<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on </span><em><span>The Cosby Show</span></em><span>, has died, according to a source close to the actor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was 54.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, the source said.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/someone-has-eaten-artist-maurizio-cattelans-9-million-banana--again/9e927ca9-f25d-4411-8014-ac6ee59a156f" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Someone has eaten artist Maurizio Cattelan's $10 million banana – again</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner was swimming at Playa Grande in the town of Cocles in the province of Limón on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica around 2.30pm local time Sunday (6.30am Monday AEST), when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean, according to the Associated Press.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police told CNN people who were on the beach tried to help Warner, but he was declared dead by the Red Cross.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CNN has reached out to representatives for Warner for further information.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/malcolm-jamal-warner-the-cosby-show-theo-actor-dies-in-drowning-accident-costa-rica/07f92793-6de1-4ead-b4d4-8b6f28757b58" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/four-day-work-week-improves-worker-happiness-confidence-study-finds/7695eef3-c897-4264-868a-2aab865eafa3" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>The eight-hour change making workers happier, healthier, better</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A native of New Jersey, Warner started acting at age nine, making appearances in shows like </span><em><span>Fame</span></em><span>. He was a young teen when he was cast as the only son of Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad's characters, Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable, in </span><em><span>The Cosby Show</span></em><span>, which ran from 1984 to 1992.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner later reflected on the legacy of the popular, Emmy-winning sitcom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The fact that the Cosby Show for Black America and white America alike finally legitimised the Black middle class, which has always been around since the inception of this country but, as with everything, is not legitimate 'til it's on television," Warner said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When the show first came out, there were white people and Black people talking about (how) the Huxtables don't really exist, Black people don't really live like that. Meanwhile, we were getting tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, thank you so much for this show."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/jeffrey-epstein-donald-trump-epstein-surge-interest-related-books-tv-shows/1fe4c4de-7d38-4b6a-ab43-595600256612" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Epstein-related books and TV shows explode after Trump claim</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1986 for his supporting work on </span><em><span>The Cosby Show</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By the time the series was over, Warner said in a 2013 interview, "we were still on top enough to go out on top, but we were ready to live our own lives."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We were all ready to move on and as Mr Cosby said, by that point, we had pretty much said all that we could say," Warner added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Warner's comments on Cosby's misconduct allegations</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby came to light years later, Warner acknowledged his sadness, saying he felt the sitcom's legacy had been "tarnished."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"My biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of color on television and film, no matter what … negative stereotypes of people of color, we've always had </span><em><span>The Cosby Show</span></em><span> to hold up against that," Warner told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the fact that we no longer have that, that's the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cosby denied all the allegations. A 2018 sexual assault conviction against him was later overturned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Later career</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As much as he honoured playing Theo, Warner also worked hard to show how multifaceted he was, including being a Grammy-winning musician.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He won best traditional RnB performance in 2015 for the song "Jesus Children." He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for best spoken word poetry album.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner spoke with CNN in 2017 about his music and becoming a father.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Being a new parent, I have a lot of new material for the music," he said at the time. "It's really awesome and right now, my daughter's four months so I don't have to tell her 'no.'"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner continued working steadily in television throughout his career, with credits including </span><em><span>Touched by an Angel</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>Community</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>Key and Peele</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>Suits</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>Sons of Anarchy</span></em><span> and </span><em><span>American Horror Story</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Warner also starred opposite Eddie Griffin in the series </span><em><span>Malcolm &amp; Eddie</span></em><span> for four seasons between 1996 and 2000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His more recent acting credits include </span><em><span>The Resident</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>The Wonder Years</span></em><span> reboot, </span><em><span>Grownish</span></em><span> and </span><em><span>9-1-1</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last year, Warner launched his podcast "Not All Hood" with the goal of continuing to be a voice that explores the diverse experiences of the Black community and touch on themes of representation in media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects," he told People magazine in an interview last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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