21-07-2025
R.I.P., Malcom-Jamal Warner: Tracee Ellis Ross, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Griffin and More Pay Tribute to ‘One of the Nicest in the Business'
Co-stars and colleagues from Malcolm-Jamal Warner's more than four decades in television remembered The Cosby Show alum as news of his death spread Monday.
Warner reportedly drowned while swimming off the coast of Costa Rica Sunday. He was 54.
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Tracee Ellis Ross, whose character was married to Warner's in the BET comedy Reed Between the Lines, posted her remembrance to 'my first TV husband' Monday. 'I love you, Malcolm,' she wrote on Instagram. 'First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world, then you were my first TV husband. My heart is so so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I'm so sorry for this unimaginable loss.'
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One of Warner's longer-running TV roles was that of The Resident surgeon Dr. AJ Austin. Resident creator/showrunner Amy Holden Jones posted a photo of her with Warner in happier times. 'Malcolm, I will love you always and am devastated beyond words,' she wrote.
Meanwhile, Warner's Resident co-star (and current Watson star) Morris Chestnut said he was 'heartbroken' over the loss. 'Working alongside him on The Resident was an honor,' Chestnut wrote on Instagram. 'He brought so much depth, warmth, and wisdom to every scene and every conversation. One of the nicest in the business. Rest easy, brother. Your legacy lives on.'
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'This loss has devastated me,' Community grad Yvette Nicole Brown posted underneath a video of Warner driving as he reminded viewers that 'no matter what's going on, there's always a reason to smile.' Warner recurred on the NBC comedy as Andre, sometime husband to Brown's Shirley.
Comedian Eddie Griffin and Warner co-starred in UPN's Malcolm & Eddie from 1996-2000. 'R.I.P. King my Big little Brother,' Griffin wrote over photos posted to his Instagram Story.
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