
'The Cosby Show' star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies by drowning at 54
LOS ANGELES/SAN JOSE, California - 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. — Reuters
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


GMA Network
7 hours ago
- GMA Network
Hollywood executive Peter Rice named head of ceremonies for 2028 Olympics
A drone view of Los Angeles Coliseum, as it was announced it will host the opening ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics along with SoFi Stadium in a dual event, closing ceremony. (REUTERS/Mike Blake) LOS ANGELES - Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics have named TV and film executive Peter Rice as head of ceremonies and content, marking the first time a major Hollywood figure will oversee the creative production of the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies. Rice, who has had senior leadership experience with 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company, will serve as lead executive producer for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles. "Our ceremonies will capture the energy, innovation and creativity of Los Angeles as well as the emotion that exists at the heart of every Olympic Games," Rice told Reuters in an interview. "The challenge is to welcome the world in a way that's not only memorable, but truly representative of LA's unique spirit - a city that stands at the crossroads of creativity, sports, and art." The British American producer will shape the creative vision and oversee production of all four ceremonies at two iconic venues: the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the newly built SoFi Stadium. He said his experience with global sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and FIFA World Cup has prepared him for the task, and emphasized that assembling a world-class production team was his top priority. "We need people with deep Olympic experience who can also tap into LA's creativity and energy," he said, adding that the selection of a production company is expected by year's end. LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman expressed enthusiasm for Rice's appointment, citing their 25-year friendship and Rice's unique blend of business, technical, financial and creative skills. "I knew he was our number one draft pick," Wasserman said. Rice, whose projects have earned 51 Academy Award and 293 Emmy nominations, hopes the ceremonies reflect Southern California's spirit of optimism. "It's a place where people go to pursue their dreams, and the Olympics are all about people's dreams," he said. The LA Games open on July 14, 2028, with the Paralympic Games following in August. It will be the first time Los Angeles has hosted a Paralympics. —Reuters


GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
Doctor pleads guilty to supplying ketamine to ‘Friends' star Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends." REUTERS/ Fred Prouser/ File photo LOS ANGELES — A California doctor charged in the 2023 overdose death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry pleaded guilty on Wednesday to four counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic ketamine. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, one of five people charged in the death of Perry at age 54, entered the plea in US District Court in Los Angeles. He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced, prosecutors said. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties. It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but is also abused by recreational users. In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Plasencia admitted injecting Perry with ketamine at the actor's home and in a Santa Monica parking lot in the weeks before his death on October 28, 2023, and that doing so was not for legitimate medical purposes. Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic, obtained the ketamine from another doctor, Mark Chavez of San Diego. According to court filings, Plasencia texted Chavez about Perry, writing, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." Chavez and two other co-defendants already have pleaded guilty in the case. None has yet been sentenced. A fifth defendant, Jasveen Sangha, whom authorities said was a drug dealer known to customers as the "ketamine queen," has been charged with supplying the dose that killed Perry. She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in August. Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends." — Reuters

GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath's bat-biting frontman, dies at 76 —BBC
Ozzy Osbourne poses after performing during the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, November 9, 2014. (REUTERS/Russell Cheyne) Ozzy Osbourne, frontman of 1970s heavy metal band Black Sabbath, earned his infamy biting the head off a bat on stage and pursuing a drug-fuelled lifestyle before reinventing himself as a loveable if often foul-mouthed reality TV star. Known to fans as "The Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal," Osbourne has died at the age of 76, the BBC reported, citing a family statement. He kicked off his career blaring out Black Sabbath's hits, from "Paranoid" to "War Pigs" to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". Those plus a string of solo releases saw him sell more than 100 million records worldwide. The hard riffs and dark subject matter - from depression to war to apocalypse - combined with an instinct for Halloween theatrics. As a performer, Osbourne sprinkled audiences with raw meat and, in 1982, had his encounter with a bat thrown on stage by a fan. He always insisted he thought it was a toy until he bit into it, realised his mistake and rushed to hospital for a rabies shot. He later sold branded bat soft toys with a removable head. Osbourne was a regular target for conservative and religious groups concerned about the negative impact of rock music on young people. He always acknowledged the excesses of his lifestyle and lyrics - but poured scorn on the wilder reports that he was an actual devil-worshipper. "I've done some bad things in my time. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working class kid from Aston who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time," he said in a 2010 biography. John Michael Osbourne was the fourth of six children, growing up in Aston, in the city of Birmingham in central England. He struggled with dyslexia, left school at age 15, did a series of menial jobs, and at one point served a brief prison sentence for burglary. Then came Black Sabbath. "When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of 60, with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and California, I wouldn't have put money on me, no fucking way." It was those latter stages of his life that provided the setting for his reinvention in 2002 as the star of U.S. TV show "The Osbournes". Cameras followed the aging rock god ambling round his huge house, pronouncing on events in his heavy Birmingham accent and looking on bemused at the antics of his family - a format that won them all legions of new fans. Osbourne's family included wife and manager Sharon, five children including Jack, Kelly and Aimee, and several grandchildren. —Reuters