Happy Birthday to musician and actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner!

Share this article

    Happy birthday to actor and musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner. born August 18, 1970.  

    Malcolm-Jamal Warner has become known in the entertainment business for his seasoned acting talents, and his accomplishments in music, directing, and producing. As an Emmy-nominated actor and Grammy award winner, Warner has positioned himself as one of the most accomplished talents in the industry today. As a staple in television and film for nearly 30 years, Warner first rose to national prominence by starring on the celebrated and long-running classic television series “The Cosby Show.” His work on the show garnered him a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and set the stage for him to have a long career in the public eye. 

    Malcolm sent this note on to SoulTracks and its readers: 

    My Fellow SoulTracker Peeps,

    Happy birthday to actor and musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner. born August 18, 1970.  

    Malcolm-Jamal Warner has become known in the entertainment business for his seasoned acting talents, and his accomplishments in music, directing, and producing. As an Emmy-nominated actor and Grammy award winner, Warner has positioned himself as one of the most accomplished talents in the industry today. As a staple in television and film for nearly 30 years, Warner first rose to national prominence by starring on the celebrated and long-running classic television series “The Cosby Show.” His work on the show garnered him a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and set the stage for him to have a long career in the public eye. 

    Malcolm sent this note on to SoulTracks and its readers: 

    My Fellow SoulTracker Peeps,

    As a SoulTracker myself, I am happy to actually be an artist on the very site I use to keep up with what's happening in the soul community. There is no better feeling in the world as an artist when people geniunely appreciate and value what you have to offer. Thank you for allowing me to continue to live outside the box.
    I want to give a HUGE big ups and salutations to Chris and the Soultracks team, not just for your support and encouragement, but for this site because it keeps readers/listeners from complaining that we don't have access to the kind of passionate music we WANT to hear.
    Peace, Blessings, & all that...

    Malcolm-Jamal Warner

    Warner was most recently seen co-starring as A.C. Cowlings opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. on the critically acclaimed FX series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.” He is currently recurring on TNT’s hit series “Major Crimes,” as well as “Suits” on USA and has appeared on “American Horror Story: Freak Show” and “Sons of Anarchy” for FX. Additional television credits include: recurring on NBC’s critically acclaimed series “Community,” guest star roles on “The Michael J. Fox Show,” TNT’s “Hawthorne,” AMC’s “The Cleaner,” and Showtime’s “Dexter.” In 2011 Warner produced, directed, and starred in the BET original series “Reed Between the Lines” opposite Tracee Ellis Ross. On the film front, his short film MUTED [starring opposite Chandra Wilson] won the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival [summer 2014].

    As a seasoned director, Warner has worked on a host of television series, including being a regular director [and producer] on the comedy series “Malcolm & Eddie,” and also having directed several episodes of “The Cosby Show,” “All That,” “Keenan & Kel,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Sesame Street,” and the AIDS awareness video “Timeout: The Truth about HIV, AIDS, and YOU” [which starred Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall, and earned Warner the NAACP Key of Life Image Award. His short film, “This Old Man,” received critical acclaim on the theater festival circuit.
    Warner made his feature film debut in Paramount Pictures’ DROP ZONE, and was also seen in Warner Bros’ Pictures FOOLS GOLD opposite Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, and Donald Sutherland. He also co-starred in the independent films RESTAURANT with Adrien Brody, A FARE TO REMEMBER, and THE LIST with
    Wayne Brady. He recently starred in the short film WANNABE, which was a runaway hit at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. 

    On stage, Warner has starred in the off-Broadway plays “Three Ways Home,” “Cryin’ Shame,” for which he received the NAACP Theater Award for Best Supporting Actor, “Freefall” at the Victory Garden Theatre in Chicago, and in “A Midsummer Nights’ Dream,” at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Warner received critical acclaim for his West Coast debut of his one-man theatrical production of “Love and Other Social Issues.” He returned to the stage in September 2014, reprising Sidney Poitier’s role as Dr. John Prentice in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” in Boston at The Huntington Theatre. Warner has held this role before, previously performing in the play at Washington D.C.’s esteemed Arena Theater. Warner’s voice may be as well known as his likeness, for four seasons he was heard as the voice of the “Producer” on PBS’ “The Magic School Bus.” Currently, he can be heard on the audio book version of “The
    Marvelous Effect” published by Berkley Trade, as well as in Simon & Schuster’s “Fatherhood” by Bill Cosby.

    When not acting and directing, Warner is a poet and a bass player. In 2015 Warner nabbed his first Grammy Award for “Best Traditional R&B Performance as a Featured Performer” on Robert Glasper's version of the Stevie Wonder classic "Jesus Children of America." Lalah Hathaway was also featured on the track. Warner’s jazz-funk band Miles Long has performed in several major jazz festivals, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, and has opened for high profile artists including Earl Klugh and the late Luther Vandross, and he recently performed at the historic Apollo Theater. In September 2015 Warner released his latest album, “Selfless,” which brought an evolution of music to the table, melding spoken word and soul music into once cohesive album.

    All of Warner’s independently distributed CD’s, “The Miles Long Mix Tape,” “Love and Other Social Issues,” and “Selfless” have become popular on the underground music scene, can now be purchased on iTunes and http://www.MalcolmJamalWarner.com. Warner currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

     

    Biography courtesy of MalcolmJamalWarner.com