Bill Cosby reacts to Malcolm-Jamal Warner's death
"We were embracing each other over the phone about a dearly beloved friend ... Malcolm was always embracing relationships with everybody he worked with," Cosby told "CBS Weekend News" anchor Jericka Duncan in an interview.
Warner's death shocked the entertainment world Monday when it became known that the performer drowned in Costa Rica the day before during a family vacation. The 54-year-old was apparently pulled out to sea by a current off the Central American nation's Caribbean coast and he couldn't be revived onshore, officials said.
A spokesperson for Cosby said in a statement that the 88-year-old former actor was devastated when he found out Warner had died. Cosby compared learning the news to when he was told that his son Ennis was killed in 1997, according to spokesperson Andrew Wyatt. "It felt the same way," Wyatt said.
Cosby told Duncan he last spoke with Warner about three months ago about his music career. In 2015, Warner, with the Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway, won the Grammy for best traditional R&B performance with a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Jesus Children of America." Warner was also nominated for best spoken word poetry album at the 2023 Grammys.
"He was very proud of what he had done," Cosby said.
America watched Warner grow up as he played Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" for the entirety of the show's run from 1984 to 1992, earning Warner an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series in 1986. In the interview with Duncan, Cosby praised Warner's dedication to the profession.
"He was never afraid to go to his room and study and make sure he followed whatever he had learned in the acting school he went to," Cosby said.
In 2015, as Cosby faced multiple allegations of sexual assault, Warner told The Associated Press that "The Cosby Show" lost its place as a counter to the portrayal of negative stereotypes of people of color in movies and TV.
"And the fact that we no longer have that, that's the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale," Warner told the AP.
Cosby was convicted in a Pennsylvania court in 2018, but the conviction was overturned in 2021.
In 2023, Warner spoke highly of his experience on "The Cosby Show" in an interview with CBS News Pittsburgh.
"That show had such an impact on the culture here in America but also a global impact on how, you know, Black people saw ourselves globally and how the rest of the world saw us," he said. "So I'm proud to have been part of that legacy, and it's been a great ride ever since."
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New York Post
4 minutes ago
- New York Post
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter when he fatally drowned
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was not alone when he drowned in Costa Rica at the age of 54 on Sunday. According to ABC News, 'The Cosby Show' alum was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter at the time. According to police officials, surfers saw Warner and his daughter struggling in the water. A surfer dove in and brought the child back to safety on his board. Advertisement 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner. FOX Image Collection via Getty Images A volunteer lifeguard then pulled Warner and a second surfer back to shore, where the 'Malcolm and Eddie' star was given CPR for 45 minutes, per the report. On Monday, Costa Rican National Police confirmed to The Post that bystanders had pulled Warner from the water and taken him to shore. Advertisement The Costa Rica Red Cross made revival efforts, but the attempts were unsuccessful. Warner's body was transported to the morgue at San Joaquin de Flores for an autopsy. His cause of death is listed as asphyxiation by 'submersion.' On Wednesday, TMZ reported that Warner's body has been released to the family. He will be flown back to Los Angeles. Advertisement 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner holds his daughter's hand in an Instagram pic. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram Sources told the outlet that the sitcom star's body will leave Costa Rica on Thursday and arrive in Los Angeles on Friday morning. According to the insiders, the U.S. Embassy is working alongside Warner's family to return his body to the United States. Another source revealed to TMZ that Warner was in Costa Rica with his daughter for a home-schooling program. His wife was allegedly not in the country at the time of his death and learned about the tragedy over the phone. Advertisement 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner's daughter riding a horse. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram 10 An image of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's daughter visiting the horse stables. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram After the Emmy nominee's accidental drowning, Playa Grande lifeguards claim they were 'not present' on the beach when the incident occurred due to lack of 'resources.' 'We deeply regret the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at Playa Grande. He was swept away by a strong rip current and died by drowning,' Costa Rica's volunteer lifeguard association, Caribbean Guard, stated on Monday via Facebook. 