{"id":31491,"date":"2025-07-21T19:18:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=31491"},"modified":"2025-07-21T19:18:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:18:39","slug":"the-cosby-show-star-malcolm-jamal-warner-dead-at-54-from-accidental-drowning-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=31491","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Cosby Show\u2019 star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dead at 54 from accidental drowning"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cThe Cosby Show\u201d star Malcolm-Jamal Warner has died at 54,\u00a0TMZ\u00a0<\/a>reported Monday.<\/p>\n

A source confirmed Warner\u2019s death to\u00a0People<\/a>. The insider claimed Warner was in Costa Rica on a family vacation and drowned while swimming.<\/p>\n

Costa Rican National Police told\u00a0ABC News<\/a>\u00a0that Warner drowned near Cocles. They claimed he was caught by a high current in the water and was found Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Warner\u2019s cause of death was asphyxia, according to the police.<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Malcolm-Jamal Warner\u00a0Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Post has reached out to Warner\u2019s rep and the Costa Rican National Police for comment.<\/p>\n

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Warner played\u00a0Theodore \u201cTheo\u201d Huxtable, son of Bill Cosby\u2019s Cliff Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom from 1984 to 1992.<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner as Theodore \u2018Theo\u2019 Huxtable.\u00a0NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2021, Warner exclusively spoke to The Post about\u00a0the legacy of \u201cThe Cosby Show\u201d<\/a>\u00a0following Cosby\u2019s\u00a0sex assault conviction<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0was later overturned.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand why some people can\u2019t watch the show and enjoy it because of everything that\u2019s going on now,\u201d Warner told The Post. \u201cBut I think \u2026 there\u2019s a generation of young people who have pursued higher education or have started loving families because of the influence of that show.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm-Jamar9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Malcolm-Jamar Warner\u00a0NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner and Bill Cosby in \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d\u00a0NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s kind of like, you can\u2019t discount its impact on television culture and American culture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Warner was born in Jersey City, N.J., Aug. 18, 1970. He was named after Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. His career began as a child performer, and he attended the Professional Children\u2019s School in\u00a0New York City.<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner at SCAD aTVfest 2020.\u00a0Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2020<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warner auditioned for the role of Theo on the last day of the show\u2019s nationwide search and was selected by Cosby,\u00a0per Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He starred alongside Cosby, Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable, Sabrina Le Beauf as Sondra Huxtable, Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable, Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable and Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable.<\/p>\n

He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1986, the same year he hosted an episode of \u201cSaturday Night Live.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
The cast of \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d\u00a0NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After \u201cThe Cosby Show,\u201d Warner starred in the UPN sitcom \u201cMalcolm & Eddie\u201d alongside Eddie Griffin from 1996 to 2000, followed by the BET sitcom \u201cReed Between the Lines\u201d from 2011 to 2015.<\/p>\n

Warner\u2019s other notable acting credits included \u201cHere and Now,\u201d \u201cThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,\u201d \u201cJeremiah,\u201d \u201cListen Up,\u201d \u201cCommunity,\u201d \u201cSons of Anarchy,\u201d \u201cAmerican Horror Story: Freak Show,\u201d \u201cAmerican Crime Story,\u201d \u201cSuits\u201d and \u201c9-1-1.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 2018 to 2023, Warner played Dr. AJ Austin on \u201cThe Resident.\u201d He also directed an episode of the Fox medical show.<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner and Cosby in a scene from \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d\u00a0Corbis via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner at an Emmys after-party in 2016.\u00a0Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warner was also the voice of the Producer character on \u201cThe Magic School Bus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most recently, Warner appeared in three episodes of Fox\u2019s \u201cAlert: Missing Persons Unit\u201d that aired earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Outside of acting, Warner won\u00a0a\u00a0Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance\u00a0for his song \u201cJesus Children\u201d with Robert Glasper featuring\u00a0Lalah Hathaway in 2015.<\/p>\n

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\"Malcolm-Jamal9<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Warner in 2017.\u00a0Alberto E. Rodriguez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Reality TV\u2019s biggest stars. One unforgettable night.<\/h2>\n

Buy Tickets<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In January, he started the podcast\u00a0\u201cNot All Hood\u201d<\/a>\u00a0with Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley\u00a0that \u201ctakes a provocative look at the vastly different lived experiences and identities of blacks in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner dated Michelle Thomas, who played his girlfriend on \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d Thomas died in 1998 of a desmoplastic tumor at 30.<\/p>\n

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He was also in relationships with actresses Karen Malina White from 2000 to 2007 and Regina King from 2011 to 2013.<\/p>\n

Warner is survived by his wife and daughter, whom he chose to keep private.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cThe Cosby Show\u201d star Malcolm-Jamal Warner has died at 54,\u00a0TMZ\u00a0reported Monday. A source confirmed Warner\u2019s death to\u00a0People. The insider claimed Warner was in Costa Rica on a family … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31493,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31491\/revisions\/31493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}