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Inside Malcolm-Jamal Warner's split from Regina King and death of longtime love following his shock passing

Inside Malcolm-Jamal Warner's split from Regina King and death of longtime love following his shock passing

Daily Mail​7 days ago
Malcolm-Jamal Warner has kept his personal life out of the spotlight in recent years, prior to his shock death at the age of 54.
The Cosby Show alum died in Costa Rica on Sunday, after drowning while swimming off the coast, according to local authorities who spoke with ABC News.
Before his passing, Warner navigated a life filled with both significant Hollywood achievements and profound personal heartbreaks.
He previously had a very public relationship with actress Regina King, 54, whom he dated from 2011 to 2013.
Their relationship came to an abrupt end when Warner reportedly blindsided King by ending their two-year partnership.
He also suffered loss when his longtime love Michelle Thomas, known for her role as Justine Phillips on The Cosby Show, passed away from cancer four years after their split.
In March, King took to Twitter to deny any relationship issues with Warner.
'Hey everybody PLEASE don't believe everything you read. Me & MalcolmJamalWar are good. Life happens. Forward motion. Godspeed,' she wrote.
However, in 2015 she revealed that one of her famous exes broke up with her on Valentine's Day, while speaking with Us Weekly in 2015, hinting that it was Warner.
'Someone broke up with me on Valentine's. Yeah. I'm serious,' she said.
'Then he actually sent me flowers that said, "I still love you," and I threw the flowers in the trash, and he was upset that I threw them in the trash, and I was like, 'F*** you."'
'I love flowers, but he thought that was right. What an a**, right?'
King suggested that Warner was the ex, hinting that fans would 'know' who she was referring to.
Prior to their split, Warner called his romance with King 'very special.'
'We like to protect what we have because it's very special and very precious,' he told BET in October 2011, according to New York Daily News.
'But I will say that it's a relationship that makes all the sense in the world.'
The actor also dated Michelle, known for her role as Justine Phillips, his onscreen girlfriend on The Cosby Show.
Their relationship lasted from 1988 to 1994. The two remained friends following their split.
Tragically, Thomas passed away on December 23, 1998, at the age of 30, due to a rare form of cancer, four years after their split.
In 2015 he shared a loving tribute to her on Instagram, writing, 'If there was ever an angel who walked amongst us mere mortals, this woman was it. So powerful even her haters would have to agree. She lit up the room like she lit up the screen! R.I.P. my love. We miss you.
'Then he actually sent me flowers that said, "I still love you," and I threw the flowers in the trash, and he was upset that I threw them in the trash, and I was like, 'F*** you,"' the actress shared; Warner pictured 2023
Warner went on to have a seven-year relationship with Karen Malina White, before his relationship with Regina.
Warner later found love with his wife, with whom he shares an eight-year-old daughter, though he chose not to publicly share their names during his life.
They were together for 10 years.
He made rare comments about his wife on the Hot & Bothered podcast last month.
'If something happened and we weren't together romantically, she would still be the person that I would want to raise a child with,' he said.
'We've been together almost 10 years and we have never had a fight, an argument, a raised voice or a harsh word said to one another…. And it's not like we agree on everything,' he added.
On Monday, the Costa Rican National Police reported that Warner's body was discovered near Cocles, a beach in the Limon province.
He was reportedly caught by a strong current, and his official cause of death has been listed as asphyxia.
While the exact circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, experts note that some beaches in Costa Rica can pose serious risks depending on conditions.
Though many areas are safe for swimming, others are known for powerful currents and rip tides that demand caution.
Warner was best known for his iconic role as Theodore Huxtable, the only son of Cliff Huxtable, on the beloved NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. He appeared in all eight seasons from 1984 to 1992, earning widespread acclaim and becoming a household name.
At the time, Warner was just a teenager, but his performance earned widespread acclaim, including a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 1986 Primetime Emmy Awards.
His character, Theo, was based on Bill Cosby's real-life son, Ennis Cosby, and was portrayed with depth and sensitivity.
In the show, Theo is diagnosed with dyslexia after struggling academically during his freshman year at New York University—an arc that resonated with many viewers.
Beyond The Cosby Show, Warner carved out a successful and diverse career in both comedy and drama.
He starred as Malcolm McGee in the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000) opposite Eddie Griffin, and later headlined BET's Reed Between the Lines from 2011 to 2015 as Dr. Alex Reed.
His television credits also included recurring roles and guest appearances on shows like Sons of Anarchy, Jeremiah, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Community. Warner also voiced the Producer character on the educational children's series The Magic School Bus.
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner obituary
Malcolm-Jamal Warner obituary

