Malcolm-Jamal Warner Remembered by Tracee Ellis Ross, Magic Johnson, More: 'You Made the World a Brighter Place'
Warner, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died from an accidental drowning off the coast of Costa Rica on Sunday, the Costa Rican National Police told multiple media outlets, including ABC News. He was 54.
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Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred alongside Warner in Reed Between the Lines on BET, shared a carousel of photos of her and Warner on Instagram.
'I love you, Malcolm. First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first TV husband,' she wrote in the caption. 'My heart is so so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I'm so sorry for this unimaginable loss.'
Niecy Nash-Betts also took to Instagram to remember Warner, writing alongside a photo of the two of them that they 'just spoke.'
'You were giving my my flowers for my work in @grotesqueriefx and we talked about how happy we both were in our marriages. Damn friend,' she said. 'You were cornerstone of The Cosby Show. We all loved Theo! Never to be forgotten. You will be missed. Rest Easy'
Magic Johnson, who appeared in an AIDS awareness video Warner directed, wrote on X, 'Cookie and I are sad to hear about the passing of our dear friend Malcolm-Jamal Warner. We were both super fans of the hit Cosby Show and continued to follow his career on shows like Malcolm and Eddie and The Resident. Every time I ran into Malcolm, we would have deep and fun conversations about basketball, life, and business. He will truly be missed. Cookie and I are praying his family and close friends during this difficult time.'
Other high-profile figures remembering Warner include Ben Crump, Atlanta Senator Raphael Warnock and musician Maxwell.
Read on to see what Hollywood is saying about Warner.
#RestinPower to NAACP Image Award winning actor, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Your talent and spirit touched many lives, and your legacy will continue to inspire. Thank you for the memories and the impact you made in the world of entertainment pic.twitter.com/y3zOBZqR3F
— NAACP (@NAACP) July 21, 2025
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, beloved for his role as Theo on The Cosby Show, has died at age 54. From Emmy-nominated actor to Grammy-nominated poet, he gave us decades of art, truth, and talent. His voice, on screen and in verse, will be deeply missed. Rest in power. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/dZ5XSKhHAW
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) July 21, 2025
I am so sad to read of the untimely passing of Malcolm Jamal Warner. He was the nicest guy and it was a privilege to have been in same company with him, sharing a directors' panel along with Howard Gordon and Michael chiklis. My heart goes out to his family and friends. RIP… pic.twitter.com/vvE0IZu2oi
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) July 21, 2025
BREAKING: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, known for his iconic role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. He was 54–Condolences to his family. 🕊️ https://t.co/42LW48BhDP
— BET (@BET) July 21, 2025
Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1970-2025): pic.twitter.com/ceaIRA7r1K
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) July 21, 2025
This one hurts! 💔We're deeply saddened to share that Malcolm‑Jamal Warner, Emmy-nominated for his iconic portrayal of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has passed away at 54.His creativity and depth resonated with generations — a true legacy, both on and off-screen. pic.twitter.com/fk2rLqTNYD
— Bounce (@bouncetv) July 21, 2025
Rest in Peace to Malcolm Jamal Warner… such an important part of my youth. Sending my condolences and prayers to his family and friends. https://t.co/2oq3vE5yzr
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) July 21, 2025
This one just hits different…. #RIPTheo#MalcolmJamalWarner pic.twitter.com/FOXUdxyhr0
— Laura Coates (@thelauracoates) July 21, 2025
We are deeply saddened to learn of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's death. Warner was a talented actor ('The Cosby Show', 'Sons of Anarchy') & a champion for Black mental health. Condolences to his wife & daughter. May he #RIP.#SagAftraMember since 1982 https://t.co/oASFhXFjJj
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) July 21, 2025
For me and so many in my generation, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a part of our childhood, a brother whose character 'Theo' felt like one of my own. May God grant peace to his soul, strength and grace to his grieving family. 🙏🏾
— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) July 21, 2025
Learned the power of quiet grind from you—A true pro,Charisma and talent beyond this world.A pure, good spirit.Still chasing your light.Rest easy, Malcolm-Jamal Warner pic.twitter.com/QxH3vy9uHR
— Amin Joseph (@Amin_Joseph) July 21, 2025
i remember meeting u and not believing that 'theo' himself was aware of me. the black representation of our greatest variation. this is devastating my prayers and well wishes to your loved ones. rest in peace malcolm. pic.twitter.com/D0QKMpFTIZ
