Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s 8-Year-Old Daughter Was Swimming with Him, Pulled to Safety on Surfboard by Surfer

The actor, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show,’ died July 20 at age 54 after drowning in Costa Rica

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter in Costa Rica when he drowned, according to a new report from ABC News.

The 54-year-old actor, who was best known for his role as Theo Huxtable in The Cosby Show, died on Sunday, July 20, while on a family vacation with his wife and daughter, whose names have not been revealed to the public. The police told ABC News that surfers spotted Warner and his daughter struggling in the water and dove in to try and help them.

One surfer reportedly used his board to pull Warner’s daughter to safety, while a volunteer lifeguard assisted in helping bring the actor and another surfer to the shore. The outlet noted that on the shore, Warner was given 45 minutes of CPR. Both surfers who helped Warner and his daughter survived the incident.

On Wednesday, July 23, Dr. Mauricio Sonalo Corella, the Medical Director for the Talamanca Health Area, confirmed to PEOPLE that a man trying to help Warner had been discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment “without complications.”

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed to PEOPLE that the actor’s autopsy was completed on Tuesday, July 22, which showed that he died from accidental asphyxiation by submersion. This comes one day after a source told PEOPLE that Warner was body surfing in the water during a family trip in Costa Rica at the time of his death.

“Yoooo! Y’all remember this? Man, time flies! I was playing this song in the car over the weekend and my baby didn’t even remember it,” he wrote at the time. “We used to play it all the time when she was 1. Had to go back and find this post to show her. I’m happy to say that this beautiful song is now back in rotation.”

Warner began his career as an actor playing Theo Huxtable, the only son of Bill Cosby’s character, Heathcliff Huxtable, in The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992.

He went on to star alongside Eddie Griffin in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie from 1996 to 2000, and he was also well known for his role as Alex Reed on Reed Between the Lines, which he starred in alongside Tracee Ellis Ross from 2011 to 2015.

In the days before his death, Warner remained busy hosting his podcast, Not All Hood, which he started in May 2024. He co-hosted alongside Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley.

“When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects,” he told PEOPLE of his hopes for the podcast before its launch.