Malcolm-Jamal Warner Once Revealed the Crowning Achievement of His Career

Former The Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner has tragically passed away at the age of 54, according to several reports.

According to Julia Moore of People.com, Warner was on a family vacation in Costa Rica when he accidentally drowned while swimming. People.com reached out to Warner's rep for comment but did not get a response.

Warner was best known for his role as Theo on The Cosby Show, which is one of the most iconic sitcoms in television history. However, the view of the show has since been marred by accusations of sexual assault against its star, actor and comedian Bill Cosby.

But The Cosby Show wasn't the proudest achievement of his career. 

Instead, it was his ability to "have a post-Cosby life and post-Cosby career and still have my head on as straight as possible," he told the Archive of American Television in 2013.

In an interview with People in 2023, Warner said that while people may not view The Cosby Show the same as a result of Cosby's legal troubles, he was still proud of the legacy it left behind.

"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.

"What made it so groundbreaking was its universality. NBC initially saw it as a show about an upper-middle-class Black family," he added. "Mr. Cosby diligently impressed upon them that the show was about an upper-middle-class family that happened to be Black."

The groundbreaking show ran from 1984 to 1992, totaling 197 half-hour episodes over eight seasons.

Warner enjoyed a ton of success as an actor in the years after the hit show and even won a Grammy in 2015.

Warner is survived by his wife and daughter.

Related: Malcolm-Jamal Warner Never Wanted to Marry - Until He Met His Wife