— MAXWELL (@_MAXWELL_) July 21, 2025
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Journalist and professor Candace Kelley, who hosted the 'Not All Hood' podcast with the late 'Cosby Show' actor, recalls a man who was hilarious, thoughtful, and above all, loved his family Malcolm-Jamal Warner's friend and fellow podcast co-host is still grappling with the news of his tragic death. Journalist and professor Candace Kelley, who co-hosted the Not All Hood podcast with Warner, opens up to PEOPLE about her good friend, who died on July 20 after drowning in Costa Rica while on vacation with his family. "He was just in the middle of everything," Kelley tells PEOPLE of the 54-year-old actor. "The middle of his life, the middle of moving back into his home after dealing with a pipe burst, the middle of summer, work..." "The incompletion just feels so unfair," she adds, noting that he was also in the middle of planning their future podcast episodes. Kelley had been in contact with Warner up until the day before the fatal incident. "We'd been texting up until the day before," she recalls of Warner. "He texted me from the plane to say he was tired, then sent off a five-paragraph email [about work.] I was like, 'You're heading off to Costa Rica and you want to talk business and the future? OK!' We were texting every day while he was there until the day before, and then I was like, 'Where did he go?'" After learning the tragic news, Kelley says it hit her incredibly hard. "We'd only recently talked about death because I'd take a bereavement class, and he wanted to know what I learned," she says. "The ebb and flow of death is that you just don't know when it happens. You're never prepared." Despite grappling with the massive loss of her colleague, she still hopes to continue his mission of seeing different portrayals of Black people in the media. "He really was on a mission in making sure that the tropes about the Black community are not continued," she says. Similarly to The Cosby Show, where Warner played Theo Huxtable, the middle child in an upper-middle-class Black family in New York in the '80s, Warner wanted to continue seeing different types of Black lives in the media — which is the intention behind Not All Hood. "We'd have these conversations because all the dramas on TV are about gangs and the streets and drugs and kingpins," Kelley says. "But a lot of people don't know that he often turned down a lot of parts in these types of shows. He'd say, 'It's good writing, but it's not a good message.'" She continues, "The podcast was a continuation of what he wanted to show, which is that we're not all the same; here are some different facets of our lives... He really, really cared about carrying the torch that he had from The Cosby Show, and that torch was, 'Remember how they see us and do not co-sign.'" "Because we have options and can do better, we can change how we're seen and really in that way change the course of humanity," she adds. Looking ahead, Kelley plans to keep Warner's legacy and impact alive. She says their podcast will continue, but the first episode without Warner will be a tribute called "Malcolm Left the Mic On," and will air Friday, July 25. "We have a lineup of people from The Resident, and so Tori's going to come on, Erika Alexander, different people, but it will mostly be people from the community because I have hundreds of people who just want to share what he meant to them. So we said, 'Let's open it up to callers,'" she explains. Despite the hole left by his death, she says she'll never forget about his talents, and his kindness as a human. "In the Atlanta music scene, Malcolm was on fire and adored," she says of the actor's side gigs. "He would often bring music into discussions. It was an absolute passion that moved him. He performed every first Thursday at Buteco, a venue in Grant Park, with his band Biological Misfits. He'd play a mean bass, sing, and do poetry. I went on May 1, and it was amazing. It was a thing." Also amazing was the fact that child stardom never derailed him. Warner starred on the sitcom from 1984 to 1992 and was a teenager at the time, but Kelley says, "The shoe never fell." "His other biggest mission, besides his family, was just being a good person," she adds. "He wanted to be remembered like that; he has said that, he just wants to be remembered as a good person, and by all accounts, he's got that down. He really did. That was really sincere." Warner had previously expressed similar sentiments on the podcast. In his final interview on May 21, he admitted that he thought about his legacy "a lot." "There's part of me that I will be able to leave this earth knowing — and people knowing — that I was a good person," he remarked. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Warner said his father once told him that people love him because of his career and success. However, his dad was most proud was that his son was a good person. "I'm a good person because my dad's a good person," Warner gushed. "It is possible to walk through this world and, with all of the darkness in the world, it is possible to maintain your soul and be a good person." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword

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