Malcolm-Jamal Warner (left) and Keshia Knight Pulliam on ‘The Cosby Show’. Credit :
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner featured his The Cosby Show costar Keshia Knight Pulliam on his podcast one month before his July 20 death
- Warner called Knight Pulliam “more than my friend” and “family”
- The pair also talked about how close they’ve become since Warner moved to Atlanta and how their 8-year-old daughters have also become close friends
Malcolm-Jamal Warner reunited with his The Cosby Show costar Keshia Knight Pulliam on his podcast Not All Hood NAH one month before his death. In the episode, Warner, who died at age 54 on Sunday, July 20, and Knight Pulliam, 46, reflected on their decades-long bond, forged when they played Theo and Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
“We’re kicking this season off leaning into love and legacy with Keshia Knight Pulliam,” Warner said, calling her “hands down” one of his “favorite people.”
“She is more than my friend, she is family. Our bond goes way beyond The Cosby Show,” he said. “We have both managed to navigate through the murky waters of child stardom with our souls and dignity intact.” Warner and Knight Pulliam were joined by his podcast cohost, Candace Kelley.
“This is family,” Knight Pulliam said about being together with him.
Warner reflected that when The Cosby Show ended after eight years, he was 22 and felt the whole cast was “ready to just kind of move on.” He made it all the way through filming the last episode, he remembered, until “I saw Keshia started crying and then I started crying.”
Knight Pulliam said, “The difference for me is I started on this show when I was 4 years old. So for me, this is family. From 4 to right before 13, I had spent all of those years, so it was the reality that we’re not doing this tomorrow.”
The cast of ‘The Cosby Show.’ Clockwise from left: Tempestt Bledsoe, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Lisa Bonet, Phylicia Rashad, Keshia Knight Pulliam and Bill Cosby. Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Kelley asked about their current friendship, and Knight Pulliam joked, “He’s stuck with me for life.”
“Keshia is very intentional,” Warner said. “It’s one of the things I love about you. And Keshia has no problem calling you out.” He said that even back then, if she reached out and he ignored her, she would just call him again. “You were very intentional about keeping our relationship alive,” he said, even when they were in different life stages.
“I think the thing is that’s who I am, though, as a person,” Knight Pulliam said. “When I love you, when you’re in my village, first of all, it doesn’t matter how much time has passed. Even if we don’t speak to each other, the love never dissipates, and in addition to that, we pick up where we left off.”
She said her check-ins were never to be overbearing, but because, “When you’re family, that’s what family does. Family is not just who you’re related to by blood. To me, the word friend even is a very weighted word because friends are the family that I choose, so the way that you show up for that village is in alignment with that.”
Warner said when he was in his 20s, he realized how important it was to Knight Pulliam to “show up” for her.
“For me, because of the time that was shared, all of the cast members, whether we’ve spoken yesterday or years [ago], hold a special place in my heart,” Knight Pulliam said. She called The Cosby Show a “magical” time that she got to experience with the “innocence” of a child. “So, no matter what, they’re all family to me.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner in 2024. Santiago Felipe/Getty
Knight Pulliam said to “bring it full circle to present day,” recently she and Warner met for lunch without their kids, and after, he went by her daughter’s school. Later, her daughter Ella, 8, excitedly told her, “ ‘Mommy, I saw Uncle Malcolm.’ And I was like ‘You did?’ ”
“I’m grateful that we have those moments with our families and our kids, and our daughters adore each other,” Knight Pulliam said.
“That’s the most surreal thing,” Warner said, noting their daughters were born just three months apart. “And they love each other, and it’s so surreal.” He called them “little ladies” when they play together.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It’s so surreal to me that we have this kind of relationship as parents, and we see our next generation have this bond at such a young age,” Warner said. Knight Pulliam said she’s “so grateful” that Warner moved to Atlanta and joked that he first said the move was “temporary,” but “temporary” ended up going on for years.
“I’m grateful because I think that one change also created the space for us [to] bring this relationship so current,” Knight Pulliam added. “Because we have girls the same age, because you married well — thank god. And so did I.”
Warner died while swimming during a family trip to Costa Rica.
