cosby show

New details about the circumstances of “Cosby Show” star Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death have emerged.

The Red Cross in Costa Rica confirmed to The Times on Wednesday that its first responders also tended to another man in the same drowning incident that claimed Warner’s life on Sunday. The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, survived the drowning.

Costa Rican Red Cross said in a statement that it received an emergency report on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. of a “water-related incident” at Playa Grande, Cahuita, Limón, involving two men who required emergency treatment. Three ambulances arrived at the beach where Red Cross personnel attended to the two men. They performed CPR and revived the unidentified swimmer. He was transported to a nearby clinic in “critical condition,” the statement said.

First responders also performed CPR on Warner, but to no avail. “He was unfortunately declared deceased at the scene,” the statement said. The Costa Rican Red Cross also told People that “two people were dragged by a water current at the beach,” and they were out of the water when paramedics arrived.

The Red Cross statement confirms details previously shared by Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department, which told the Associated Press on Monday that first responders found Warner without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue. Warner was on vacation with his family. He was 54.

Warner, an Emmy-nominated actor, was best known for starring as Theo Huxtable for eight seasons on “The Cosby Show.” His numerous TV credits also include “The Resident,” “Malcolm & Eddie,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “9-1-1” and “Suits.” He was a director for shows “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Kenan & Kel,” among others, and a Grammy-winning musician.

As news of his death spread Monday, Warner’s Hollywood peers, including Morris Chestnut, Tracee Ellis Ross, Viola Davis and Niecy Nash paid tribute on social media. Beyoncé also honored the actor, updating her website to include a tribute to the TV star.

“Rest in power, Malcolm-Jamal Warner,” reads the tribute, which features a black-and-white photo of the actor in his youth. “Thanks for being a big part of our shared television history. You will be missed.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the Emmy-nominated actor who starred as Theo Huxtable for eight seasons on “The Cosby Show,” has died, The Times has confirmed. He was 54.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department told the Associated Press on Monday that Warner drowned Sunday afternoon on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.

First responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found him without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue. Warner was on vacation with his family.

Representatives for Warner declined to comment immediately Monday, but Warner’s friends and colleagues poured out their thoughts on social media.

“I love you, Malcolm,” wrote Tracee Ellis Ross, who co-starred as Warner’s wife on 29 episodes of “Reed Between the Lines.” “First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first TV husband. My heart is so so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I’m so sorry for this unimaginable loss.”

Morris Chestnut, who worked with Warner on “The Resident,” was “heartbroken” to hear the news.

“He brought so much depth, warmth, and wisdom to every scene and every conversation,” Chestnut wrote. “One of the nicest in the business. Rest easy, brother. Your legacy lives on.”

“The JOY in your voice as you spoke about your daughter the last time we talked is all I can think about in this moment … Thank You for being a beautiful light. A Masterclass on the phrase ‘a class act.’ Well done,” wrote singer-songwriter Ledisi, who worked with Warner in music and on TV.

“Luke Cage” actor Mike Colter posted an all-smiles photo of himself and Warner that was taken when the two ran into each other about a year ago. They first connected during the pandemic lockdown, he said.

“I was fascinated by his depth and concern for his fellow man. His compassion for his people. His musical gifts and expressions in spoken word,” Colter wrote. “Yes of course I had watched him as I grew up on the Cosby Show but he had grown into so much more as an [artist] and a man. A father.

“I took this photo as his mother sat across from us. I complimented her on what a great job she had done with her son in this industry. He [turned] out so well,” Colter continued. “My heart goes out to her. I never heard a harsh word [spoken] about him. His legacy will live on. I’m so sorry for this loss to his family and friends. i’m in shock to be honest.”

Holly Robinson Peete said she met Warner in the 1980s when her father was a writer-producer on “The Cosby Show.” The two stayed friends over the years.

“I’m struggling to process this,” she wrote. “Malcolm was so deeply loved, respected, and a true icon of television. … He was always gracious, kind, funny and gave the absolute best hugs. I am sending my deepest condolences to his mom, Pamela and his family… We aren’t ready to say goodbye, Malcolm — but you lived with purpose, character, presence, and grace. Rest well, my friend. Your light lives on.”

