Hollywood mourns ‘The Cosby Show’ actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner after his death at age 54, with heartfelt tributes from Tracee Ellis Ross and more
Hollywood is mourning The Cosby Show actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who died on Sunday, July 20, at age 54.
News of Warner’s death stunned and devastated his friends and colleagues, many of whom shared tributes to the late star via social media on Monday, July 21. Tracee Ellis Ross, who starred on the BET series Reed Between the Lines, remembered her TV husband as “warm” and “gentle” in a moving post shared via social media.
Ross wasn’t the only person who wanted to memorialize Warner. Several stars, including Viola Davis, Eddie Griffin and Taraji P. Henson also offered their thoughts and condolences to Warner’s family. The actor is survived by his wife, whose name he did not reveal publicly, and their daughter.
Read on to see what Warner’s friends and colleagues have said about him.
Sandler, who played Smitty on The Cosby Show, recalled working alongside Warner and reflected on his former costar’s death in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “Malcom was so nice to me when I was on the show and we had such good times together.”
Sandler continued, “I was probably 18 and Malcom was probably 17, 16, I don’t know. We would take walks together, all of us and pick up food, talk, play basketball, hang out on the weekends, and go to parties together.”
Sandler said Warner was “so good to me as a person, and his mom was amazing.”
“I’m just sending my love to the family. Malcolm is a true great person, hilarious, smart kid and meant a lot to America,” he concluded. “Absolute great man, I’m so sorry to his wife and his child too.”
Cosby reacted to Warner’s death in a statement to Us Weekly.
“This reminds me of the call I got when I was taping The Cosby Show and I got a call saying that my son, Ennis, had been murdered,” he said via his rep, Andrew Wyatt. “It’s just devastating.” (Cosby’s son Ennis died at 27 years old in a failed robbery attempt in 1997.)
Wyatt revealed that Cosby and Warner had kept in touch and had spoken “three weeks ago about a performance” he did in Minneapolis.
“He was so ecstatic about how the crowd received him,” Cosby said, according to Wyatt. “Malcolm was changing the world, humanizing the world through his acting, his music, his poetry and even his new podcast.”
The statement concluded, “You never heard anything negative about the child actors from The Cosby Show. No drugs, no alcohol, none of that. Even though I was their TV dad, I never stopped being their father figure.”
Bassett recalled meeting Warner when he starred on Cosby Show, as well as working with him on 9-1-1, in a tribute post shared via Instagram.
“When a special soul like @malcolmjamalwar leaves us far too soon, words fail to adequately describe the unimaginable grief. Malcolm was more than a gifted actor; he was a longtime friend,” she wrote. “When I met him, he was a star on the show that was TV royalty, The Cosby Show. He warmly embraced me as a working actor who was trying to find my way. Even in his youth, Malcolm’s empathy, quiet strength, and his bright light surrounded us all.”
Bassett continued, “Then to have the opportunity to work with him again last year on @911onabc was a memorable full circle moment for us both. In this life, Malcolm is what’s known as a soulful artist whose deep commitment to his craft left an impression on me that has never faded. He carried the weight of cultural legacy with grace, and he always made space for others to shine. His light will remain in our hearts always. My prayers are with you and yours. Rest in perfect peace until we meet again.”
Beyoncé shared a throwback image of Warner from his Cosby Show days on her website and wrote, “Rest in power, Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
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USA — Cinema Costars and Colleagues React to Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Unexpected Death: ‘My Heart Is...