American actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, mostly known for the role of Theodore “Theo” Huxtable in the television series “The Cosby Show”, died at the age of 54, Monday and ABC News write.
Warner drowned Costa Ricăi Sunday, the National Police in this country in Central America announced. The official cause of Warner's death was asphyxia, the police said.
Warner died near Cocles, a limon beach, Costa Rica. The police added that it was caught by a powerful current in the water while swimming, and his body was discovered on Sunday afternoon. The actor was on vacation, next to the family.
Warner was officially identified by Costa Rica National Police.
Actor, musician and poet, Warner played on Theo Huxtable in all eight seasons of the series “The Cosby Show”, broadcast between 1985 and 1992, and was nominated for an EMMY prize.
Warner played with Eddie Griffin in the “Malcolm & Eddie” sitcom, broadcast between 1996 and 2000, and in the role of Dr. Alex Reed in Sitcom Bet “Reed Between the Lines”. Over the years, he also appeared in secondary roles in dozens of television shows.
Warner recently played in the medical series “The Resident”, broadcast by Fox, in five of the six seasons of the series.
Born on August 18, 1970, Warner fell in love with acting from an early age and graduated The Professional Children's School of New York City.
He first appeared on television in an episode of the series “Matt Houston”, in 1982, and also played in the series “Fame” the following year.
In 1984, he obtained the role of “The Cosby Show”, a series in which he appeared with Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet and others.
In 2023, Warner appeared in the show “Live with Kelly and Mark” and told how he got the role that brought him fame. “When my agent proposed me (for role, no), they were looking for a teenager of 1.88 m,” he said at that time. “Because it was a recurrent joke – Mr. Cosby's son was 15 years old and was 1.88 m.”
He said that the filmmakers were unable to find someone to meet the criteria, so his agent again for the role and gave a test.
“I was literally the last person they interviewed,” said the actor.
The role brought to Warner a nomination at Emmy in 1986 for best supporting actor in a comedy series.
Warner spoke about the legacy of the series “The Cosby Show” in 2023, saying: “There is a generation among us who went to college, who looked for higher education due to that series.
He added: “This impact was irreversible.”
After “The Cosby Show”, Warner continued to appear in several television series, including “The Michael J. Fox Show”, “Key & Peele”, “American Horror Story” and “Sons of Anarchy” in 2014, as well as “Suits” and “American Crime Story” in 2016.
In 2011, he played in the comedy series “Reed Between the Lines”, along with Tracee Ellis Ross.
The actor also appeared in several films, including “The List” in 2007, “Fool's Gold” in 2008 and “Shot” in 2017.
In 2015, Warner won a Grammy award for the best traditional R&B interpretation with Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway for Stevie Wonder's “Jesus Children” Jesus Children '.
He told in 2023 that he was 26 when he started playing the bass as a hobby, while working on “Malcolm and Eddie”.
The artist spoke about his musical passion and in an interview given in 2015 for the publication forbassplayersonly.com, saying: “I always say that the bass chose me, because when I was a child, the bass was the only tool with me.” “I received my first pick-up when I was 8, and the first disk I stole from my mother's collection was the Grand Central Station,” he added. “So, at 8, this impressed me.”
Warner also obtained a Grammy nomination in 2023 in the recently introduced category for “Best Recite Poetry Album”, for “Hing in Plain View”.
In June 2024, Warner launched the “Not All Hood” podcast with Candace Kelly, where they discussed mental health in the African-American community.
He told People magazine, in May 2024, that podcast was a space where he could “be as vulnerable as he allowed himself.”
“So many of our African-American images and so much African-American music shows a single facet of our culture,” he said. “We want to make sure that we can balance this with many other aspects of the culture of color people.”
In 2013, Warner told Archive of American Television that “the biggest achievement” in his life was “the fact that he could have a life and a career after the Cosby series and that he still has his head on his shoulders.”
“I had a wonderful life,” he said at the time. “I had ups and downs and all the others, but if I die tomorrow, I know I would go with a smile on my lips.”
He added: “I have peace of mind and, for me, that has no price. I can say with certainty that I feel fulfilled in my life after the series Cosby and that I have peace of mind.”
