Shock death of Malcom-Jamal Warner ‘like losing family,’ fans say

Within minutes of news urgent Monday that actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner best known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the s had died in a drowning accident while on a family vacation in Costa Rica fans rushed to various social media platforms and news outlets to express their shock and grief plenty of saying they felt as if they had lost a member of their family This is a real gut punch I can t believe it one person wrote below an online story about Warner s death at age by People magazine This really hurt my heart as it feels as if I lost a family member another person revealed We watched him grow up from his Theo character to a effective man Almost like watching a younger brother or your own child My sympathies to his family I m still in shock Indeed as this person explained Warner had appeared to avoid the self-destructive behavior and turmoil that falls on a lot of actors who begin their Hollywood careers as children or teenagers After the New Jersey-born son of a single mother landed the role of Theo on The Cosby Show in his early teens and played the role for eight years he built a thriving and acclaimed career as an actor and director in TV and in streaming series His credits include in Eddie Griffin s sitcom Malcom and Eddie Reed Between the Lines with Tracee Ellis Ross and crime and biological procedurals Major Crimes and The Resident Warner who is survived by a wife and daughter also played Al Cowlings in the Emmy-winning crime series American Crime Story production The People v O J Simpson in Moreover he proved himself to be an all-around artist recording music performing in theater and poetry jams and voicing a character in the children s animated project The Magic School Bus Last year he launched the podcast Not All Hood or NAH in which he and his co-hosts discuss Black tradition and all lanes of the Black locality Across social media people praised Warner as a gifted actor and a fine young man gone too soon Also on the People magazine story someone reported He was an fundamental part of my life as a teen in the s watching and loving the Cosby Show which is still an significant part of American heritage To celebrate Black History Month in February Warner shared a video of himself on his Instagram rapping out of verse naming famous Black men and women in U S history In the comments of that post liked more than times people also expressed their heartbreak and condolences Rest well Such a great actor Prayers for your family one person wrote Nah man Nah RIP Bro Thank you for what you provided for my childhood for my artistry ABC published that the Costa Rican National Police certified that Warner drowned off the coast of Costa Rica on Sunday His death was ruled to be a consequence of asphyxia police informed the outlet In addition to fans people who worked with Warner expressed their sadness People also published Marlee Matlin who directed a season episode of Accused which Warner guest starred in honored him on Instagram I am so sad to read of the untimely passing of Malcolm Jamal Warner Martin wrote in the caption alongside a photo of them at a panel in He was the nicest guy and it was a privilege to have been in the same company with him sharing a directors panel along with HowardmGordon and Michael Chiklis My heart goes out to his family and friends RIP Malcolm Kevin Hart wrote WTF Wow This is heartbreaking before adding RIP king Woooow Ricki Lake commented Omg while actor Jennie Garth merely left a series of broken-heart emojis More broken-heart emojis also came from Holly Robinson Peete Patti LaBelle and Mario Lopez