Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died, according to a source close to the actor.
He was 54.
Warner died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, the source said.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Warner for further information.
A native of New Jersey, Warner started acting at age 9, making appearances in shows like “Fame.” He was a young teen when he was cast as the only son of Bill Cosby’s character, Heathcliff Huxtable, in “The Cosby Show,” which ran from 1984 to 1992.
Warner later reflected on the legacy of the popular, Emmy-winning sitcom.
“The fact that the Cosby Show for Black America and White America alike finally legitimized 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. “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.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
