depend on Malcolm always … to learn his lines, to gather his character, to come out and be ready. Of course, my thoughts went straight to his mother, who worked so hard. She was so wonderful with him.”
Beyond his success as a teen star, Warner pursued a wide-ranging career as an actor, director, poet, and Grammy-winning musician. He starred in several series including Malcolm & Eddie, Reed Between the Lines, and more recently, The Resident. He also made notable appearances in Suits, Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story, and Key & Peele.
A talented spoken word artist and musician, Warner won a Grammy in 2015 for best traditional R&B performance for his contribution to a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Jesus Children” with the Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway. He was again nominated in 2023 for best spoken word poetry album for Hiding in Plain View.
In 2023, Warner reflected on the lasting cultural impact of The Cosby Show, saying, “There’s a generation of us who went to college, who sought higher education, who built loving families because of that show. That impact is irreversible.”
Malcolm Jamal-Warner as Theo Huxtable for “The Cosby Show.” Al Levine/NBC/Getty Images
He also candidly addressed the controversy surrounding Cosby’s sexual misconduct allegations, lamenting how the show’s legacy was “tarnished.” “We’ve always had The Cosby Show to hold up against negative stereotypes,” Warner said in a 2015 interview. “The fact that we no longer have that, that’s what saddens me the most.”
Tributes have poured in from colleagues and fans. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred with Warner in Reed Between the Lines, described him as “warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant,” adding, “You made the world a brighter place.”
Comedian Eddie Griffin, his co-star in Malcolm & Eddie, remembered Warner as a “warrior,” writing, “What the world lost was a father, a son, a poet, a musician, an actor, a teacher, a writer, a director, a friend… Rest well, my big little brother.”
Most recently, Warner launched the podcast Not All Hood, dedicated to exploring the diversity of the Black experience and challenging monolithic portrayals of Black life in media.
Warner is survived by his daughter and other family members, who were vacationing with him in Costa Rica at the time of the accident.
His death marks a profound loss to the entertainment world and to generations of fans who grew up watching him grow from a boy into a multifaceted artist and voice for cultural change.
Written By Rodney Mbua
