The namesake of the 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show” was known as America’s father for dispensing advice, humor and occasional zerberts to his beloved family. The popular show owed a lot to the comedian’s creativity, timing and perspective. It also was indebted to the members of the ensemble who portrayed the characters loosely based on his own family. One of those actors, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, died at the age of 54 this week while on a family vacation at a resort in Costa Rica.

Warner, if you missed the 1980s or don’t remember them, played the character of Theo, the teenage son of an obstetrician and a lawyer. His youthful ambitions and behavior were often comic fodder for the show, from his plan to become a “regular person” to his love of name-brand clothing and his questionable study habits. Theo was never a nerd, but he certainly wasn’t as cool as he thought he was.

As a young man of the same age, I saw Theo as a sobering reflection of the realities of growing up.

After the show ended, Warner proved that there was life after “Cosby,” as he would go on to play in numerous television shows and films. He also won a Grammy for a collaboration with the Robert Glasper Experiment in 2015 and built a following as a spoken word artist. He had left the young Huxtable behind and made it clear on the website for his podcast “Not All Hood,” which is described as “Malcolm at his most transparent and vulnerable … not Theo!”

Yet, for millions of viewers, the shadow of Theo Huxtable lingered. Warner carried it with grace — never disowning the role, but never letting it define him either. He knew he was a kind of older sibling to fans who watched him stumble, learn and grow up in our living rooms.

Rest well, big brother.