'It all happened very quickly, and although there were people on the beach who entered the water to rescue him, they did not arrive in time. He was pulled from underwater without vital signs, and despite CPR maneuvers being performed on the beach, resuscitation was unsuccessful,' the message continued. 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner and his daughter at their home. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram The Guard went on to explain how Playa Grande is well known by 'local surfers' but is one of their 'most challenging beaches.' The statement added that there are signs placed along the beach in both Spanish and English 'warning of the danger of death due to drowning.' The Guard shared they had patrolled there 'over the past few years,' but not at the time of Warner's death. Advertisement 'Due to recent aquatic incidents in Playa Negra, we had redirected resources there and to Chiquita, another iconic beach known for its strong currents,' the statement noted. 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner plays with his toddler daughter. The social media post included a message addressed to Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and the government. 'From Caribbean Guard, a volunteer lifeguard association, we make an urgent appeal to the President of the Nation, the national government, the Municipality of Talamanca, and the entire Caribbean community to continue joining forces to minimize this problem, which, sadly, is on the rise ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.' Advertisement 'We do everything within our reach,' concluded the statement. 'We have saved numerous lives in recent years, and if Caribbean Guard didn't exist, the number of drownings would be counted in dozens. We give everything we have to minimize the risks, but without help from the government, clear public policies, and strong support from local business owners, this will continue to happen.' 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner holds his daughter as a baby. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram Warner first rose to fame playing Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable, the son of Bill Cosby's Cliff Huxtable, in 'The Cosby Show.' The sitcom ran on NBC for eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. Warner garnered a 1986 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Advertisement In 2021, the late star spoke with The Post about the legacy of the series after Cosby's sexual assault conviction before it was overturned. 10 'The Cosby Show' cast. NBCUniversal via Getty Images 'I can understand why some people can't watch the show and enjoy it because of everything that's going on now,' Warner said. 'But I think … there's a generation of young people who have pursued higher education or have started loving families because of the influence of that show.' 'So it's kind of like, you can't discount its impact on television culture and American culture,' he added. Cosby addressed Warner's death, revealing it felt like losing his own son, who was murdered in 1997. Advertisement 'While I was their TV dad, I never stopped being a father to them,' he told The Post through his rep. Prior to his death, Warner had relocated from Hollywood to Atlanta, Georgia, during his multi-season run on the Fox show 'The Resident' from 2018 to 2023. 10 Malcolm-Jamal Warner at the Recording Academy Honors. 'I think he decided to come to Atlanta just because it felt a bit more grounded. It felt more like a home to him,' Dashiell Smith, one of the actor's best friends and bandmates, told The Post on Wednesday. After purchasing a $1.3 million, five-bedroom house in the suburb of Decatur, Warner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2023 that, 'Music and my wife and daughter keep me from losing my s–t.'
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Regina King Pens Touching Tribute to Ex Malcolm-Jamal Warner After 'Cosby Show' Actor's Tragic Death: 'Ride in Power'
"Some people leave a lasting imprint, not just for who they were but for the energy they carried," King wrote of Warner Regina King is paying tribute to her ex Malcolm-Jamal Warner. In the wake of Warner's tragic death at the age of 54 on July 20, King, also 54, shared a pair of Instagram Stories posts paying tribute to the Cosby Show alum, whom she dated in the early 2010s. "Some people leave a lasting imprint, not just for who they were but for the energy they carried," she wrote alongside a photo of Warner on a motorcycle. "I'm sending prayers filled with love and understanding to your family and loved ones. Rest easy Malcolm-Jamal Warner." King shared another photo of Warner on a motorcycle, captioning it, "Ride In Power." King and Warner dated from 2011 to 2013. Little was shared about their relationship, and Warner opened up to BET in October 2011 about why they kept their relationship private. "I think Regina and I are both of the philosophy that we keep our private lives private. All relationships go through all kinds of peaks and valleys. And I think it's unfortunate — when you live in the public eye, of course, your peaks and valleys are going to be heavily scrutinized," he shared at the time. "So we just kind of prefer to protect what we have going on because relationships are work, anyway. We don't need the rest of the world to know our Kool-Aid," Warner continued. "So we like to protect what we have because it's very special and very precious." King hinted that she and Warner were "good" around the time of their split. "Hey everybody PLEASE don't believe everything you read," she wrote in a tweet from March 2013. "Me & [Warner] are good. Life happens. Forward motion. Godspeed." Warner drowned while on a family vacation in Costa Rica. