
Biography
Malcolm-Jamal Warner (August 18, 1970 – July 20, 2025) was an American actor, musician, and poet. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore "Theo" Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. His other starring television roles include Malcolm McGee in the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000), Kurdy Malloy in Jeremiah (2002–2004), Dr. Alex Reed in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines (2011–2015), and Dr. AJ Austin in the Fox medical drama The Resident (2018–2023). Warner also had recurring roles in many shows including The Magic School Bus (1994–1997), Community (2011–2012), Major Crimes (2013–2016), Sons of Anarchy (2014), American Horror Story (2014–2015), Suits (2016–2017), Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (2017–2018), Sneaky Pete (2017–2019), and 9-1-1 (2024). He occasionally acted in films such as Drop Zone (1994), Restaurant (1998), and Fool's Gold (2008). Outside of acting, Warner was a vocalist and bass guitarist. He won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his contribution to a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Jesus Children of America" and was nominated for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2022. Warner died in a drowning accident in July 2025, aged 54.
Awards & recognition
- Grammy Award — Best Traditional R&B Performance · 2015
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series · 2012
- TV Land Award · 2011
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actor · 1990
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actor · 1989
Show all 11 awards →
- Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actor · 1985
- Grammy Award — Best Spoken Word Poetry Album · 2022 · nominated
- TV Land Award · 2006 · nominated
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series · 2001 · nominated
- NAACP Image Award — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series · 1996 · nominated
- Primetime Emmy Award — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series · 1986 · nominated
Filmography50+ titles

The Resident

Sons of Anarchy

9-1-1

Suits

Dexter

American Horror Story

Kenan & Kel

Tour of Duty

Community

Static Shock

Grown-ish

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

All That

Key and Peele

Malcolm & Eddie

The Magic School Bus

American Crime Story

Hollywood Squares

Sliders

Sneaky Pete

Alert

Carol & the End of the World

Shot

Major Crimes

Lethal Weapon

Detroiters

Touched by an Angel

The Tuskegee Airmen

Matlock

The Wonder Years

Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration

A Different World

The Cosby Show

Hawthorne

Murder in a Small Town

Jeremiah

Saturday Night Live

The Irrational

The Cleaner

Reed Between the Lines

Tyson

The Michael J. Fox Show

Fool's Gold

Drop Zone

Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce

Megachurch Murder

Restaurant

White Famous

The View

Sherri