'Cosby Show' actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies in drowning in Costa Rica
U.S. actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played the son in the smash-hit sitcom "The Cosby Show," has drowned in Costa Rica, authorities in the country said Monday. He was 54.
Warner played the loveable Theo Huxtable for all eight seasons of the show, helmed by disgraced comic actor Bill Cosby.
"We received a report of an adult male who died of drowning asphyxiation at Coles Beach in Cahuita" on Sunday afternoon, said a statement from investigating police. "When the victim entered the sea he was apparently pulled out by a current.
"The man was assisted by bystanders on the beach, but was pronounced dead by Red Cross lifeguards."
Local authorities identified him as the actor, and said his body had been transferred to a morgue for further analysis.
Warner, who was nominated for an Emmy for his work on "The Cosby Show," also appeared in sitcoms "Malcolm & Eddie" and "Reed Between the Lines."
"The Cosby Show," which ran from 1984 to 1992, was one of the biggest TV hits of its time, detailing the lives of a middle-class Black family in New York.
The show was inspired by the stand-up routines of Bill Cosby, who played the family's patriarch, a successful doctor.
The show was a commercial and critical hit, and was seen as groundbreaking for its depiction of a loving, happy Black family.
But its legacy has been overshadowed in recent years by dozens of complaints of sexual assault against Cosby, a man once known as "America's Dad."
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family said, just weeks after he gave an epic farewell concert. The hell-raising singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, passed away just over a fortnight after playing a final gig before a sold-out crowd in his home city of Birmingham, England. "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning," said a family statement. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time." On Black Sabbath's official Instagram account, the remaining members simply posted "Ozzy Forever." Prince Charles meets Ozzy Osbourne and "The X Factor" finalist Chico Slimani (center) from Morocco at a reception in 2006 for the people who lent their support to The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday concert in London. | REUTERS Tributes poured in for the notorious figure nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness," who once bit off the head of a bat while on stage. Music icon Elton John praised Osbourne as "a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods — a true legend." "He was also one of the funniest people I've ever met. I will miss him dearly," John wrote on Instagram. Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood said he was "very sad" to learn of Osbourne's death. Osbourne was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal — an offshoot of hard rock — as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s and 80s after forming in Birmingham in 1968. Black Sabbath's eponymous 1970 debut album made the U.K. top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records, including their most famous song "Paranoid." "It was Ozzy's voice that took me away to a dark universe. A great escape," Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready posted on X. "Thanks for the music, Ozzy it makes our journey in life better." Black Sabbath went on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Osbourne was added for a second time last year as a solo artist. From left: Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath after being inducted during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York in 2006 | AFP-JIJI He gained huge notoriety along the way for his outlandish stunts, many of them fueled by a hedonistic lifestyle involving the lavish use of drugs and alcohol. His live performances at the height of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, particularly a 1982 gig in Des Moines, Iowa, when he bit the head off a bat on stage. Osbourne said he thought a fan had thrown a fake rubber bat onstage, and it was not until he took a bite that he realized it was real. "I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren't fun," he told U.S. TV host David Letterman in 1982. Osbourne is also rumored to have snorted a line of ants up his nose and once urinated on a cenotaph commemorating war dead. His public persona took a new turn with the reality TV series "The Osbournes" in the 2000s, which followed the ups and downs of his family life alongside wife Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and their three children. Born John Michael Osbourne on Dec. 3, 1948 in Birmingham, he left school at 15 and did odd jobs including factory work before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands before finding success with Black Sabbath. He paused touring in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery. Osbourne suffered a fall at home in 2019, which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003. He released his 12th studio album, "Ordinary Man," in 2020, followed by "Patient Number 9" in 2022, which went to No. 3 and 2 in the U.K. charts, respectively. Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial at Ozzy Osbourne's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday in Los Angeles. | AFP-JIJI Osbourne brought the curtain down on a wild career on July 5, when Black Sabbath rattled through their most iconic songs in front of 40,000 adoring fans at Villa Park, home of Premier League football club Aston Villa. He was joined by original bandmates Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward for the concert, dubbed "Back to the Beginning" — their first gig together in 20 years. Osbourne — stylish to the very end — held court from a giant leather throne, topped with a bat. "It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts," Osbourne told the crowd after finishing the set with "Paranoid."
