In Memoriam

In Memoriam

July 29, 2025
 

                                                 Malcolm-Jamal Warner

                                           August 18, 1970 - July 20, 2025

A lot can be said about Malcolm-Jamal Warner. He was a child star who avoided the pitfalls of fame, and he did so while continuing to work steadily in Hollywood for over three decades. He was also a successful musician and had a rather well-received podcast. Like many people of my generation, Thursday nights started with The Cosby Show, and some of my most enduring memories of the show involve Warner’s character, Theo. There was his heartfelt plea to be accepted as a regular person in the series premiere, his learning that he was dyslexic, the gambit of emotions he endured when one of his teachers came to dinner. We watched as Theo’s face lit up at the start of relationships and empathized with him when many of those ended in heartbreak. In Theo, many young boys saw themselves.
 
When a celebrity passes away, it is common for remembrances of them to focus on their careers, on the films they made and the roles they made famous. Some writers, those fortunate enough to have met or known him, have written about the quality of his character and his concern for humanity. I never knew Mr. Warner, but what tells me the most about him is his 1988 book Theo and Me.

 At a time in his life when his career was on the rise, when he could have been enjoying all of the fun and excitement that comes with fame, he elected to respond to the many letters he was receiving from fans who saw in him someone who knew what they were going through and whom they trusted with some of their most embarrassing questions. What they couldn’t bring themselves to ask their parents or teachers, they found the courage to ask a young man whom they felt was one of them, and Warner rose to the occasion, addressing complicated issues such as depression, suicide, and sex.
 
I bought this book as a teenager, and what I remember most about it is the seriousness with which Warner took each letter and the issues it brought up. Throughout the book, he recognized the seriousness of the topics and, when offering advice, acknowledged that he had consulted with experts and carefully considered his words. He genuinely seemed to want to help young people get through what he knew first hand were extremely trying times. I had not written him, but when I heard about the book, it piqued my curiosity. As I read the book, Warner came across as a supportive friend, someone who understood my discomforts and the issues that teenagers were going through, and I felt better. He will indeed be missed.