R.I.P. Malcolm-Jamal Warner: ‘Cosby Show' and ‘9-1-1' Star Dead at 54
Per People's report, Warner passed away after drowning while on a family vacation in Costa Rica.
DECIDER reached out to reps for Warner for comment.
According IMDb, Warner's first acting credit was a 1982 appearance on Matt Houston. The actor landed his breakout role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, appearing in nearly every episode of the eight-season-long sitcom as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and Clair Huxtable's (Phylicia Rashad) son. He was chosen by Cosby during NBC's casting search, per Variety.
His work in sitcoms continued with Malcolm & Eddie, which he starred in alongside Eddie Griffin. Warner also voiced The Producer on The Magic School Bus, and also starred on the shows Listen Up, Jeremiah, Reed Between the Lines and The Resident.
Over the course of his decades-long career, Warner also had guest arcs on shows like Community, American Horror Story, Suits, Sneaky Pete, 9-1-1, and Alert: Missing Persons Unit.
In a May 2024 interview with DECIDER, Warner opened up about the resurgence in interest in The Resident on Netflix after it got axed by FOX in 2023. Warner starred as AJ Austin across all six seasons of the medical drama.
'I think one of the best things about that show is how much we as a cast loved and still love one another. I think we would all jump at the opportunity to be able to work together again,' he shared at the time. 'I think we would all jump at the opportunity to be able to work together again. Matt [Czuchry] was just here last night. We were just hanging out last night. And I just saw Bruce [Greenwood] a couple of weeks ago. We all really, really dig each other. So I think it would if we had the opportunity to work together again, we would be like, 'Yeah, man!''
Warner also spoke to his four-episode-long cameo as Amir on 9-1-1, noting that the job was his fourth time working with series star Angela Bassett.
'She did Cosby. We did an episode of Tour of Duty together like in '85 or '86. And then American Horror Story,' he recalled. 'So each time I get to have more camera time [with her], which is always great. And also I came in and I was a huge Six Feet Under fan.'
Warner also launched the Not All Hood podcast with Candace O. Kelley and Weusi Baraka in June 2024, which according to its website, 'addresses the evolution, exhilaration, and triumphs of being rooted in a myriad of versions of Black America.'
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