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The character’s journey into adulthood was at the center of “The Cosby Show.” Here are five memorable episodes from the show’s run.
July 22, 2025Updated 12:36 p.m. ET
In the fall of 1984, the world was introduced to the actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, playing Theodore Huxtable in “The Cosby Show.” In the very first episode, the teenager was confronted by his father (played by series creator Bill Cosby) about his lagging grades and how they might affect his college aspirations. Eight years later, after the show became a cultural touchstone, the series ended with Theo getting his college diploma. In between, viewers saw Warner and the character he portrayed grow up onscreen. The somewhat wayward yet wholly relatable teenager became an accomplished young adult, a crucial figure in the then-rare depiction of a professional Black American family.
Theo’s journey was at the heart of the show. (A show that, in recent years, has been tainted by the many sexual assault allegations leveled against its creator.) Here are some of the memorable scenes involving the character played by Warner, the actor who died from drowning on Sunday at the age of 54.
“Theo’s Economic Lesson”
Warner stood out from the beginning of the show. In the pilot episode, when Cosby’s Dr. Cliff Huxtable speaks to Theo about his grades, he responds with an impassioned plea: “Maybe you can just accept who I am and love me anyway. Because I’m your son.” The studio audience offered hearty applause as Theo looked away from his father. But “The Cosby Show” proved it was a different sitcom by not ending the scene. Instead, Cliff takes a beat, stands up and says, “Theo, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”
“I am your father,” he continued, issuing a line repeated by many parents around the world: “I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out.”
“A Shirt Story”
Later in the first season, Warner flexed amazing comedic timing for a 14-year-old. In “A Shirt Story,” Theo purchases a costly shirt by the fictional designer Gordon Gartrell to impress a date. Cliff bemoans the top’s $95 cost and takes it from his son with the intention of returning it. Theo then turns to his sister Denise (played by Lisa Bonet) to craft him a facsimile of the shirt. The result is disastrous, and it’s worth watching Theo’s incredulous reaction to Denise’s non-handiwork. Her bright yellow creation features mismatched sleeves and an ungainly collar. And when Denise suggests that the it would look better more tucked in, Theo responds, “It’s tucked into my socks!”
However, all ends well for Theo. Cliff reveals that he had never returned the original shirt, and Theo’s date is impressed with Denise’s outlandish design.
