NEW YORK, NY – The tragic death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner took me back to one day in 1988. I was driving my Geo Tracker through the streets of Astoria, Queens heading to the Astoria Batting Range on 37th St and 35th Ave. I was a block away when I saw commotion while I waited for the light to change.
A group of teen girls surrounded someone outside of the Kaufman Astoria Studios. That someone made his way into the street, right in front of my car. “Holy shit,” I said to myself, “I know that face.” It was “Theo Huxtable,” the star of The Cosby Show. The hit sitcom filmed its episodes at that studio.
As I stared at “Theo,” who played the son of Cliff Huxtable, the character played by Bill Cosby, I suddenly beeped my horn to get his attention. He looked at me and I frantically waved at him to come towards me.
Warner, who looked like a kid in high school, walked over to the driver’s side when I blurted out, “Hey, you wanna go hit some baseballs?” He looked at me like I was some deranged pervert, until I explained it was batting practice from a facility around the corner.
He smiled, apparently in relief, and said, “Aw man, I gotta be somewhere.” I then grabbed an old, worn-out baseball and asked him to sign it. He said he never signed a ball before. As he autographed the dimly-faded ball he said, “Don’t you have a newer one?” We both laughed, and off he went.
I never thought about that chance meeting again until his sudden death. My heart breaks for little Theo and thank you for giving me that moment.
