\n He was 54.\n <\/p>\n
\n Warner died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, the source said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Warner was swimming at Playa Grande near the town of Cahuita in the province of Lim\u00f3n on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica around 2:30 p.m. local time Sunday, when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean, according to the Associated Press.\n <\/p>\n
\n Costa Rica\u2019s Judicial Investigation Police told CNN on Monday people who were on the beach tried to help Warner, but he was declared dead by the Red Cross.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN has reached out to representatives for Warner for further information.\n <\/p>\n
\n A native of New Jersey, Warner started acting at age 9, making appearances in shows like \u201cFame.\u201d He was a young teen when he was cast as the only son of Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad\u2019s characters, Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable, in \u201cThe Cosby Show,\u201d which ran from 1984 to 1992.\n <\/p>\n
\n In an interview with CNN affiliate WPVI<\/a> Monday, Cosby recalled his on-screen son\u2019s dedication to his craft.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou could depend on Malcolm always \u2026 to learn his lines, to gather his character, to come out and be ready,\u201d Cosby said.\n <\/p>\n \n Cosby told WPVI he was gutted by the \u201cshocking\u201d news of Warner\u2019s death, adding, \u201cOf course, my thoughts went straight to his mother, who worked so hard. She was so wonderful with him.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Warner often spoke about the legacy<\/a> of the popular, Emmy-winning sitcom with pride.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe fact that the Cosby Show for Black America and White America alike finally legitimized the Black middle class, which has always been around since the inception of this country but, as with everything, is not legitimate til it\u2019s on television,\u201d Warner said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen the show first came out, there were White people and Black people talking about (how) the Huxtables don\u2019t really exist, Black people don\u2019t really live like that. Meanwhile, we were getting tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, thank you so much for this show,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n \n Warner was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1986 for his supporting work on \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n By the time the series was over, Warner said in a 2013 interview<\/a>, \u201cwe were still on top enough to go out on top, but we were ready to live our own lives.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe were all ready to move on and as Mr. Cosby said, by that point, we had pretty much said all that we could say,\u201d Warner added.\n <\/p>\n \n When dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby came to light years later, Warner acknowledged his sadness, saying he felt the sitcom\u2019s legacy had been \u201ctarnished.\u201d<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMy biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of color on television and film, no matter what \u2026 negative stereotypes of people of color, we\u2019ve always had \u2018The Cosby Show\u2019 to hold up against that,\u201d Warner told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. \u201cAnd the fact that we no longer have that, that\u2019s the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Cosby denied all the allegations. A 2018 sexual assault conviction against him was later overturned<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n As much as he honored playing Theo, Warner also worked hard to show how multifaceted he was, including being a Grammy-winning musician.\n <\/p>\n \n He won best traditional R&B performance in 2015 for the song \u201cJesus Children,\u201d a Stevie Wonder cover Warner performed with the Robert Glasper Experiment. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for best spoken word poetry album.\n <\/p>\n \n Warner spoke with CNN in 2017<\/a> about his music and becoming a father.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBeing a new parent, I have a lot of new material for the music,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s really awesome and right now, my daughter\u2019s four months so I don\u2019t have to tell her \u2018no.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Warner continued working steadily in television throughout his career, with credits including \u201cTouched by an Angel,\u201d \u201cCommunity,\u201d \u201cKey and Peele,\u201d \u201cSuits,\u201d \u201cSons of Anarchy\u201d and \u201cAmerican Horror Story.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Tracee Ellis Ross, with whom Warner costarred on the BET series \u201cReed Between the Lines,\u201d remembered her friend in a tribute shared on social media<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI love you, Malcolm. First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first TV husband,\u201d Ross wrote. \u201cMy 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\u2019m so sorry for this unimaginable loss.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Eddie Griffin, who starred opposite of Warner in the series \u201cMalcolm & Eddie\u201d for four seasons between 1996 and 2000, also paid tribute.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMy Heart is heavy today\u2026 For what the world lost was a Father a Son a Poet a Musician a Actor a Teacher a Writer a Director a Friend a Warrior that I had the pleasure of going to war with against the Hollywood machine and sometimes with each other because that\u2019s what Brothers do but the Love was and is always there,\u201d Griffin wrote<\/a> in a statement. \u201cYou\u2019ve taught me so much and I thank you \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe Rest Well My Big little Brother \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Some of Warner\u2019s more recent acting credits include \u201cThe Resident,\u201d \u201cThe Wonder Years\u201d reboot, \u201cGrownish\u201d and \u201c9-1-1.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Last year, Warner launched his podcast \u201cNot All Hood\u201d with the goal of continuing to be a voice that explores the diverse experiences of the Black community and touch on themes of representation in media.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects,\u201d he told People magazine in an interview<\/a> last year.\n <\/p>\n \n This story has been updated with additional information.\n <\/p>\n ![\"Malcolm](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/gettyimages-138430287.jpg\")
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