Japan Today
12 hours ago
- Japan Today
Tears of joy as Venezuelan migrants return from El Salvador prison 'hell'
Maikel Olivera (C) -- a Venezuelan migrant who was freed from a notorious Salvadoran prison -- embraces his mother Olivia Rojas as he reunites with family in Barquisimeto, Venezuela By Ramon Veliz, with Margioni Bermudez in Maracaibo Tears of joy and relief flowed freely Tuesday as Venezuelan Maikel Olivera returned home to his mother's embrace after surviving four months of "real hell" in a Salvadoran prison. The 37-year-old is one of 252 Venezuelan migrants flown home last Friday from a notorious "anti-terrorism" prison where they were sent by the United States in a fear-inducing crackdown on undocumented migrants. Family and friends waited impatiently for Olivera to finally be released by Venezuelan officials after days of medical tests and questioning, breaking out in tearful cheers and waving Venezuelan flags as they saw a police car approaching his family home Tuesday. "You've come back to life, my love!" Olivera's mother Olivia Rojas exclaimed, hugging her son and lovingly stroking his face before taking a step back to look him up and down for any signs of distress. Cars honked in celebration and one person in the crowd wore a T-shirt with the slogan: "Migrating is not a crime." When the clamor died down, Olivera described the CECOT prison he and his compatriots were held at as "real hell." "There were beatings 24 hours a day," he told AFP of the experience. "They told us: 'you will rot here, you will be imprisoned for 300 years.' I thought I would never return to Venezuela again." The CECOT was built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to house dangerous criminals in a successful but much-criticized war on gangs. Bukele accepted payment of millions of dollars from the US President Donald Trump's administration to add migrants deported from the US to his prison population in a move widely denounced by human rights groups. After four months incommunicado, Olivera and the others were finally freed in a prisoner exchange deal with Washington. And not a minute too soon. Caracas -- itself under investigation for alleged rights violations in its own prisons -- says the men were beaten, shot with rubber bullets, sexually abused and given rotten food to eat during their incarceration. 'They raped him' The men had been sent to El Salvador despite US officials not providing any evidence for claims that they were gang members, and without any due process on American soil. The last they were heard of was when Bukele shared images of the men arriving at CECOT in chains, their heads shorn. Olivera said he and the others were not allowed to receive visits from lawyers or family members. "I had a friend who was gay, they raped him," he said. "They beat us just for taking a shower." Olivera was delivered Tuesday by authorities to the city of Barquisimeto, a more than four-hour drive west from the capital Caracas where the men arrived in two planes last week, and on the way to Maracaibo, where more families waited. Mercedes Yamarte, 46, worked for days to prepare a special meal and decorate her humble home in a poor Maracaibo neighborhood with balloons in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, bursting with impatience for the return of her son Mervin, 29. The banner outside read "Welcome to your homeland, you were missed," and inside a poster bearing Mervin's photo reads "Welcome home." As the hours passed Tuesday, several false alarms saw the community jump up in excited anticipation, just to sit down again on the plastic chairs they had arranged in a shady spot on a hot day. But Mercedes remained calm. She had spoken to her son, she said, and knew he was on his way. When word of the men's release from CECOT spread last week, people from the neighborhood had gathered around a TV in Mercedes's living room to try and spot their loved ones among the passengers getting off the planes. Among them was Yarelis Herrera, 45, who told AFP her son Edwuar Hernandez appeared "very changed. He looks more like a man now." He is 23. "They have no record of criminal activity, nothing. Humble people seeking a better future who ended up in this nightmare," Mervin Yamarte's younger brother Jonferson told AFP. He had escaped a similar fate by returning home from the United States on a humanitarian flight organized by Caracas. Olivera, Yamarte, and many others risked the dangerous journey to the United States to find work and send money home to economic and political crisis-riddled Venezuela. The South American country has lost about a quarter of its population -- some eight million people -- to emigration under President Nicolas Maduro, whose claims to victory in two successive elections are widely considered illegitimate. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
