‘The Cosby Show’ Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies From Accidental Drowning at 54 (Reports)

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show comedy, has died. He was 54.

The veteran actor and director died from an accidental drowning off the coast of Costa Rica on Sunday, according to ABC News, with the Costa Rican National Police telling the news site Warner’s official cause of death was asphyxia.

ABC News reported Warner died near Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica, with the police saying the Hollywood actor was caught by a strong ocean current. His body was discovered and formally identified by Costa Rica’s national police.

Warner’s role in the long-running Cosby series earned him a primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy and positioned him for later success in Hollywood. His more recent TV work included the role of surgeon AJ Austin on the Fox medical drama The Resident and the courtroom drama Accused, also from Fox.

He also appeared opposite Kyra Sedgwick in ABC’s Ten Days in the Valley drama, and played A.C. Cowlings in FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Born on Aug. 18, 1970 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Warner was named after Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.  

His other screen credits include Amazon’s Sneaky Pete, TNT’s Major Crimes, USA Network’s Suits, Community, Sons of Anarchy, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Cleaner and Dexter. As a director, Warner helmed several episodes of The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street.

In 2011, he directed and starred alongside Tracee Ellis Ross in the BET series Reed Between the Lines, and helmed the AIDS awareness video Timeout: The Truth about HIV, AIDS, and You, which had appearances by Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall.

Warner also made his feature film debut in Paramount Pictures’ Drop Zone and appeared in Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fools Gold, opposite Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland. And on the live theatrical stage, Warner appeared in the off-Broadway plays Three Ways Home, Cryin’ Shame, Freefall and in a production of A Midsummer Nights’ Dream at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.