Keshia Knight Pulliam is paying tribute to her late Cosby Show costar, Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
The actress, who was only six years old when she first starred as Rudy Huxtable on the sit-com, remembered her “big brother” in a poignant Instagram post a week after he tragically drowned at 54.
“A week ago I lost my big brother but I gained an angel,” she wrote. “I love you… I miss you… We got our girls. ❤️”
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore ‘Theo’ Huxtable, Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show’
Alongside her note, Pulliam shared a video that featured Warner playing guitar onstage at City Winery in Atlanta before cutting to two young girls walking a horse. It is not immediately clear who the children are.
A representative for Pulliam did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.
On her Instagram Story, Pulliam also thanked her followers for all of their support in the wake of Warner’s death. “Thank you for every text, call and all of the love that you have sent my way,” she wrote. “I’ve just needed a moment.”
Keshia Knight Pulliam/Instagram
Keshia Knight Pulliam’s Instagram Story post
Warner died July 20 after he was “swept away by a current” while on a family vacation in the Playa Grande de Cocles area of Puerto Viejo de Limón in Costa Rica, according to the Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). He was “rescued by bystanders and taken to the shore,” but was “deemed lifeless at the scene.”
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Pulliam and Warner played siblings Rudy and Theodore “Theo” Huxtable, respectively, across all eight seasons of The Cosby Show when it ran from 1984 until 1992. In the wake of Warner’s death, several of his Cosby Show costars have paid tribute to Warner including Bill Cosby, who expressed his admiration for his onscreen son in an interview with ABC News.
“He was always a great studier, and I enjoyed working with him very much,” Cosby said. “He was very professional. He always knew his part…. He always knew his lines, and he always knew where to go.”
Raven-Symoné, who joined the series in its sixth season, explained in an audio message posted on Instagram that “words cannot express the pain and sadness and surprise that I feel with the recent loss of MJW.”
She continued, “He was the big brother. He was a beacon. He was one of the most multifaceted talented men — so gentle. And my heart and soul and hugs and kisses go out to his daughter and his wife and his mother.”
The actress went on to note that Warner always “gave the best advice” to her.
“He gave the best hugs and his smile will always be a huge bright f—ing white smile in my head forever,” she said, voice becoming emotional. “I love you and I know you’re watching over all of us now. Bye, Malcolm.”
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