Stevie Wonder says his 'heart is broken' after Malcolm-Jamal Warner's tragic drowning at 54

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Stevie Wonder revealed he is heartbroken following the death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
The iconic singer, 75, reminisced about the Cosby Show star, who died at 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica on Sunday.
'My heart is broken,' Wonder, who starred on a memorable Cosby Show episode that aired in 1986, told TMZ on Wednesday.
'I don't know if you know what a "griot" is. It's like the African who told the stories in the various villages would have the griot. Whenever a griot would die, it would be like a whole library of information burning,' he went on.
'My heart is broken because not only was he a talented man growing up and doing The Cosby Show, but even more important his commitment was telling the story, the truth.'
'And for me, in a time where we have so many in high places telling low-down lies, we need the truth. So yeah, I miss him,' he added.
He also hoped others in the industry would follow Warner's example by prioritizing truth and positivity over material things.
'I hope that the writers, the singers, rappers will begin to spread messages of positivity, of hope, and us moving this world forward,' Wonder said.
'I'm quiet, but my heart is hurting,' he added.
Aside from being an actor, Warner was also a talented musician, and won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his contribution to a 2013 cover of Wonder's 1972 song 'Jesus Children of America.'
The single honored the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.
Earlier on Wednesday the volunteer lifeguard who plucked Warner from the water after he drowned in Costa Rica detailed the actor's final harrowing moments.
Warner, who as a teenager played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died in an accidental drowning on Sunday.
He was with his daughter, 8, who was taken to safety on his board by a passing surfer, as reported by ABC News.
Volunteer lifeguard Mike Geist told AZ Family he and another surfer also rushed in to help.
The volunteers found Warner below the surface, near the ocean floor, Geist said. The surfer then pulled the actor to the surface and started rescue efforts.
When Warner did not respond, they pulled him from the water and got additional help.
'There were two doctors that were also here just on vacation,' Geist said.
'Between the three of them, they were able to perform CPR for more than 30 minutes, probably more like 45 minutes, and unfortunately, it was not successful.'
Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department said Warner drowned Sunday afternoon on a beach on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.
He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.
Local officials ruled Warner's cause of death as asphyxiation by submersion.
Following Warner's shock death, lifeguards from Playa Grande — a beach community located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica — released a statement saying they were not present due to lack of 'resources.'
'We deeply regret the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at Playa Grande. He was swept away by a strong rip current and died by drowning,' the Caribbean Guard, Costa Rica's volunteer lifeguard association, shared via Facebook on Monday.
'It all happened very quickly, and although there were people on the beach who entered the water to rescue him, they did not arrive in time.'
'He was pulled from underwater without vital signs, and despite CPR maneuvers being performed on the beach, resuscitation was unsuccessful.'
The Guard added that Playa Grande is one of their 'most challenging beaches,' noting the presence of signs in English and Spanish that warn of the 'danger of death due to drowning.'
Warner worked for more than 40 years as an actor and director, also starring in the sitcoms Malcolm & Eddie and Read Between the Lines, and in the medical drama The Resident.
His final credits came in TV guest roles, including a dramatic four-episode arc last year on the network procedural 9-1-1, where he played a nurse who was a long-term survivor of a terrible fire.
Warner played Theo Huxtable for eight seasons, appearing in each of the 197 episodes of The Cosby Show and earning an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a comedy in 1986.
The actor created many TV moments etched in the memories of Generation X children and their parents, including a pilot-episode argument with Cosby about grades and careers, and another episode where Theo tries in vain to hide his ear piercing from his dad.
Theo was the only son among four daughters in the household of Cosby's Cliff Huxtable and Phylicia Rashad's Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom, and he would be one of the prime representations of American teenage life and Black boyhood on a show that was the most popular in America for much of its run from 1984 to 1992.
Warner is survived by his wife and young daughter, born in 2017. Their identities have not been revealed.