“I actually am speechless!!!!! No words!,” Oscar-winning actor Viola Davis wrote. “Theo was OUR son, OUR brother, OUR friend… He was absolutely so familiar, and we rejoiced at how TV got it right!! But… Malcolm got it right… and now… we reveled in your life and are gutted by this loss.”

Niecy Nash said she had just spoken to Warner. “You were giving me my flowers for my work in @grotesqueriefx and we talked about how happy we both were in our marriages,” she wrote. “ Damn friend … You were cornerstone of The Cosby Show. We all loved Theo! Never to be forgotten. You will be missed. Rest Easy.”

Questlove said he saw himself in Theo Huxtable: being bad at football, wanting clothes he couldn’t afford, hiding edgy things from the parents.

“If you looked like me coming of age in the 80s, Malcom-as-Theo was a gps/lighthouse of navigating safety to adulthood. For those of us that didnt have ‘examples’ or ‘safe environments’ — I would like to think for anyone of age we used this entire show —and its offspring as life blueprints,” the music producer and drummer wrote.

In addition to acting on “The Cosby Show,” Warner directed five episodes over the final three years of the show. He was behind the camera for a half-dozen installments of “All That” and also directed episodes of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Resident,” “Kenan & Kel” and “Reed Between the Lines.”

“Part of the reason I even got into directing is because I realized as an actor you really only have so much creative control over whatever project you’re acting in,” Warner told The Times in 1991. “I felt that, as a director, I would at least have more of a voice.”

He continued, saying, “Directing, as is acting and writing, is an interpretation. And I feel that I have a pretty good sense of how to tell a story. And I think that my interpretation of things is pretty, pretty good.”

Born Aug. 18, 1970, in Jersey City, N.J., Warner was named after activist Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. He caught the performing bug by the time he was 9 and wound up attending Manhattan’s Professional Children’s School, which counts him among its “distinguished alumni.”

His parents divorced when he was 3 and he was raised primarily by his mother, Pamela, who served as his manager in the early days of his career.

“I think probably the biggest influence — and I talk about this all the time, and I will probably continue to talk about this until my dying day — my mother. I think she really made the most impact on me,” he said.

Working on “The Cosby Show” in New York instead of Hollywood was another formative experience for him when the sitcom was the most popular thing on TV.

“There weren’t really many other shows shooting in New York. We all had to grow up with friends who were not in the business,” Warner told People in 2024. “And when you grow up in New York, there’s a different exposure to reality than when you grow up on television in Hollywood.”

After getting an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in 1986, for his work on “Cosby,” Warner went on to amass dozens of TV credits. They include four seasons as the lead actor on “Malcolm & Eddie” — he directed 17 episodes on that UPN show — and six seasons as A.J. Austin on “The Resident.”

Other appearances included work on “Sons of Anarchy,” “Major Crimes,” “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce” and “Suits.”

Warner also won a Grammy for traditional R&B performance in 2015 for the song “Jesus Children” and was nominated for spoken word poetry album in 2023.

His band Miles Long incorporated spoken word and funk. The band released “The Miles Long Mixtape” in 2004 and “Love & Other Social Issues” in 2007. “Selfless” dropped in 2015 and “Hiding in Plain View” came out in 2022.

“I’ve been writing all my life and playing bass came later on, when I was about 26,” Warner told Billboard in 2015. “What I recognized with poetry and music [is] that I had a different voice — there were things I wanted to express that I could not as an actor or even as a director. It was another avenue of expression that my soul needs.”

Of course, he was asked for his thoughts on co-star Bill Cosby when Cosby was accused of rape in 2015.

“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,” Warner told Billboard. “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.”

Warner was very happy in his own marriage, though he kept his wife and daughter’s identities private.

“When people say, when you know, you know. That’s what this feeling is,” he said on the “Hot & Bothered” podcast in May. “We’ve been together almost 10 years. We’ve never had a fight, an argument, a raised voice or a harsh word. Not that we’ve always agreed. We’re just at a point where we have a way of communicating.”

