The Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner was reportedly swimming with his eight-year-old daughter when he drowned, Costa Rican authorities have said.
Warner, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on the Eighties sitcom, was vacationing with his family in Cahuita, Limón, over the weekend, when he died after being “dragged” by a water current at a nearby beach.
At the time of the fatal incident, Warner was in the water with his young daughter when surfers noticed the pair struggling, police told ABC News. The surfers dove in to help them, with one using his surfboard to bring Warner’s daughter to safety.
A volunteer lifeguard assisted in bringing Warner and another surfer to shore, authorities said. On the beach, Warner was attended to by first responders, who rendered him CPR before he was declared dead, the Costa Rican Red Cross confirmed to The Independent.
“The scene was subsequently handed over to the police authorities for the appropriate legal procedures,” the organization said in a statement.
It’s unclear if the second surfer pulled out of the water was the unnamed male who was rushed to a local Limón clinic in critical condition, after also being caught in the dangerous water current that led to Warner’s death.
On Sunday at around 2:10 p.m., the Costa Rican Red Cross received a report about a “water-related” incident involving two males at the Playa Grande resort in Cahuita, Limón, the organization said in a statement shared with The Independent.
In an earlier statement shared Monday, per People, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed that Warner “appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current.”
Bystanders “rescued” Warner from the water and brought him to shore. “However, he was declared lifeless at the scene,” the OIJ statement said.
The actor’s official cause of death was asphyxia by submersion and ruled an accident, police confirmed, per ABC News.
While best known for his work on The Cosby Show, Warner had more recently appeared in Sons of Anarchy, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and The Resident.
His tragic death has been mourned by fans, co-stars, and colleagues alike.
Warner’s famous ex, Regina King, whom he dated from 2011 to 2013, posted a tribute to her Instagram Story on Monday.
“Some people leave a lasting imprint, not just for who they were but for the energy they carried. I’m sending prayers filled with love and understanding to your family and loved ones,” she wrote. “Rest easy Malcolm-Jamal Warner.”
His Malcom & Eddie co-star Eddie Griffin remembered him as “my big little brother.”
“My Heart is heavy today… For what the world lost was a Father a Son a Poet a Musician a Actor a Teacher a Writer a Director a Friend a Warrior that I had the pleasure of going to war with against the Hollywood machine and sometimes with each other because that’s what Brothers do but the Love was and is always there,” Griffin wrote on Instagram. “You’ve taught me so much and I thank you.”
Geoffrey Owens, who co-starred with Warner on The Cosby Show, additionally reflected on the actor’s sudden death in a statement made to Us Weekly. “This tragedy has almost left me speechless,” he said.
“Malcolm was a lovely man, a sweet and sensitive soul. I respected him for many reasons, including the fact that he genuinely loved the act of creation. He had the mind of an actor and the heart of a musician.
“He was generous too,” Owens added. “I did a theater project long ago and asked him to participate, and he was there for me. My heart goes out to his family.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s ex Regina King leads tributes after The Cosby Show star’s tragic death
Current that killed Malcolm-Jamal Warner left another man in critical condition
Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s ex Regina King leads tributes after star’s tragic death
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