Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an all-time great sitcom kid actor from his days on The Cosby Show, has passed away at the age of 54. TMZ is reporting that the cause of death was an accidental drowning.
Though Warner starred in several TV shows, such as Malcom and Eddie, Sons of Anarchy and a memorable guest-starring turn as Shirley’s on-again/off-again partner on Community, he’ll be remembered for his Emmy-nominated role as Theo, only son of Cliff and Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
In light of its namesake star’s scandals and the show’s subsequent disappearance from reruns and streaming, it’s difficult to recall the seismic impact The Cosby Show had on popular culture in the 1980s. “What made it so groundbreaking was its universality,” Warner told People in 2023. “NBC initially saw it as a show about an upper-middle-class Black family. Mr. Cosby diligently impressed upon them that the show was about an upper-middle-class family that happened to be Black.”
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Unlike breakthrough 1970s sitcoms like The Jeffersons, Good Times or Sanford and Son, The Cosby Show’s comedy wasn’t based on bringing to life some aspect of the Black experience. “Though the Huxtables were clearly Black — reflected quite obviously by their dress, the Black art on the walls, the music — the family issues all were universal,” Warner said. “And though Cliff was a doctor and Claire was an attorney, the family dynamic was one that practically every family — no matter the ethnicity, socio-economic status or even family makeup — could find something to relate to.”
After Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexual assault (he was subsequently released after his conviction was overturned), the show’s reputation was tarnished along with the actor’s.
“Regardless of how some people may feel about the show now, I’m still proud of the legacy and having been a part of such an iconic show that had such a profound impact on — first and foremost, Black culture — but also American culture,” Warner said.
Warner was still a busy actor, appearing on episodes of Alert: Missing Persons Unit, 9-1-1 and Grown-ish within the past year. He also hosted a podcast, Not All Hood (“a provocative look at the vastly different lived experiences and identities of Blacks in America”), which dropped a new episode just three days ago.
But his legacy will always be tied to The Cosby Show, a distinction he was “still very proud of,” he told People. “The show shed light on the previously ignored Black middle class, which has always existed.”
“People in Cliff and Claire’s generation were often the first in their families to ever go to college, many of them becoming doctors and lawyers, like Barack and Michelle Obama,” he noted. “There’s even an argument that the show laid the groundwork for having a Black President of the United States.”
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