Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who is most recognized for playing Theodore “Theo” Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died at 54, per media reports.
According to TMZ and People, the actor, poet, producer and director died as a result of drowning. Warner was reportedly swimming in Costa Rica while on a family vacation before his death.
Representatives for Warner did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Warner was born on Aug. 18, 197o, in Jersey City, New Jersey, and grew up as a child performer at The Professional Children’s School in New York City. He stepped into stardom early on in his career after he earned himself a role as Theo Huxtable on Bill Cosby’s family NBC sitcom “The Cosby Show” at 14 years old. He remained on the show for all of its eight seasons and his performance garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards.
He moved on to once again rep his own name as Malcolm McGee on the Kansas City, Missouri-based buddy sitcom “Malcolm & Eddie.” He then played Dr. Reed in the sitcom “Reed Between the Lines” and later on suited up as Sticky in the FX show “Sons of Anarchy,” portrayed Al Cowlings on “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and starred as Dr. AJ Austin on “The Resident.”
Aside from his work as an actor, Warner cemented himself as a Hollywood producer and as a musician, serving as the executive producer of PBS Kids’ hit animated series “The Magic School Bus.” He made his music debut in 2003 with his EP “The Miles Long Mixtape.” His fourth album “Hiding In The Plain View” earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2022 and he won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the 2015 song “Jesus Children” alongside Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway. His latest creative endeavor was a podcast titled “Not All Hood.”