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed to PEOPLE that the actor's autopsy was completed on Tuesday, July 22, which showed that he died from accidental asphyxiation by submersion. 'The body will be removed from the Judicial Morgue by a funeral service company hired and authorized by Mr. Warner's family,' the organization said. In a statement obtained by PEOPLE on July 21, the 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." Costa Rican National Police formally identified Warner on Sunday, July 20. They revealed the following day that the actor's cause of death was ruled as the result of drowning, pending the autopsy report. In addition to King, Warner has been remembered throughout the Hollywood community for his work on and off the screen. He has been honored by several of his The Cosby Show castmates, including Bill Cosby and Raven-Symoné. Warner famously played Theodore "Theo" Huxtable throughout the series' eight-season run between 1984 and 1992. Castmates from other shows Warner appeared on have also shared their memories of him, including Tracee Ellis Ross from Reed Between the Lines, Patrick J. Adams from Suits and Emily VanCamp and Morris Chestnut from The Resident, among others. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Warner is survived by his wife and his daughter. Read the original article on People
New York Post
34 minutes ago
- New York Post
Malcolm-Jamal Warner's shocking death raises new swimming safety fears — here's how experts say to avoid drowning in a rip current
The accidental death of 'The Cosby Show' actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner has saddened the world — and raised new fears over swimming safety. The beloved TV legend's passing comes amid a record number of drownings on NYC's beaches, where the same type of rip current that claimed Warner in Costa Rica can threaten swimmers just as quickly. However, according to local water education non-profit Rising Tide Effect, a whopping 95% of all such fatalities are preventable — given the proper instruction. 4 New Yorkers enjoy the water at Coney Island — where rip currents can threaten at any time, experts say. Getty Images In the event you're caught in a rip current, the best thing to do is stay calm, swim parallel to the shore out of the current, and wait for rescue or approach the shore, the experts warn. Rip currents do not pull swimmers under — they just draw people out further from the sand, they said. Exerting too much energy kicking or swimming against the current can, in many cases, be fatal. A similar fate to Warner's befell MLB prospect-turned cop Chase Childers while vacationing with his family on Pawleys Island, S.C., earlier this month. The trouble began when a woman asked the dad of three to help save her brood of five, all caught in a current. After heroically saving the swimmers with the help of another nearby man, Childers disappeared into the water — until his body was recovered 90 minutes later by first responders. Authorities suspect that the ballplayer's admirable rescue efforts left him without the strength to make it back to shore. Drownings only take up to a minute to occur, so swimming close to a lifeguard when possible can often be the difference between life and death. In Warner's case, there was no lifeguard present at the time of his death, but signs advising the presence of potential rip currents were reportedly posted on the beach. 4 Chase Childers, 38, drowned just weeks ago during a beach vacation with his family in South Carolina. GoFundMe 4 Warner passed away at age 54 on July 20 during a trip to Costa Rica. Getty Images The actor was enjoying a family vacation in Playa Grande, and was reportedly swept out into a high current between 2 and 2:30 p.m. local time. Of the incident, Costa Rican National Police previously told The Post that he was pulled to the shore by nearby beachgoers, allowing the Costa Rica Red Cross to attempt resuscitation. Per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), rip currents are especially common at low tide, so be sure to keep an eye on the water, and practice advanced caution by checking beach conditions and wave forecast before arriving. 4 Prevention is as important as protection when it comes to rip currents, Krause says. Getty Images Last year, NYC saw a record seven drownings, and six of them occurred while a lifeguard was not on duty. Per city data, only 34% of NYC residents live within a 15-minute transit ride to a NYC swimming facility, whether it be beach or pool, meaning a majority of New Yorkers make a trek to swim — and many go without swimming lessons or regular experience in water at all, leaving them at a higher risk. In the wake of increased drownings, more shark sightings, and rising temperatures, inexperienced New York swimmers looking to beat the heat this summer are advised to stick close to the shore, build up their confidence and skills with swimming lessons or opt for pools, officials and experts warn.
