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Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” died unexpectedly while vacationing with family in Costa Rica. Warner reportedly drowned while swimming in the ocean when he was swept away by a strong current. He was 54.
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Though widely recognized for his work on screen, Warner had ties to the Upper West Side—he graduated from the Professional Children’s School at 132 West 60th Street, which is known for serving young performers and artists. His name appears in the school’s 1988 yearbook alongside fellow actor Uma Thurman.
“He was well-grounded. I think he’s thoughtful. He was welcoming and engaging,” James Dawson, the school’s head, told ABC 7, adding that Warner was planning to attend a reunion this fall. “Malcolm touched so many lives, and I think that many people are going to be deeply impacted.”
“The entire PCS community is deeply saddened regarding the tragic passing of our beloved alumnus, Malcolm Jamal Warner,” Dawson said in a statement to FOX 5 NY. “”Malcolm was not only a very successful actor and musician, but, above and beyond that, he was a warm, engaging, humble, thoughtful, and welcoming representative of the very best that our legacy of PCS alums and students embody.”
Born in Jersey City in 1970, Warner began acting when he was 9 and landed his breakout role on “The Cosby Show” in 1984. He went on to build a decades-long career as an actor, director, poet, and Grammy-winning musician. In later interviews, he expressed pride in his ability to sustain a meaningful life and career after the sitcom’s run ended—and after its legacy was complicated by the criminal convictions of its star, Bill Cosby.
His most recent project was a podcast titled “Not All Hood,” which he discussed earlier this year on ABC’s Here and Now.
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