On July 20, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowned at the Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica during a family getaway. He was 54. “The victim appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current,” the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) of Costa Rica told Us in a statement on July 21. “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.” Two days after his passing, the OIJ said his death had been ruled accidental and was caused by asphyxia due to submersion.
Warner — best known for playing the charming and relatable Theo Huxtable on the hit series The Cosby Show for eight seasons between 1984 and 1992 — leaves behind a wife, whom he wed in 2017, and an 8-year-old daughter (the private star has never publicly revealed their names). In addition to acting, he was an accomplished poet and jazz musician who often played live shows near his home in Atlanta and won a Grammy in 2015 for a spoken word performance. After The Cosby Show, he went on to star in Malcolm & Eddie and later The Resident from 2018 until 2023. Last June, he launched the Not All Hood podcast with cohost Candace Kelley.
Hollywood has been rocked by the loss. In a statement to Us, Warner’s onscreen dad Bill Cosby said learning about his costar’s death reminded him of when he got the call about his son Ennis’ murder in 1997. (The character of Theo Huxtable had been based on Ennis, Cosby’s only son.) “It’s just devastating,” he said. Angela Bassett, who costarred with Warner on 9-1-1, told Us in a statement, “Malcolm is what’s known as a soulful artist whose deep commitment to his craft left an impression on me that has never faded.”
On social media, tributes poured in. Tracee Ellis Ross, who played Warner’s wife in the series Read Between the Lines, wrote, “What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant.” While talking to Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Happy Gilmore 2, Adam Sandler, who appeared on The Cosby Show, remembered Warner as a “great person,” adding, “We would take walks together, all of us, and pick up food, talk, play basketball, hang out on the weekends, and go to parties together. He was so good to me.” Beyoncé dedicated the homepage of her website to Warner with a photo of the star and a message that read, “Thanks for being a part of our shared television history. You will be missed.”
Hollywood is in mourning following the tragic death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner. On July 21, 2025, news broke that The Cosby Show alum died in Costa Rica. He was 54. Warner skyrocketed to fame when he landed the role of Theodore Huxtable on NBC’s sitcom. While playing the fan-favorite character from 1984 to 1992, the actor […]
According to Elberth León, Head of the Tourist Police for Costa Rica’s Atlantic region, Warner and his daughter had been rinsing off sand at the shore on Playa Grande when they took a quick dip and got dragged by a strong rip current. (He believes they’d taken a surf lesson earlier.) “They were bathing together and were caught by a rip current,” León told Us on July 24. “Obviously, as a father, [Malcolm] fought for his daughter, but the current in that area is very strong, and they couldn’t accomplish the objective.”
In a statement from the OIJ obtained by Us on July 27, the agency contested part of León’s statements. “It appears that at one point, Mr. Warner was playing with his daughter at the shoreline,” the agency claimed in part. “He later left her out of the water and supposedly entered the sea along with a friend. It was at that moment that the current pulled them in; the friend managed to get out, but unfortunately, Mr. Warner did not.”
León, however, is standing by his statement. “I responded to the incident and I know what I saw,” he later told Us, addressing the OIJ’s conclusion. “I don’t know why the OIJ is saying that, since they weren’t present at the scene. They interviewed Malcom’s family [who he was vacationing with], but they also weren’t there at the time of the accident.”
According to León, two bystanders — a Nicaraguan man and his friend — rushed into the water with a surfboard and managed to get Warner’s daughter on the board and pushed her safely to shore. (During the daring rescue, the Nicaraguan — who was fully clothed and ready to depart the beach after a surf lesson when he spotted Warner and his daughter in distress — got dragged into the current and was pulled out by his companion. He was taken to a local hospital and later released in stable condition.)
Hollywood is mourning The Cosby Show actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who died on Sunday, July 20, at age 54. News of Warner’s death stunned and devastated his friends and colleagues, many of whom shared tributes to the late star via social media on Monday, July 21. Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred on the BET series Reed […]
By that point, Warner had been pulled farther out into the ocean. A certified rescuer and medical doctor who was spending the day at the beach tells Us that he heard a group of people calling for help and ran to the area. (He notes that there were “very few people on the beach, and the sea was rough.”) He entered the water with his surfboard, heading into the rip current toward the person being pointed at by bystanders. “After a few minutes, I saw a shadow, dove down and pulled the person out,” he says, noting that by that time, Warner was fully submerged.
While waiting for the Red Cross to arrive, the doctor and two tourists (they also identified themselves as physicians) began providing first aid to Warner, who had no vital signs. “After a few minutes, the Red Cross arrived and used specialized equipment, including a defibrillator,” he adds, “but Malcolm did not respond.”
Mike Geist, a lifeguard instructor and vice president of Caribbean Guard (a group of 35 volunteer lifeguards), tells Us that the association normally patrols Playa Grande every Sunday but had decided to move their lifeguard group to another beach that had “several incidents” in recent weeks. “It’s been difficult for our group to accept,” says Geist, adding, “We should have been there.”
Warner’s Not All Hood podcast cohost Kelley tells Us she last spoke to him on July 13, when he sent her a work email during his flight to Costa Rica, where he was meeting his wife and daughter for “an extended vacation.” The journalist says that Costa Rica “was a place they loved” and that they had been to the Central American country before.
Kelley describes Warner as a dedicated family man. “This was the guy who’s like, ‘I gotta go, my daughter’s got her big party.’ He was just dad, a welcoming committee beholden to her. I remember one night he said, ‘Oh my, my daughter wants to pitch a tent tonight and sleep under the stars.’ His family was the light of his life.” In a statement to Us, Sherri Shepherd (Warner played her husband in her 2009 sitcom, Sherri) calls him a “proud girl dad” who “loved his daughter so much.”
Tempest Bledsoe, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Bill Cosby, and Phylicia Rashad on ‘The Cosby Show’. NBC / courtesy Everett Collection
Born in New Jersey, he began acting at the age of nine and landed his breakout role on The Cosby Show at 13. “I’m still proud of the legacy and having been a part of such an iconic show that had such a profound impact on — first and foremost, Black culture — but also American culture,” he said in 2023.
After becoming a household name in the 80s, Malcolm-Jamal Warner continued to entertain countless viewers until his final days. Warner got his big break while playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992. His portrayal of the character earned him an Emmy nomination in 1986. After the sitcom wrapped after […]
Kelley says he appreciated how deeply his work resonated with fans. “When we’d go out, you’d think The Cosby Show was on today. It was not only, ‘Oh, can I have a picture?’ It was, ‘Let me explain the impact that you had on my life, because I’d never seen a Black guy on TV like that ever, and I saw you in myself.’ There were a lot of tears, excitement and joy. People felt like he was their son or their brother, like they knew him.”
He managed to escape the child star curse — he credited his manager mom Pamela with teaching him about career longevity when he was 14 — and branched out with music and poetry. He was nominated for a second Grammy in 2023 for Best Spoken Word Poetry album for Hiding in Plain View.
Prolific career achievements aside, Warner will be most remembered by those closest to him as a great man with a huge heart. During an appearance on the May 21 episode of the Hot & Bothered with Melyssa Ford podcast (his final interview), he said that outside of his roles, he wants his legacy to be kindness. “I will be able to leave this earth knowing — and people knowing — that I was a good person.”
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