As Hollywood mourns the loss of life of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Anthony Mackie mirrored on his connection to the late actor.
“Malcolm was somebody who I thought-about a pal, and we at all times had nice instances collectively,” he shared on the third hour of At present‘s Wednesday, July 23, episode. “However the loopy half about it’s, I grew up with him. He was my brother. Watching The Cosby Present as a child, as a result of I watched each episode, and I might relate to him, in a means, as a result of he was the goofy child that was in a home filled with sisters, like me, who didn’t slot in, like me, who wished to be cool, like me. So, all of these experiences he had, I used to be having in actual life.”
Mackie famous that he and “all people” he knew “wished to be Theo Huxtable” rising up, including, “Even simply the teachings he realized on the present about cash, like, I had those self same conversations with my dad.”
The Marvel star continued, “Shedding him is a large loss, not simply within the movie neighborhood, however within the pal neighborhood, ‘trigger he was such man. And all of us knew him and all of us appreciated him, and it was at all times a delight to have him round. So, it’s a tragic day, however a good time to have the ability to have fun the mark that he left not solely on our enterprise, however a whole technology.”
Mackie is certainly one of many celebrities to pay tribute to Warner following his loss of life at age 54 on Sunday, July 20. The actor died of asphyxiation by submersion after swimming within the ocean throughout a household trip in Costa Rica.
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Mackie beforehand paid tribute to his friendship with Warner by sporting Theo Huxtable’s notorious knockoff designer shirt made by his sister Denise (Lisa Bonet) in Season 1 of The Cosby Present throughout a Halloween look on The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2024.
“That is an genuine Gordon Gartrell, custom-made,” Mackie joked on the late-night present, referring to the fictional designer from The Cosby Present. Mackie famous that he additionally tried to develop Theo’s “nine-lined-up fro,” quipping that the present “used to do my man soiled.”
Following The Cosby Present — for which Warner scored an Emmy nomination in 1986 — the actor went on to look on the collection’ spinoff, A Totally different World, and exhibits resembling Right here and Now, The Magic College Bus, Malcolm & Eddie, The Resident, 9-1-1, and Group.
Warner’s former TV dad, Invoice Cosby, reacted to his loss of life in an announcement to ABC Information on Monday, July 21. “He was at all times an excellent studier, and I loved working with him very a lot,” Cosby shared. “Malcolm calls right here repeatedly. He was very skilled. He at all times knew his half… He at all times knew his strains, and he at all times knew the place to go.”
Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Cosby, additionally instructed People who Warner’s loss of life “reminded [Bill] of the identical name he obtained when his son [Ennis] died” in 1997 after being shot throughout an tried Los Angeles theft.
Calling Warner’s loss of life “devastating,” Wyatt added, “He discovered a approach to discuss Malcolm despite the fact that he was unhappy. He had simply carried out a live performance in Minnesota and known as Mr. Cosby and talked about it. They spoke on a regular basis. He mentioned ‘Malcolm was altering humanity.’”
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