Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor and musician who rose to fame as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s, is dead. Warner died by drowning while on a family vacation to Costa Rica, sources confirm to People and TMZ. He was 54.
Warner was born in Jersey City in 1970, named for Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. He began studying acting at age nine and as a young teenager was cast on The Cosby Show, the role that would make him a star. Warner remained on Cosby for its full run from 1984 to 1992. During his time on the series, he got into directing, helming episodes of Cosby as well as All That, Kenan & Kel, and his own late '90s sitcom Malcolm & Eddie. In 1992, Warner directed the PSA Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, And You. And in one of several forays into the music world, he directed music videos for artists including New Edition, Special Ed, and Five Star.
Warner's other acting roles ranged from the post-apocalyptic Showtime series Jeremiah, the BET sitcom Reed Between The Lines, and the educational cartoon The Magic Schoolbus among many other projects. He ramped up his music career in the 2000s, releasing his debut EP The Miles Long Mixtape in 2003. Warner mainly worked in the realm of jazzy hip-hop and spoken word, including on subsequent releases like 2007's Love & Other Social Issues, 2015's Selfless, and 2022's Hiding In Plain View, though he also played the bass. He won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for "Jesus Children," his 2013 collaboration with the Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway.
