Celebrities mourn 'friend' and 'special soul' Malcolm-Jamal Warner

UPI

2 days ago

Malcolm-Jamal Warner arrives on the red carpet at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2011. Many celebrities paid tribute to the actor on social media following news of his death. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo
July 22 (UPI) -- Celebrities are mourning the loss of Cosby Show icon Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died Sunday while vacationing with his family in Costa Rica. He was 54.
Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred with Warner on Read Between the Lines, shared a tribute to her "first TV husband" on Instagram Monday.
"I love you, Malcom. First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world, then you were my first TV husband. My heart is so, so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant," she said.
"You made the world a brighter place," she continued. "Sending so much love to your family. I'm so sorry for this unimaginable loss."
Courtney B. Vance, who starred with Warner in The Tuskegee Airmen, also offered his condolences on Instagram.
"Rest in eternal peace, my good brother," he said. "We will always remember you! To Malcolm's mother, wife and family -- you have our deepest condolences."
Angela Bassett, who starred with Warner in American Horror Story: Freak Show and 9-1-1, described her former co-star as a "special soul."
"When a special soul like Malcolm Jamal-Warner leaves us far too soon, words fail to adequately describe the unimaginable grief," she said on Instagram. "Malcolm was more than a gifted actor. He was a longtime friend. When I met him, he was a star on the show that was TV royalty -- The Cosby Show. He warmly embraced me as a working actor who was trying to find my way."
"Even in his youth, Malcolm's empathy, quiet strength and his bright light surrounded us all. Then to have the opportunity to work with him again last year on 9-11 was a memorable full-circle moment for us both," she continued. "In this life, Malcolm is what's known as a soulful artist whose deep commitment to his craft left an impression on me that has never faded. He carried the weight of cultural legacy with grace, and he always made space for others to shine."
Yvette Nicole Brown, who worked with Warner when he guest starred on Community, said she is devastated by the actor's death.
"I don't have the words right now so I am repurposing these beautiful ones from my dear friend, who I adored," she said. "This video is a glimpse of the love he would share just randomly. To have him as a friend was a blessing from God. He was one of one."
The video shows the late actor talking about becoming the reason for someone else to smile.
Sherri Shepherd, who co-starred with Warner on her series Sherri, wrote about what it was like to work with him.
"He brought much laughter and gravitas playing my husband on my self-titled sitcom," she said. "He also made two appearances on my talk show Sherri, most recently in April to promote his series Alert: Missing Persons Unit. As someone who grew up on TV, Malcolm remained one of the most grounded people I've ever met in our business."
"To know Malcolm was to know a renaissance man that possessed humor, grace, humility and deep cultural appreciation," she continued.
Cosby Show co-creator and star Bill Cosby, who has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women, said in a statement through his rep that news of Warner's death was as devastating to him as learning of the 1997 murder of his son Ennis Cosby.