Malcolm-Jamal Warner attends SCAD aTVfest 2020 – In Conversation With Malcolm-Jamal Warner on February 29, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit :
Vivien Killilea/Getty
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner died on Sunday, July 20 after drowning while on a family vacation in Costa Rica
- Costa Rican authorities confirmed to PEOPLE that bystanders rescued the actor, but he was “declared lifeless” at the scene.
- He was 54 years old
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was pulled from the ocean by bystanders, according to authorities in Costa Rica.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said “the victim appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current. The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene.”
On Monday, July 21, a source told PEOPLE that the actor had died while on a family trip in Costa Rica. He was 54.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner attends the 2nd Annual Living Legends Gala at InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta on September 30, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Derek White/Getty
The source also shared at the time that Warner had drowned while swimming. Authorities have since confirmed that Warner “apparently died as a result of asphyxiation by submersion.”
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Warner began his career as an actor by playing Theo Huxtable, the only son of Bill Cosby‘s character, Heathcliff Huxtable, in The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992.
He’d go on to star alongside Eddie Griffin in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie from 1996 to 2000, and he was also well known for his role as Alex Reed on Reed Between the Lines, which he starred in alongside Tracee Ellis Ross from 2011 to 2015.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore ‘Theo’ Huxtable, Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable, Phylicia Rashad as Clair Hanks Huxtable, Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable, Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable, (center) Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff ‘Cliff’ Huxtable for The Cosby Show. Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank
In the days before his death, Warner remained busy hosting his podcast, Not All Hood, which he started in May 2024. He co-hosted alongside Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley.
“When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects,” he told PEOPLE of his hopes for the podcast before its launch.
Warner is survived by a wife and daughter, whose identities he opted to keep private.