14 hours ago
- Japan Today
King Charles' musical sage Errollyn Wallen blazes new path
Errollyn Wallen, Master of the King's Music, was told as a child she would never belong in the world of classical music, but has risen to become the composer to King Charles III and the first person of colour in the historic role By James PHEBY Told she would never belong in the world of classical music, Errollyn Wallen has risen to become the composer to King Charles III and the first person of color in the historic role. The 67-year-old became the Master of the King's Music last year, a 400-year-old post and one of the classical world's top honours that involves composing works for landmark events and advising the king on musical matters for royal occasions. "He's very musical, which everybody's really thrilled about," Wallen told AFP. "He likes listening to music and he is curious about it -- he has broad tastes, which is really wonderful," added Wallen, who premiered her "funky" new composition "Elements" at the first night of the renowned Proms music festival in London on Friday. Charles showed a lighter side in March when he shared his favorite songs from around the Commonwealth in an Apple podcast, revealing a surprising appreciation of disco, reggae and Afrobeats and including hits from such artists as Kylie Minogue and Diana Ross. In a sign of his musical conviction, Charles sought advice from Wallen -- "but in the end the king chose his own" songs, she said. "It was important for him to choose tracks that brought back personal memories to him and that's the power of music," said the pianist, violinist and singer. "Think of the people he's met, all the great musicians. It's incredible," added the self-confessed cake fanatic. Wallen was born in the former British colony of Belize in 1958, and soon showed signs of a precocious talent. "My parents said that as a baby, I didn't cry, but I was always singing." She moved to London aged two and her mother and father then relocated to New York, leaving her and her siblings, one of whom is the jazz trumpeter Byron Wallen, in the care of her aunt and uncle. "I was always making up songs for any boring chore," she recalled. Wallen credits a junior school teacher for setting her on her current path. "I was very lucky that at school, all of us nine-year-olds were taught to read and write music, but also introduced to orchestral music." However, she received little encouragement to pursue a career as a composer. "I love my family, but I think there was the idea that you wouldn't step out of the ordinary," she explained. Another early memory is of a non-music teacher telling her "you know, little girl, classical music isn't for you". "These subtle messages going in that I might be good at music, but I wouldn't belong to that world. But I was so curious and passionate about music... I think the negative messages didn't go in deeply." Indeed, taking the road less travelled only strengthened her conviction and "led me into other paths of music making which has stood me in great stead. "I was a keyboard player and I played music in the community and care homes -- it opened my eyes to how music can touch people." It was at boarding school that the classical bug really took hold, and it was later nurtured at Goldsmiths', King's College London and King's College, Cambridge. Wallen also appeared as a backing artist for the 1990s girl group "Eternal" and performed as a tap dancer, having trained as a dancer in London and New York. She had her own recording studio, and her work includes 22 operas and a range of orchestral, chamber and vocal compositions. Her arrangement of Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem" was performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2020, and she also composed a piece for the Paralympics Opening Ceremony in 2012. But she still admitted to being "so shocked" when the palace called last July, generating headlines about her being the first black woman to assume the role. "I had to remind the palace, I'm the first black person, full stop. There's never been a person of colour in this role, since 1626." Charles I created the role to take charge of his personal band, but today it mainly entails advising and composing. "I wrote something for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey earlier in the year... and I did say to the palace my main objective is to be a kind of music ambassador," she said, adding that "children are my priority". She aims to get for "children some of the things that so many of us had for free" when it comes to a musical education. © 2025 AFP
