NEWSKelly Ripa 'Crushed' by Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Tragic Death at Age 54: 'It's Just So Sad'
Kelly Ripa and Malcolm-Jamal Warner are both Hollywood stars born in 1970.
Hollywood is mourning the loss of one of their own.
Kelly Ripa joined several A-list stars in reacting to the devastating death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at age 54 while sitting alongside her husband, Mark Consuelos, during the Tuesday, July 22, episode of their talk show, Live With Kelly and Mark.
"There's a lot of sad news in the news," Ripa admitted during the show's opening monologue. "So I guess we'll just get to it and then we'll try to do a hard pivot afterwards."
Kelly Ripa Reacts to Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Passing
Kelly Ripa addressed Malcolm-Jamal Warner's death during the July 22 episode of her talk show.
The blonde beauty introduced the topic of Warner's passing with a lighthearted fact about Live.
"I cannot believe this because [Live's executive producer Michael] Gelman was telling me backstage that the very first episode of this show, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a guest on," she revealed before a clip appeared on the screen of The Cosby Show star sitting down for an interview with the talk show's original hosts, Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford.
The original air date was September 5, 1988.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner appeared on the very first episode of 'Live' in 1988.
After sharing the coincidental fact, Ripa explained how Warner "shockingly and sadly and devastatingly was caught in this surprise, high current in Costa Rica and died as a complication of that."
Noting how "bystanders pulled him out of the water," Ripa solemnly admitted Warner's death is "just so sad and crushing."
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Kelly Ripa was upset by news of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's passing.
"I literally, even though I didn't know him, grew up with this man — like, we were 14 years old together, only he was a big TV star and I was watching him," Ripa, also 54, expressed. "I just sort of followed his entire career and always, really, really had a fondness for him."
"I feel like a piece of all of us passed away," she emotionally added, reiterating how Warner's death was "very sad, very bad news."
Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies at Age 54 After Accidental Drowning
Malcolm-Jamal Warner died from drowning in Costa Rica.
Ripa's reaction to Warner's passing comes less than 24 hours after news broke about the Malcom & Eddie star's death on Monday, July 21.
Warner had been vacationing in Costa Rica with his family when a strong current "swept him away" toward the sea near Playa Cocles.
"The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene," a statement from the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) of Costa Rica revealed.
Paramedics "performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient for more than 20 minutes, but without successful results," a spokesperson for the Costa Rican Red Cross shared.