The Guardian

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Malcolm-Jamal Warner obituary

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who has died aged 54, having drowned while swimming off the coast of Costa Rica, gained fame worldwide as the cool, charming, occasionally mischievous son of Bill Cosby in one of American television's most popular sitcoms. The Cosby Show, which ran between 1985 and 1992, was groundbreaking in featuring an affluent African American family in Brooklyn, New York: Cosby starred as Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician, and Phylicia Rashad as his wife, Clair, a lawyer, with Warner as their middle child, Theo, and Sabrina Le Beauf, Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keishia Knight Pulliam as their daughters. Cliff and Clair were portrayed as loving and nurturing, but strict, parents. When auditioning for the role of Theo during the final round of a nationwide search, Warner was far from what Cosby – who co-created the sitcom – wanted. 'They were looking for a 6ft 2in 15-year-old,' he recalled, 'and I was 5ft 5in and 13. I played those scenes like you see kids on television, kind of smart-alecky, and when Cliff said something, I got my hand on my hips and [was] rolling my eyes.' Cosby was unimpressed. 'Would you really talk to your father like that?' he asked. 'No,' said Warner. 'Well, I don't want to see that on this show,' said the star. Warner was given a second chance, and over the sitcom's eight-year run – during which it won six Emmy awards and a nomination for Warner's performance – he became a role model for teenagers, sharing his tips on coping with adolescence in a book, Theo and Me: Growing Up Okay (1988). The Cosby Show's final episode finished with Theo's graduation from New York University, and Warner left with a sense of pride in the legacy left by the programme for its depiction of both race and class. He later lamented that this was tainted by allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment made against Cosby. 'That's the thing that saddens me the most,' Warner said in 2015, 'because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale. The legacy can't help but be tarnished.' The son of Pamela (nee McGee) and Robert Warner, who worked in drug intervention programmes, he was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and named after the civil rights activist Malcolm X and the jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. He and his mother moved to Los Angeles following his parents' divorce. His first television appearances were in episodes of the private investigator drama Matt Houston (in 1982) and in the performing arts school series Fame (in 1983), before he landed the part of Theo in The Cosby Show. While the series was running, he attended the Professional Children's school in New York. He also reprised his role as Theo in the spin-off A Different World (in 1988 and 1989) and guest-starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (in 1990 and 1991), playing the boyfriend of a cousin of Will Smith's streetwise teenager. Warner remained busy on television, popping up in guest roles in many series, but also starring in two sitcoms: with Eddie Griffin as chalk-and-cheese flat-sharers and business partners in Malcolm & Eddie (1996-2000) and as Dr Alex Reed, a professor married to a psychologist in a blended family, in Reed Between the Lines (2011-15). He also played the cynical but compassionate Kurdy Malloy, assisting Luke Perry's title character, in the post-apocalyptic action series Jeremiah (2002-04); Lieutenant Chuck Cooper in the police procedural Major Crimes (from 2013 to 2016); Julius Rowe, a prison psychologist, in Suits (from 2016 to 2017); and AJ Austin, a gifted but volatile surgeon, in the hospital drama The Resident (2018-23). In films, he appeared as a thug in Fool's Gold (2008), alongside Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. As a director, he went behind the camera for The Resident and other programmes, as well as music videos for New Edition and Five Star. With the band Miles Long, Warner played the bass guitar and recited poetry over the music for several EP and album releases. He shared a 2013 Grammy with the Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway for his spoken-word contribution to a cover of the Stevie Wonder song Jesus Children of America, recorded as a memorial to the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut. Warner was married and had a daughter. They survive him. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, actor and musician, born 18 August 1970; died 20 July 2025

