Malcolm-Jamal Warner traveled to Costa Rica in his final days for some rest and relaxation. But the family holiday took a tragic turn when he was swept away and pulled deep into the ocean.
A second adult male was also involved and hospitalized.
Following Malcolm-Jamal’s passing at age 54, photographs of the actor’s last public appearances began circulating online.
Highlights
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner traveled to Costa Rica in his final days for some rest and relaxation.
- A picture of him in an airport was captured days before the accident.
- A second male victim was also involved and hospitalized in critical condition.
- Months before the drowning, Malcolm-Jamal Warner spoke lovingly about his wife and daughter.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner traveled to Costa Rica in his final days for some rest and relaxation
Image credits: Randy Shropshire/Variety
Malcolm‑Jamal was photographed at an airport in Costa Rica on July 13, about a week before he drowned at Playa Grande, Cahuita, Limón.
He appeared calm and relaxed in what is believed to be one of the last public pictures of him, according to TMZ.
Details about what took place in the actor’s final moments have been revealed.
Image credits: Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Malcolm‑Jamal “appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current” on Sunday, July 20, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said.
Onlookers rushed to his aid and pulled him out of the water, but it was too late to save him.
The actor was spotted inside an airport in Costa Rica looking calm and relaxed
Image credits: TMZ/BACKGRID
“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,” OIJ added in their statement.
Paramedics “performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient for more than 20 minutes, but without successful results,” a Costa Rican Red Cross spokesperson told People.
Three ambulances were dispatched to the scene at around 2:10 p.m.
Image credits: Hot & Bothered
A spokesperson for the Red Cross revealed that another male, aged 35, was also involved in the drowning.
The unidentified man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, whereas Malcolm‑Jamal was declared deceased at the scene.
His body was taken to the morgue at San Joaquin de Flores. The cause of his passing was listed as asphyxiation by “submersion,” local officials said.
A second male victim was also involved in the drowning and was hospitalized in critical condition
Image credits: malcolmjamalwar
Roger Sanz, the President of the Chamber of Tourism and Commerce of the Southern Caribbean, released a statement acknowledging the actor’s passing.
“Despite the rescue efforts made by Caribbean Guard volunteers at Playa Grande, the actor—who was vacationing in the area with his family—tragically lost his life,” he said.
“We want to make it clear that we are organized, that most of us do inform our clients and visitors. But like in every part of the world, accidents can happen—and this time, it happened to us,” he added.
The deceased actor spoke about his wife earlier this year and how they “have never had a fight [or] an argument.”
Image credits: Hot & Bothered
Malcolm-Jamal largely kept his private life under wraps, but it is believed he married a Connecticut-based attorney in 2017.
“We've been together almost 10 years and we have never had a fight, an argument, a raised voice or a harsh word said to one another … And it's not like we agree on everything,” he said on the Hot & Bothered podcast in May.
Image credits: malcolmjamalwar
The 9-1-1 actor, who never revealed his wife’s full name, admitted he initially told her he didn’t want kids. But all of that changed a few months into the relationship.
“I said, ‘What do you think about starting a family?’” he said. “At some point during this time, if I’m going to have a kid, this is the person I would like to have it with.”
The actor expressed happiness over parenting his 8-year-old daughter with his wife.
“If I’m going to have a kid, this is the person I would like to have it with,” the Grammy winner gushed about his wife
Image credits: malcolmjamalwar
“This feels right and this makes sense,” he said on the podcast. “When people say, ‘When you know you know,’ that’s what that feeling is.”
The Grammy-winner said he began watching The Cosby Show with his daughter when she was 4 years old.
“She said, ‘That's Papa! That's Papa!’” he reminisced.
“Watching the show with my daughter was surreal in itself…” he added and praised Bill Cosby's “vision” for wanting to create a “timeless, evergreen show.”
Image credits: Netflix
Malcolm-Jamal played Theo Huxtable, the only son and middle child of five children in the Huxtable family. Bill Cosby played his father, Heathcliff, and Phylicia Rashad played his onscreen wife, Clair.
Theo’s character was loosely based on Bill’s own son Ennis Cosby.
Malcolm-Jamal and Ennis were friends before Bill’s son lost his life at the age of 27 during a failed robbery attempt.
The actor, who played Theo Huxtable in the series, said he began watching The Cosby Show with his daughter since she was four
“Malcolm calls here regularly,” Bill told ABC News as he paid tribute to his co-star after his passing. “While I was their TV dad, I never stopped being a father to them.”
The disgraced actor also spoke about a recent conversation they had over the phone before the tragic drowning.
“What we talked about was something he was very proud of,” he told CBS News. “He had done a concert in Minnesota with a symphony and there was something he had written, but he was very proud of what he had done and what he had said, and it was about living in America.”
Image credits: malcolmjamalwar
Fans mourned the actor’s loss online, with one saying, “Man this [is] like losing a brother for the whole black community. Everyone grew up with him on The Cosby Show.”
“He was such a good dude and a very talented actor,” one said,
Another wrote, “My heart breaks for his family, especially his wife and daughter. RIP.”
“Another star gone way too soon,” one commented online
