UB In Memoriam: Seasoned Actor & Musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner
A Staple in Television and Film for Over 40 Years.
Seasoned actor & musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner has passed away.
Warner died in Costa Rica at the age of 54, of asphyxia. After he was caught by a high current in the ocean, according to ABC News.
His body was reportedly found yesterday (July 20, 2025) afternoon.
Born August 18, 1970, in Jersey City, New Jersey, Warner was named after two prominent Black icons: civil rights leader Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.
He began acting as a child and received early training at the Professional Children’s School in New York City.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was known in the entertainment business for his seasoned acting talents and his accomplishments in music, directing, and producing.
As an Emmy-nominated actor and Grammy award winning poet, Warner positioned himself as one of the most accomplished talents in the industry today.
As a staple in television and film for over 40 years, Warner first rose to national prominence by starring on the celebrated and long-running classic television series “The Cosby Show.”
Warner auditioned for “The Cosby Show” on the last day of casting and was chosen personally by Bill Cosby to play Theo, the Huxtables’ only son.
From 1984 to 1992, Warner starred in the groundbreaking NBC sitcom that became a touchstone in American television history. His role as Theo Huxtable — a witty, endearing teenager navigating school, sibling rivalry, and life lessons — endeared him to audiences across generations.
In 1986, he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
More in recent years, Warner was seen starring on FOX’s hit medical drama “The Resident.”
Originally cast for a 3 episode arc at the end of season one, he quickly became a fan favorite and promoted to a series regular as cardio-thoracic surgeon AJ Austin aka ‘The Raptor.’
Last year he appeared in the series 9-1-1.
Prior to “The Resident,” he was seen as a series regular on ABC’s drama series “Ten Days in the Valley” opposite Kyra Sedgwick.
He also made headlines in 2016 starring as A.C. Cowlings opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. on the critically acclaimed, award-winning FX series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
Additional credits include: Amazon’s “Sneaky Pete,” TNT’s “Major Crimes,” “Suits” on USA, “American Horror Story: Freak Show” for FX, “Sons of Anarchy” for FX, “Community,” “The Michael J. Fox Show,” “Hawthorne,” “The Cleaner,” and “Dexter.”
In 2011 Warner produced, directed, and starred in the BET original series “Reed Between the Lines” opposite Golden Globe Award winner Tracee Ellis Ross.
On the film front his short film “Muted” [starring opposite Chandra Wilson] won the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival in 2014.
As a seasoned director Warner worked on a host of television series, including “The Resident,” being a regular director [and producer] on the comedy series “Malcolm & Eddie,” and also having directed several episodes of “The Cosby Show,” “All That,” “Keenan & Kel,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Sesame Street,” and the AIDS awareness video “Timeout: The Truth about HIV, AIDS, and YOU,” which starred Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall and earned Warner the NAACP Key of Life Image Award.
His short film, “This Old Man,” received critical acclaim on the theater festival circuit.
On the film front Warner released a powerful, spoken word short film entitled “You Can’t Hear Me” in May 2017.
The five minute short displays Warner, spoken word artist/producer David Bianchi, and spoken word artist Chris Wood citing poetry that highlights some of America’s civil and social skills including systematic oppression, deportation and mass incarceration.
Warner made his feature film debut in Paramount Pictures’ “Drop Zone,” and was also seen in Warner Bros’ Pictures “Fools Gold” opposite Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, and Donald Sutherland.
He also co-starred in the independent films “Restaurant” with Adrien Brody, “A Fare to Remember,” and “The List” with Wayne Brady.
He starred in the short film “Wannabe,” which was a runaway hit at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, as well as the film short “Shot,” starring Noah Wiley.
On stage Warner starred in the off-Broadway plays “Three Ways Home,” “Cryin’ Shame,” for which he received the NAACP Theater Award for Best Supporting Actor, “Freefall” at the Victory Garden Theatre in Chicago, and in “A Midsummer Nights’ Dream,” at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.
Warner received critical acclaim for his West Coast debut of his one-man theatrical production of “Love and Other Social Issues.”
He returned to the stage in September 2014, reprising Sidney Poitier’s role as Dr. John Prentice in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” in Boston at The Huntington Theatre.
Warner held that role previously performing in the play at Washington D.C.’s esteemed Arena Theater.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was also a video director, directing amazing videos by New Edition and the late MC Trouble, as well as Special Ed and Five Starr.
When not acting and directing, Warner was a poet and a bass player.
In 2015 he nabbed his first Grammy Award for “Best Traditional R&B Performance as a Featured Performer” on Robert Glasper‘s version of the Stevie Wonder classic “Jesus Children of America.”
Lalah Hathaway was also featured on the track.
Warner’s jazz-funk band Miles Long has performed in several major jazz festivals, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, and has opened for high profile artists including Earl Klugh and the late Luther Vandross, and he has also performed at the historic Apollo Theater.
In September 2015 Warner released his third album, “Selfless,” which brought an evolution of music to the table, melding spoken word and soul music into once cohesive album.
His forth album, “Hiding In The Plain View,” was released in September 2022 and garnered him a second Grammy nomination for the inaugural “Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.”
“It’s funny, people aren’t so much surprised that I have a band as much as they are that we’re good,” chuckles Malcolm-Jamal Warner, contemplating the buzz surrounding his jazz/funk band, Miles Long. Having performed to packed houses on the LA club circuit, playing in several jazz festivals, and opening for high profile acts such as Earl Klugh and the late Luther Vandross.
He finally released his debut EP IN 2003, “…the miles long mixtape..” Warner comfortably and convincingly lead his crew through several head-bobbing tunes with heavy bass grooves (electric and upright) and dynamic spoken word.
Boasting a repertoire that runs the gamut from Living Colour to Coltrane, with plenty of original material in the mix, makes labeling Miles Long simply a jazz band quite difficult. Several major labels vied to sign the band, but Warner, who had established himself as stage, television, and film actor over the 30 years opted instead to record and produce his album as an independent artist. “Because I’m not looking toward this to make me rich and famous, I have the luxury to truly approach music as an artist. Since there is such a negative preconception of actors as recording artists, it was important that I have the creative freedom I needed, unencumbered by someone else’s idea of what’s good.”
What was immediately apparent about “the miles long mixtape” is the passion and honesty from which Warner wrote.
From the controversial spoken word musings of “Project Image,” which scrutinizes the bastardization of the hip-hop culture, to “LapDance,” the lamenting of a love unrequited, Miles Long offers a refreshing perspective to today’s music.
The influences that range from Miles Davis to Stevie Wonder to Led Zeppelin to The Roots coupled with having grown up as part of the hip-hop generation, is what gives Miles Long its distinctive sound and what keeps them side-stepping any attempts at categorizing their music.
Said the late great Malcolm-Jamal Warner: “Urban Jazz/Funk has been the closest description, which is cool because we do approach you like jazz, but definitely hit you with the funk.”
Earlier in 2025, Warner launched a podcast titled “Not All Hood,” alongside co-hosts Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley. The podcast was praised for candidly exploring mental health, cultural identity, and the diversity of Black experiences in America.
In interviews, Warner called the podcast his “most vulnerable” project and said it gave him the space to speak openly in a way his acting never allowed. “When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith,” he stated. “But the reality is, there are so many different facets… and we wanted to acknowledge all of those different aspects.”
UB Sends Our Condolences to The Family, Friends and Fans of Malcolm-Jamal Warner!
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