Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable in “The Cosby Show,” has passed away.
He was 54 years old.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Monday that Warner drowned Sunday afternoon on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, the Associated Press reported. He was swimming at Playa Grande de Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.
“He was rescued by people on the beach,” the department’s initial report said, but first responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found him without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue.
The New Jersey native rose to fame on “The Cosby Show,” which earned him an Emmy nomination in 1986. He starred in the sitcom from 1985 to 1992. From 1996 to 2000, he starred in the UPN sitcom “Malcolm & Eddie” alongside comedian Eddie Griffin.
In 2017, he starred alongside Kyra Sedgwick in the series “Ten Days in the Valley,” and talked to our Sam Rubin about the experience.
“It raises everyone’s game,” he said, working with the actress. “That’s the one thing when you have a collaborative, whether it’s a band, whether you’re working with other great actors, the bar always raises when there’s one person who’s killing it. Everyone just automatically comes up.”
He also starred in “Reed Between the Lines,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Resident,” “Community,” and “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” His latest projects were 2025’s “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” and 2024’s “9-1-1.”
He was also a musician and poet. In 2015 Warner received a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song “Jesus Children” alongside the Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway. Since 2003, he performed at the National Black Theatre Festival and would host its Poetry Jam.
That same year, he released his debut album “The Miles Long Mixtape.” His second album, “Love & Other Social Issues,” was released in 2007.
He also played the bass guitar.
He also hosted the podcast “Not All Hood (NAH)” with Candace Kelley. The latest episode was released just two days before his death.
“NOT ALL HOOD (NAH) takes a provocative look at the vastly different lived experiences and identities of Blacks in America,” the website explains. “The layered nuances are explored through conversations and guests who share their journeys and versions of Black confirmation about topics including Black masculinity, love and media representation.”
Warner reportedly leaves behind a wife and child; however, he kept their identities quiet to maintain their privacy.