Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Credit :
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
- Despite his Hollywood success, Malcolm-Jamal Warner experienced ups and downs before his sudden death at age 54
- Warner faced personal heartbreak from the death of his former girlfriend Michelle Thomas and a painful split from Regina King
- The actor was by Thomas’ side when she died from cancer in December 1998
Malcolm-Jamal Warner experienced ups and downs prior to his death at age 54.
The actor — who rose to fame playing Theo Huxtable, the only son of Bill Cosby‘s character, Heathcliff Huxtable, on The Cosby Show — told PEOPLE in June 2024 that he was grateful for “the foundation” the hit NBC comedy provided.
“We weren’t in Hollywood, and 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,” he recalled of filming the show, which aired for eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. “And when you grow up in New York, there’s a different exposure to reality than when you grow up on television in Hollywood.”
“I think that foundation was a wonderful foundation for me, because when I was walking through the world, that show was not just a hugely popular #1 show in America, it was the #1 show around the world,” he continued.
Pamela Warner and Malcolm-Jamal Warner at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Steve Granitz/WireImage
“I was 14 years old, and my mother sat me down and said, ‘Listen baby, it’s great that this show is the phenomenon that it is, but at some point this show is going to be over,’” he shared at the time. “‘This show could be over next year. What are you going to do when this show is over?’ She said, ‘I can type. I can always get a job, but what are you going to do when the show’s over?’”
Pamela, a producer and talent manager, reminded her son to focus on “longevity” in the entertainment industry.
“If you look at anyone in this business who’s had longevity, they’ve had periods where they were hot and periods and they were not,” he explained. “And she said, ‘If longevity is what you want in this business, then you have to decide what you’re going to do during those times when you’re not hot, so you’re not out there making desperate career choices.’”
Following The Cosby Show’s conclusion, Warner appeared in TV and film projects such as Malcolm & Eddie, The Resident, Suits, Read Between the Lines and Accused. He also launched a podcast Not All Hood alongside co-hosts Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley.
Michelle Thomas and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in 1992. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
The actor dated Michelle Thomas, who played his onscreen girlfriend Justine Phillips on The Cosby Show, from 1988 to 1994. Thomas died four years after their split on Dec. 23, 1998, at age 30 from a rare form of cancer.
Before her death, the actress whispered a special endearment to Warner: “Elephant juice.” Mouthing those words, Warner, who had flown to New York City from Los Angeles to be at her bedside, said, “Looks like you’re saying, ‘I love you.’ That was always our thing. When I saw her, I said, ‘Elephant juice.’ She smiled and said, ‘Elephant juice,’” PEOPLE previously reported.
“She spent a lot of her career playing girls,” Warner recalled of Thomas, with whom he remained friends after their breakup in 1994. “The wonderful thing about The Young and the Restless was she finally got to play a woman. She finally got to be sexy and to show people that there was more to her than Justine from Cosby.”
Regina King and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in 2007. Stephen Shugerman/Getty
Warner went to have a seven-year relationship with Karen Malina White before dating Regina King from 2011 to 2013. While little has been shared about their relationship, King hinted about their breakup in a 2015 interview.
“That’s tough because I don’t have one — someone broke up with me on Valentine’s. D—!” King told Us Weekly. “Yeah. I’m serious. Then he actually sent me flowers that said, ‘I still love you’ and I threw the flowers in the trash, and he was upset that I threw them in the trash and I was like, ‘F— you.’”
King added, “They’ll know. I love flowers, but he thought that was right. What an a–, right?”
Costa Rican National Police later announced that Warner drowned off the coast on Sunday, July 20, ABC reported.
His death was ruled to be a result of asphyxia, police told the outlet. Warner was caught by a high current on a beach in Limon, per police. He was formally identified by police.
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Warner is survived by a wife and daughter, whose identities he opted to keep private.
