Bill Cosby in 2018 (left); Malcolm-Jamal Warner in 2024. Credit :

Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty; Santiago Felipe/Getty

• Malcolm-Jamal Warner died on Sunday, July 20, after drowning while on a family vacation in Costa Rica
• Following the news, Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Bill Cosby, spoke to PEOPLE and shared the actor’s reaction to Warner’s tragic death
• Cosby played Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, while Warner played his only son, Theo Huxtable, for the show’s eight-season run from 1984 to 1992

Malcolm-Jamal Warner is being remembered by the man who once played his onscreen father, Bill Cosby.

After news broke that Warner died at age 54 on Sunday, July 20, while on a family vacation in Costa Rica, Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Cosby, 88, tells PEOPLE that his death “reminded him of the same call he received when his son died.”

Ennis William Cosby, the actor’s only son, was murdered in 1997. He was shot to death at age 27 during an attempted robbery on a Los Angeles freeway ramp as he tried to change a flat tire.

Warner, meanwhile, drowned while swimming, a source confirmed to PEOPLE. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) later said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they “removed the body of a man who apparently died as a result of asphyxiation by submersion,” whom they later identified as Warner.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner attends 2023 Beloved Community Awards at Hyatt Regency Atlanta on January 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Paras Griffin/Getty

The statement said that based on preliminary information, “the victim appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current. The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene.”

Wyatt tells PEOPLE that Cosby’s son “played with Malcolm,” calling the events that unfolded on July 20 “devastating.”

“He found a way to talk about Malcolm even though he was sad,” Wyatt says of Cosby.

Bill Cosby (left) and Malcolm-Jamal Warner on ‘The Cosby Show’. NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

“He had just done a concert in Minnesota and called Mr. Cosby and talked about it. They spoke all the time. He said ‘Malcolm was changing humanity,'” Wyatt adds.

Wyatt also notes that Cosby was finding comfort in his Cosby Show costars. He says the actor was “on the phone with Phylicia Rashad [who played his onscreen wife Claire Huxtable] reminiscing about Malcolm” earlier today.

Cosby echoed what Wyatt said about his conversation with Rashad, telling CBS News’ Jericka Duncan that the two were “embracing each other over the phone about a dearly beloved friend” following the news of his death.

“He was never afraid to go to his room and study. He knew his lines and that he was quite comfortable even with the growing pains of a being a teenager,” Cosby added, noting that he last spoke to Warner “three months ago.”

He said their last conversation was centered around Warner’s Art in Motion concert alongside the Minnesota Orchestra. Cosby added that it was “something [Warner] was very proud of.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Bill Cosby on ‘The Cosby Show’. Nbc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

While speaking with PEOPLE in February 2023, Warner acknowledged how Cosby’s legal woes have changed the way some fans remember the show.

Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in 2018 for charges involving drugging and sexually assaulting another woman. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction in 2021, allowing Cosby to be released. Five more women, however, sued Cosby for sexual assault in December. Cosby’s defense has denied all allegations made against him.

“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 told PEOPLE.

From left: Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable, Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable, Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable and Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show’. NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

In an interview with journalist Jemele Hill in 2023, Warner speculated that his fellow cast members might be “making a killing” today, if it weren’t for the allegations against Cosby.

Acknowledging a recent uptick in show reboots, Warner said, “We could have made a lot of money. Fuller House, they’re doing their thing.The Conners, man, we’d be making a killing right now.”

Asked by Hill if he was “resentful” because “one person impacted you guys’ lives and the way this show was seen,” Warner responded: “No. Not resentment … I get how this business works, for one. And just that whole situation is so layered, man.”

“I can’t defend him or his actions at all. But I also can’t throw him under the bus completely,” Warner added. “Because I have an understanding of all the layers. It’s so complex and it’s so many shades of gray, that most people will never get. There is the piece of the financial hit that we all took but also it hasn’t really affected my career.”

Warner also reflected on Cosby’s work ethic as recently as May 2025, during an appearance on Melyssa Ford’s Hot & Bothered podcast.

During the episode, Warner said of Cosby: “He would work Monday through Thursday on the show, hop on a plane and do stand-up Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, then be back to work first thing Monday.”

“This is while having the number one show in the world. And I watched that and it made me understand — when you are hot, that’s when you grind,” he added.