In the early 2000’s, I used to go to the Nuyorican poetry slam every so often, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner was the special guest one night when I was there. We all went *mad* when we saw him, Gen-X being wildly represented at that event, and we cheered when he declared to us “I am not Theo Cosby anymore!!” (or something like that).
It struck me at the time that it’s so hard for child actors to break out and be seen as adults, independent of their roles, especially when they co-starred in such an iconic show, as you describe. But, we were all rooting for him.
I hate that M-J W died. I hate that he drowned. I hate that death can be — as you so aptly put it — both sudden and slow. The day after I found out, I randomly ran into two co-workers at the mall. Their ages added together would barely surpass my current age, but they both told me they grew up watching the syndicated Cosby Show with their families.
I agree with you that the show hasn’t aged well for various reasons, which you lay out in your piece. But, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was just a kid in that show, and I was a kid just a handful of years younger than he was.
Like you, like all of Gen-X, when we watched, we were always, always, always rooting for him.
I sometimes wondered if the frequently kinda idealized and artificial families of 80s sitcoms poisoned us somehow. Worried sometimes about roughly these things. Authoritarian overtones, simplification. I don’t think I watched it much but I remember a particular episode of ‘Growing Pains’ in which Cameron's character dates a network TV idea of a beat poet who is played as kinda pretentious, unlikeable, and even then it struck me as very conformist, something ugly in it. Anti intellectualism, anti fringe. I was a too square smalltown youth group music student white boy, but it bugged even me. Good people trim their hedges stuff. Cosby I guess I don’t remember being so shrinkwrapped mean, but in retrospect it does kinda seem icky. Knowing the guy’s suppressed crimes maybe tilts my memory, but there seems something kinda smarmy and dishonest about it.
Stephen, I watched The Cosby Show with my GenX kids every week back in the 80s. There were often echoes in Cliff Huxtable’s lines that I recognized from his earlier standup comedy routine “Bill Cosby: Himself.” As a young parent myself at the time, I found the routine hilarious, but a few bits, of the “I can take you out” sort, were always kind of disturbing. For me, his recycling such material in The Cosby Show, which set itself up as an impossibly perfect family, landed with a thud.
BTW, I was wondering if you watched Malcolm-Jamal Warner in the TV series The Resident from a few years ago, and if so, what you thought of his performance?
When I heard of his passing, "the shirt" was the first thing that jumped to my mind. I called it "the shirt" to my roommate, and he replied "The Gartrelle?"
Then we talked about the male characters outside of Cosby, and kept landing on how wonderful Theo was.
So sad to lose Warner so soon.
"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes" (Miranda)
So many good people taken young while living ghouls remain.
And the Tates had a butler! They were presented as wealthy (country club members, etc). The Cosby Show was the start of the "misleading middle class," which I think is a problem. Even The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air conceded that the Banks were rich.
A few emails have turned up in my inbox recently promoting a petition to make The Cosby Show available on Netflix as a sort of tribute to Malcolm-Jamal Warner. But Bill Cosby is still alive and able to collect royalties on the series, while Warner isn't. I think I'll skip that petition...
❤️
In the early 2000’s, I used to go to the Nuyorican poetry slam every so often, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner was the special guest one night when I was there. We all went *mad* when we saw him, Gen-X being wildly represented at that event, and we cheered when he declared to us “I am not Theo Cosby anymore!!” (or something like that).
It struck me at the time that it’s so hard for child actors to break out and be seen as adults, independent of their roles, especially when they co-starred in such an iconic show, as you describe. But, we were all rooting for him.
I hate that M-J W died. I hate that he drowned. I hate that death can be — as you so aptly put it — both sudden and slow. The day after I found out, I randomly ran into two co-workers at the mall. Their ages added together would barely surpass my current age, but they both told me they grew up watching the syndicated Cosby Show with their families.
I agree with you that the show hasn’t aged well for various reasons, which you lay out in your piece. But, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was just a kid in that show, and I was a kid just a handful of years younger than he was.
Like you, like all of Gen-X, when we watched, we were always, always, always rooting for him.
I hadn’t heard about Julian McMahon’s death. McMahon had a role as the Australian PM in Netflix’s “The Residence”.
I sometimes wondered if the frequently kinda idealized and artificial families of 80s sitcoms poisoned us somehow. Worried sometimes about roughly these things. Authoritarian overtones, simplification. I don’t think I watched it much but I remember a particular episode of ‘Growing Pains’ in which Cameron's character dates a network TV idea of a beat poet who is played as kinda pretentious, unlikeable, and even then it struck me as very conformist, something ugly in it. Anti intellectualism, anti fringe. I was a too square smalltown youth group music student white boy, but it bugged even me. Good people trim their hedges stuff. Cosby I guess I don’t remember being so shrinkwrapped mean, but in retrospect it does kinda seem icky. Knowing the guy’s suppressed crimes maybe tilts my memory, but there seems something kinda smarmy and dishonest about it.
Stephen, I watched The Cosby Show with my GenX kids every week back in the 80s. There were often echoes in Cliff Huxtable’s lines that I recognized from his earlier standup comedy routine “Bill Cosby: Himself.” As a young parent myself at the time, I found the routine hilarious, but a few bits, of the “I can take you out” sort, were always kind of disturbing. For me, his recycling such material in The Cosby Show, which set itself up as an impossibly perfect family, landed with a thud.
BTW, I was wondering if you watched Malcolm-Jamal Warner in the TV series The Resident from a few years ago, and if so, what you thought of his performance?
I haven't seen The Resident and didn't even know Warner was on the series. I'll have to check it out.
Theo, I mean Malcolm, really became himself as an artist. I love that he wrote and performed his own poetry.
This is a hell of a tribute, and a whole lot of great background and analysis. And that's one of many reasons I read Play Typer Guy.
Right?
When I heard of his passing, "the shirt" was the first thing that jumped to my mind. I called it "the shirt" to my roommate, and he replied "The Gartrelle?"
Then we talked about the male characters outside of Cosby, and kept landing on how wonderful Theo was.
So sad to lose Warner so soon.
"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes" (Miranda)
So many good people taken young while living ghouls remain.
Hug your people
The Huxtables were probably the most overtly wealthy sitcom family on TV at the time
I immediately thought of Soap but it ended a few years before Cosby started. And now I have that theme song running through my head.
And the Tates had a butler! They were presented as wealthy (country club members, etc). The Cosby Show was the start of the "misleading middle class," which I think is a problem. Even The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air conceded that the Banks were rich.
A few emails have turned up in my inbox recently promoting a petition to make The Cosby Show available on Netflix as a sort of tribute to Malcolm-Jamal Warner. But Bill Cosby is still alive and able to collect royalties on the series, while Warner isn't. I think I'll skip that petition...