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\nMalcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on\u00a0The Cosby Show, died July 20 at age 54 after drowning in Costa RicaAccording to a new report from ABC News, the actor was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter on Sunday when he drownedThe Suits alum \u00a0kept his personal life private and didn’t share the name of his daughter, but often spoke about being a proud father<\/p>\n
Malcolm-Jamal Warner<\/a> was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter in Costa Rica when he drowned, according to a new report from ABC News.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n 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.\n<\/p>\n 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.\n<\/p>\n 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 \u201cwithout complications.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n Malcolm-Jamal Warner and his daughter.<\/p>\n Malcolm-Jamal Warner\/Instagram<\/p>\n The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed to PEOPLE that the actor’s autopsy was completed<\/a> 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\u00a0a family trip in Costa Rica<\/a>\u00a0at the time of his death.\n<\/p>\n Although the late\u00a0actor kept much of his private life out of the spotlight, he had previously posted pictures expressing how much he loved his only child. Warner never publicly shared his daughter’s name or birthdate and kept the identity of his wife private, but he called their child their “mini us” in a 2021\u00a0Instagram post<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Warner also posted a throwback\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0of him dancing with his daughter when she was a baby and noted how fast she had grown up in 2023.<\/p>\n “Yoooo! Y\u2019all remember this? Man, time flies! I was playing this song in the car over the weekend and my baby didn\u2019t 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\u2019m happy to say that this beautiful song is now back in rotation.”\n<\/p>\n Malcolm-Jamal Warner.<\/p>\n Santiago Felipe\/Getty; Alan Singer\/NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n Warner began his career as an actor playing Theo Huxtable, the only son of\u00a0Bill Cosby<\/a>‘s character, Heathcliff Huxtable, in\u00a0The Cosby Show\u00a0from 1984 to 1992.\n<\/p>\n He went on to star alongside Eddie Griffin in the sitcom\u00a0Malcolm & Eddie\u00a0from 1996 to 2000, and he was also well known for his role as Alex Reed on\u00a0Reed Between the Lines, which he starred in alongside\u00a0Tracee Ellis Ross<\/a>\u00a0from 2011 to 2015.\n<\/p>\n In the days before his death, Warner remained busy hosting his podcast,\u00a0Not All Hood, which he started in May 2024<\/a>. He co-hosted alongside Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhen 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,\u201d he told PEOPLE of his hopes for the podcast before its launch.\n<\/p>\n