As we previously reported, Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner has passed away.
The beloved actor drowned while swimming in Costa Rica on a family vacation.
He was just 54 years old.
Though he accumulated dozens of film and television credits over the course of his 40 years in the industry, Warner was best known for his portrayal of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
Now, the disgraced comedy legend who played Warner’s onscreen father is once again in mourning.
Rep for Bill Cosby says grief over Warner is all too familiar
Back in 1997, Bill Cosby’s only son, Ennis Cosby, was murdered during a failed robbery attempt in Los Angeles. A spokesperson for Cosby says the loss of his real-life and onscreen sons feels distressingly similar.
“[It] reminded him of the same call he received when his son died,” Cosby’s rep, Andrew Wyatt, told People magazine on Monday.
Wyatt added that Warner and Cosby “spoke all the time” before his death.
The rep added that Cosby was devastated by the news of Warner’s passing, but his grief did not prevent him from fondly reminiscing about the man who played his son for so many years.
“He found a way to talk about Malcolm even though he was sad,” Wyatt said.
“[He was] on the phone with Phylicia Rashad reminiscing about Malcolm,” the rep explained, adding that Cosby feels as though “everybody’s leaving.”
Cosby was convicted on sexual assault charges in 2018. He served three years of a ten-year sentence before his conviction was overturned in 2021.
Cosby says Warner was ‘comfortable even with the growing pains of being a teenager’
Though he rarely grants interviews these days, Cosby briefly spoke with CBS News’ Jericka Duncan after learning of Warner’s passing on Monday.
“He was never afraid to go to his room and study,” he recalled of Warner.
“He knew his lines and that he was quite comfortable even with the growing pains of being a teenager,” Cosby added.
Warner is survived by his wife and their one child.
Details surrounding his death are still scarce, but sources have confirmed that there was no lifeguard on duty at Playa Grande Beach at the time of Warner’s passing.
He was reportedly pulled under by a powerful rip current and was showing no signs of life when he was pulled ashore minutes later.
Our thoughts go out to Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.