Malcolm-Jamal Warner, famed TV icon and the star of the hit series The Cosby Show has reportedly died.
He was 54.
The Emmy-nominated actor was on vacation in Costa Rica with his family, and allegedly drowned, a source told PEOPLE, who confirmed the news Monday afternoon.
No further details have been shared at this time.
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Audiences were first introduced to Warner when he played Theo Huxtable, the son of Bill Cosby’s character, for eight years from 1984 to 1992.
In a 2014 interview with NPR, Warner joked that he almost didn’t land the role that made him a household name.
“They were looking for a 6’2″ 15-year-old … and I was 5’5″ and 13,” he explained. “And I was literally the last person [to audition]. … I played those scenes like you see kids on television — kind of smart-alecky — and when Cliff said something, I got my hand on my hips and rolling my eyes. And I’m killing in the room. Everybody is laughing. … And I finish, and I look up, and Mr. Cosby is the only one who was unimpressed. And he looks at me, he says, “Now, would you really talk to your father like that?” And I said no. He said, “Well, I don’t want to see that on this show.” And then Jay Sandrich, the director, said, you know, “Jamal, go back out there, work on it, and come back a little later.” So, by the time I went back in, I gave them what has become Theo.”
Despite their rocky start, Warner said he went on to learn a lot from his TV Dad, and he credits Cosby for helping him navigate the world of celebrity.
“Most of the things that I’ve learned from him come from watching his example — of course, watching how he ran that show, but watching how he handles the job of being a celebrity,” Warner explained. “Being a celebrity can be very intoxicating and very addicting. And I’ve always been afraid of that, because I’ve grown up post-almost every child star out there who has gone wayward. And remember … my teenage years were the ’80s. The mid- to late-’80s, I was on the No. 1 show in the world … living in New York. So, I had an awesome life. And the temptations were there, but there was also the understanding that when I’m out, I’m not only a reflection of my mother and my father, I’m also representing Mr. Cosby and his work. So I definitely knew what my boundaries were.”
After his time on the hit sitcom, Warner turned his sights on theater, playing John Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at the Arena Stage Theater in Washington, D.C. Despite his efforts to distance himself from Theo, it was harder than he imagined and he admits people still call him that moniker eve today.
“People kind of have a misconception, because when someone calls me Theo and I correct them, say, ‘No, my name is Malcolm,’ they think I have an attitude about it and I don’t want to be associated with the show,” Warner explained to NPR. “That’s not the issue at all, he says. It’s just that it happens all the time. “You know my name is Malcolm,” Warner says, “but you still choose to call me Theo, ’cause you think you’re the first person today who’s done that.”
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This story is still developing.
