As Theo Huxtable, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was probably one of the biggest teen stars ever on broadcast network television.
Back in the 1980s, when The Cosby Show was at it’s “Must See” peak on NBC, around 40 million U.S. viewers a week were watching The Huxtables — live at 8 pm on a Thursday. It was just as big a hit in Canada. The series ran from 1984 to 1992 and was No. 1 for the year for four consecutive seasons. With the ever broadening TV landscape, no series, even American Idol and The Big Bang Theory, has averaged so high a live audience since.
Warner, on vacation with his family, was reportedly caught in a rip current and drowned while swimming on a beach in Costa Rico last Sunday. He was 54.
Warner was vital to the success of the series. An early scene showing Theo standing up to his Old Man set the tone for the family sitcom. After the lad delivers a fiery speech, suggesting his doctor dad just accept his average student son for who he is, the studio audience reflexively applauded. Cosby. as Dr. Cliff Huxtable, seen as “America’s Dad” at the time, took a beat and then clapped back saying, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life! No wonder you get D’s in everything!” The scene pulled the rug out of the usual hugs and happy ending moments that too often marred saccharin sitcoms of the era.
Warner went on to star opposite opposite Eddie Griffin for four seasons on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie and also appeared in episodes of Sons of Anarchy and Dexter. Starting at barely 20, he directed five episodes of The Cosby Show and went on to direct episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Malcolm & Eddie and even, in 2022, an episode of The Resident.
When Bill Cosby was arrested, jailed and eventually released on a rape conviction, Warner always played it cool. He deplored the many crimes Cosby was accused of but also tried to lean into the empowerments the comedian once represented. It was an impossible tightrope act but Warner never ducked the questions, he just handled them the best he could.
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One of his passions in life was poetry. A Television Critics Association colleague in Vancouver, Alison Cunningham, posted on Facebook on news of his death about his impact on the VanSlam community. This was back when he was costarring with Luke Perry for two seasons in BC while working on the Showtime series Jeremiah (2002-04). Cunningham reports that Warner was “an advocate for Indigenous Rights and work being done here to raise awareness about the legacy of the Residential School System. He was warm, a generous artist, became part of the community and his work offered great insight into the human condition.”
Cosby, now 88, was contacted by People magazine about Warner’s death. He paid tribute to the actor, and told the publication that it was like hearing about the death of his only son. In 1997 in an attempted robbery, Ennis Cosby was shot to death at the side of a highway in Los Angeles at just 27.
Warner leaves behind a wife and daughter. Condolences to his many friends and fans.
