MALCOLM JAMAL-WARNER

An '80s icon for his portrayal of a typical teen on one of television's most successful sitcoms The Cosby Show, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, as a spoken word artist, has performed his poetry in Los Angeles since 1994, and his jazz/funk band, Miles Long, will release its first album in fall 2000 on Warner's own label, the wonder factory, rg.

For eight seasons, Warner played Theo Huxtable, a teenager living in contemporary America on The Cosby Show. After that long run, he went on to star in the comedy series Here and Now. More recently, he starred in several high profile films, including HBO's The Tuskegee Airmen, the story of a group of African-American World War II fighter pilots who, for the first time, were given an opportunity to serve their country. His other film credits include Drop Zone, Tyson, Restaurant, A Fare to Remember, The Father Clements Story and Desperate Exit.

Civic-minded, Warner has hosted several programs such as Kids Killing Kids, Blacks and White TV: A History of African Americans in Television, Home Alone: A Kids' Guide to Playing it Safe on Your Own, and was the voice of the "Producer" in the acclaimed PBS animated series The Magic School Bus. In addition to being a resident director on Malcolm & Eddie, Warner has also directed episodes of The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, All That and Sesame Street as well as music videos for artists MC Trouble, Larry Springfield and New Edition. His film short, This Old Man, received critical acclaim on the film festival circuit. He also directed and produced a half hour tribute to The Cosby Show, the Saturday morning teen magazine special All Ax-S, featuring Jaleel White and Kriss Kross, and the AIDS awareness video Timeout: The Truth about HIV, AIDS and You, with Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall, which earned Warner an NAACP Key of Life Image Award.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and raised in Los Angeles, Warner became interested in acting at age nine when his mother enrolled him in drama classes as an extracurricular activity. Acting soon became his ambition, overshadowing his dream of joining the Los Angeles Lakers. After graduating with honors from high school in 1988, Warner attended New York University Film School where he completed several short film projects as the first phase of his college education.