After playing clean-cut Theodore Huxtable, Warner was looking for other paths when he talked to The Times in 1987.

“In my post-’Cosby’ life, as I call it, I don’t want to be known as just the kind of guy who can play a Theo Huxtable-type character,” Warner said. “I want to be known as being able to do more things, being able to stretch. For me that was the most important thing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

When Bill Cosby revolutionized television during the mid-1980s with “The Cosby Show,” the fictional Huxtables, the wealthy Black family at the center of the sitcom, were often referred to as “America’s family,” and riding the wave of that pop culture phenomenon was Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

The actor, who died Sunday at 54 in Costa Rica, charmed viewers of the NBC sitcom with his portrayal of Theodore “Theo” Huxtable, the middle child and only son of Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable. Theo was based on Bill Cosby’s son, Ennis William Cosby, who was a constant source of material in his comedy routines and the inspiration for many of the storylines involving Theo on the show. (And like Theo, Ennis, who died in 1997, was Cosby’s only son.)

The series would be the most notable highlight of his career, earning him an Emmy nomination in 1986 for supporting comedy actor. After “The Cosby Show,” Warner continued to work on various television series, including “The Resident” and “9-1-1.” He also dabbled in music and hosted a podcast exploring positives in Black culture titled “Not All Hood.”

But none of those endeavors matched the success of his “Cosby Show” profile.

The Huxtable children, played by Warner, Sabrina LeBeauf, Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keshia Knight Pulliam, were a key element of the series. As played by Warner, Theo was an engaging, fun-loving teen who also got into a variety of scrapes in the Huxtable household. He also struggled as a student.

The cast of “The Cosby Show,” clockwise from top left: Tempestt Bledsoe, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Lisa Bonet, Phylicia Rashad, Keshia Knight Pulliam and Bill Cosby.

(NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

And while he would often frustrate his parents, the affection they had for him was palpable. The Huxtables were a family bonded by humor and love, as Dr. Huxtable and his wife, Clair (Phylicia Rashad), a lawyer, counseled their children how to be better people. Their interactions attracted millions of viewers each week.

In a 1992 New York Times interview, Cosby spoke of Ennis’ problems at school: “It bothered me that Ennis was not doing his schoolwork. I sat him down and said, ‘We’re going to talk, and I want you to say whatever is on your mind.’”

The dialogue became the basis for an episode in which Theo comes home with lackluster grades, explaining to his father that he was overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.

Cosby’s family later learned when Ennis graduated from college that he was dyslexic. The discovery inspired the final episode of the series, in which Theo overcomes dyslexia and graduates from college. (Cliff Huxtable can’t get enough seats for the graduation ceremony.)

When “The Cosby Show” ended in 1992, some of the actors playing the Huxtable children had varying degrees of success. Bonet starred for one season on the “Cosby Show” spinoff, “A Different World,” and co-starred in the film “Angel Heart.” Bledsoe hosted a daytime talk show. Pulliam currently co-stars on “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”

Warner continued to work, finding some steady roles and making guest appearances on various shows over the course of his career.

He starred in 1992’s “Here and Now” on NBC as a psychology graduate student who helps run an inner-city Manhattan youth center. The comedy was canceled after one season.

His most successful venture was “Malcolm & Eddie,” which featured him and comedian Eddie Griffin as bar owners. That UPN comedy ended in 2000 after four seasons.

One of his last leading roles was in BET’s short-lived 2011 comedy “Reed Between the Lines,” in which he played an English teacher married to a psychologist (Tracee Ellis Ross).

Warner said in a Times interview that the show reflected his desire to continue the positive family values at the core of “The Cosby Show.”

“We were clear that there had not been a show like ‘Cosby’ since ‘Cosby,’” Warner said. “We are in no way looking to re-create that show, but we did want to re-create that universality and positive family values that ‘Cosby’ represented. Neither Tracee or I were interested in a ‘black show.’ We are telling family stories as opposed to black stories.”