S Club Seven star Hannah Spearritt QUITS major Channel 4 show on the first day of filming
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S Club Seven star Hannah Spearritt QUITS major Channel 4 show on the first day of filming

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Tesla Diner visitors SLAM the food at Elon Musk's Hollywood fast food joint – as one furious customer reveals the dismal reality of the $12 'Epic Bacon'
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Tesla Diner visitors SLAM the food at Elon Musk's Hollywood fast food joint – as one furious customer reveals the dismal reality of the $12 'Epic Bacon'

It opened last week to huge fanfare. But Elon Musk 's new Tesla Diner already appears to experiencing issues with the quality of its food. The diner, in Hollywood, has over 250 seats for dining, with dishes on offer ranging from $7 cinnamon rolls to $10 salads. However, the dish that has really got people talking is the 'Epic Bacon'. Priced at $12, the Epic Bacon contains four strips of maple glazed black pepper bacon, served with a choice of dip. A picture posted on Tesla's website shows a white cup containing four thick and crispsy rashers, coated with large chunks of pepper. But the reality is decidedly less impressive, according to one attendee. Journalist Miles Klee posted a picture of the Epic Bacon on X, writing: 'went today and here's how it actually looks.' A picture posted on Tesla's website shows a white cup containing four thick and crispsy rashers, coated with large chunks of pepper. But the reality is decidedly less impressive, according to one attendee In the picture, which has been viewed over six million times on X, only one rasher can be seen peeking out the top of the container. 'i mean quality of the meat and cooking aside, if you want to serve bacon like fries you might at least get the right size container,' Mr Klee wrote. The journalist went into further detail on his experience in an article for Rolling Stone. 'It was chewy, not crunchy — despite being partly charred — with a sickly–sweet maple glaze,' he said. 'A properly sized carton may help with presentation, but charging $12 for four slices of this will never be justifiable.' The bacon wasn't the only item that Mr Klee had issues with. His $13.50 burger was missing half of its bottom bun, while the patty itself was 'fairly scorched throughout.' Several users have taken to X to discuss the image of the bacon. One user replied with a photo of the Epic Bacon they were served at the Tesla Diner – and it looks much more like the dish advertised on the menu '$3/bacon strip is wild,' one user replied to Mr Klee. Another added: '$12 bacon??? sounds horribly over priced.' And one joked: 'Unless that bacon is dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt? I'm not paying $3 a slice. That's robbery.' However, not everyone was on the same page. One user replied with a photo of the Epic Bacon they were served at the Tesla Diner – and it looks much more like the dish advertised on the menu. 'Unfortunate, this is what mine looked like...' they wrote. 'i enjoyed it. nice and crispy but not dry, i was a fan of the sweetness coming from the real maple syrup. it arrived only mildly warm though and they could probably do with a slightly thicker cut. overall i'd give it a light 8,' they added. The Tesla Diner's menu is split into six sections – breakfast, burgers & sandwiches, kids' menu, sides, desserts, and beverages. Breakfast options include a $12 Egg Sandwich, $11 Breakfast Tacos, or $15 Biscuits and Red Gravy, while the Burgers & Sandwiches include a $13.50 Tesla Burger, a $14 Tuna Melt, and a $13 Hot Dog. Kids can choose between a Grilled Cheese ($9), a Kids Burger ($13), or Chicken Tenders Combo ($13) – all of which are served in an adorable CyberTruck box. 'Located in Hollywood, California, Tesla Diner is a Supercharging station, classic American diner and drive–in experience all wrapped up into one,' Tesla explained. 'With retro–futuristic design influences, this location offers Tesla and non–Tesla drivers alike with charging access along the historic Route 66 highway.'

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