Malcolm-Jamal Warner, The Cosby Show Star, Passes Away At 54

American actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theodore "Theo" Huxtable in all eight seasons of The Cosby Show, has passed away. He was 54.

As per reports, Warner drowned at the weekend while on a vacation in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Warner drowned Sunday (July 20) afternoon on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles, a town in the province of Limón, when an ocean current pulled him deeper into it, reported AP.

As per department's initial report, "He was rescued by people on the beach," but first responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found the actor without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue.

Who was Malcolm-Jamal Warner?

Born in 1970 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Warner was named after Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. His mother, Pamela Warner, was his manager when he began his acting career at age 9.

He started out by making guest appearances on the TV shows including Matt Houston and Fame.

At age 13, he bagged the role of Theo.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner career

Warner played the son of Bill Cosby on the US sitcom The Cosby Show from 1984-1992. He was the only son among four daughters in the Cosby household. He perfectly represented the American teenage life with his character. Warner earned an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a comedy in 1986.

Warner, who worked for more than four decades as an actor and director, also starred in other sitcoms like Malcolm & Eddie and Read Between the Lines. He also appeared in the motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy and medical drama The Resident.

He starred in 2008 rom-com Fool’s Gold with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. His other acting roles included Jeremiah, 9-1-1, Alert: Missing Persons Unit, Suits, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Grown-ish and Community.

Warner also directed episodes of Malcolm & Eddie, Read Between the Lines, The Resident and All That. 1992 educational video Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You, was also helmed by him.

Warner, who was also a poet and a musician, won a Grammy for best traditional R&B performance, and bagged a nominated for best spoken word poetry album for Hiding in Plain View.

Celebrities including Jennifer Hudson, Taraji P Henson, Questlove, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Viola Davis and Magic Johnson, among others have mourned the demise of Warner.

His representatives are yet to comment on his death.