Malcolm-Jamal Warner is gone, but he was not forgotten at the 2025 Emmy Awards.
Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died in July in a drowning accident off the coast of Costa Rica. Warner, who got caught in a strong ocean current near Cocles, a beach in Limon, died of asphyxia.
“He was a beloved teenager in an iconic television series that the world watched grow into manhood,” Phylicia Rashad, the actor’s TV mom on The Cosby Show, said to open the Emmys annual In Memoriam segment. “And like all our friends and colleagues who transitioned this past year, Malcolm-Jamal Warner remains in our hearts.”
Rashad continued, “We remember them not just for their immense talent but also for the way they made us believe in something bigger — the best that is within us. Even though they may no longer be here with us, we can all smile knowing that their impact will remain, knowing that their lasting impressions will continue to live on through story, knowing that they touched our lives. And whether you grew up watching them, or we have just now discovered their brilliance, their life remains in the very fabric of our industry.”
Warner’s role on the long-running Bill Cosby sitcom earned him an Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a comedy and positioned him for later success in Hollywood. His recent TV work included a pair of Fox shows: as the role of surgeon AJ Austin on the medical drama The Resident, and in the courtroom drama Accused.
Warner also appeared opposite Kyra Sedgwick on ABC’s Ten Days in the Valley, and played A.C. Cowlings on FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Other screen credits include Sneaky Pete, Major Crimes, Suits, Community, Sons of Anarchy, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Cleaner and Dexter. Warner directed episodes of The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street.
Bill Cosby, Rashad’s on-screen husband and Warner’s TV dad, was released from prison in 2021 after his conviction for sexual assault was overturned due to what Pennsylvania District Attorney Kevin Steele called “a procedural issue.” Cosby served two-and-a-half years.
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