‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies by drowning at 54

By Reuters

July 21, 202511:39 AM PDT

Actor and recording artist Malcolm-Jamal Warner poses at the BAFTA Los Angeles TV Tea in Los Angeles, California September 19, 2015. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo

LOS ANGELES/SAN JOSE (Reuters) – Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Bill Cosby’s son Theo on the 1980s television hit “The Cosby Show,” died at age 54 on Monday by drowning, a law enforcement source confirmed to Reuters.

Warner was vacationing in Costa Rica with his family, media reported. The Central American nation’s judicial investigation department (OIJ) confirmed that a U.S. citizen with the last name Warner had drowned after being pulled out to sea by a rip current.

He was declared lifeless at the scene by Red Cross lifeguards, the department said.

Representatives for Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“The Cosby Show,” which aired from 1984 to 1992, was a groundbreaking show that portrayed a successful Black middle-class family. Cosby portrayed a doctor, and Warner played his only son.

^{Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Alvaro Murillo; Editing by Mark Porter}