Warner performed at Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre last month
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — While Malcolm-Jamal Warner was perhaps best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, he was also a talented and versatile performer beyond that, as evidenced by his performance at Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre last month as part of the Church Street Jazz Series.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner performs at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk in June. Warner died as a result of an accidental drowning Sunday. (WAVY photos – Typhanny Wiggins)
Warner, an Emmy- and Grammy-nominated actor, director and musician, and a Grammy-winning poet, died Sunday in an accidental drowning while on vacation with family in Costa Rica.
Warner appeared on the Hampton Roads Show in June to talk about his Norfolk performance, and his illustrious career.
“The thing I love about the show is, a lot of people, when they come see me, no one expects it to be whack, right? I think I have a pretty dependable brand, so people come more out of curiosity, so I love the pleasant surprise effect,” Warner said on the Hampton Roads Show. “One hundred percent of the time, people leave with an experience of, what they experience far surpass[es] what their expectations were.”
Warner, besides being an actor, was a bass player and a poet who won a Grammy in 2015 for his work on Robert Glasper’s Black Radio 2 for the song “Jesus Children,” featuring Lalah Hathaway. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for his project, Hiding in Plain View.
“I think it’s safe to say I was a poet before I was an actor,” Warner said.
He and his band, for the performance at the Attucks Theatre, fused poetry with hip hop, jazz and funk. He said a lot of inspiration for his poetry came from his life and social issues.
“The older I get, the more I feel compelled to share my knowledge, my experiences,” Warner said, noting he is “the bridge between the generation gap.” He believes creativity is something available to everyone, and he wants people to get in touch with that side of themselves.
“A lot of people come knowing one side of me because of what they’ve seen, my public persona, what they’ve seen me do as an actor,” Warner said. “What I do with my poetry is a different side of me, and it allows me to express myself in ways that I can’t as an actor or as a director, and I think people tend to walk away feeling like they know me and my art better, and also walk away inspired because, though I entertain, I also feel a responsibility to inspire.”
And, based on the tributes pouring in, it’s safe to say he has, indeed, inspired.
