Recommendations of the Editorial team
When the shirt, the Malcolm Jamal Warner at the end of the “The Cosby Show” episode “A Shirt Story”, bears It is not the worst piece of clothing in television history by far, then it has very few serious competitors. It is said to be a perfect replica of a shirt of the (fictitious) trendy designer Gordon Gartrell, who wants to wear Warner’s figure Theo Huxtable on a date with his new girlfriend Michelle. When Theo’s father Cliff refuses to issue $ 95 for the original, Theo’s older sister Denise (Lisa Bonet) offers to tailor it for just $ 30. And assures her brother that she can do it.
A legendary sitcom moment
Instead, a catastrophic patchwork is created. Each part of the shirt is wrongly coordinated. On the one hand, the collar is huge and the sleeve is short. The collar is tiny on the other. The sleeves too long. The breast pocket sits just to the left of Theo’s belly button. A horrified Theo, who is clear that Michelle will appear at the Huxtafles at any moment. He explains: “This is the ugliest shirt I’ve ever seen!” It is probably too friendly.
Whenever it comes to the funniest sitcom scenes ever, a few classics are mentioned. Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory. Reverend Jim during his driving test. Dwight Schrutes Fire alarm. Theo’s reaction to the wrong Gordon Garrell shirt should also be part of it. And just as much because of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s game as because of the brilliant work of the costume designers who have done every single detail of the shirt perfectly.
Warner was found dead on Sunday. He had accidentally drowned while swimming in the sea. He was only 54 years old. His acting career began at the age of 12 with a appearance in a episode of the crime series “Matt Houston” and lasted until the end of his life. It was only in spring in several episodes of the drama “Alert: Missing Person’s Unit” on Fox. He appeared in sitcoms, dramas and occasionally in films. It was a calming appearance on the screen. Someone who had the feeling that someone came into the picture who knew what he was doing.
Theo and Cliff: A perfect duo
But both in life and in his much too early death, he will always remain associated with “The Cosby Show” and their difficult legacy. On the one hand, the series was one of the largest television successes ever. A pop -cultural phenomenon and a milestone for a medium that has a long and problematic story in dealing with the presentation of black characters.
On the other hand, it was co -developed by Bill Cosby, occupied with him and named after him. The man who was accused by more than 60 women to have put them under drugs and sexually abused them. Cosby was convicted of multiple abuse in 2018. These judgments were later canceled for procedural reasons. Even if individual episodes are digitally available and repetitions are devoted to a few cable broadcasters, it has largely disappeared from the collective memory. What is understandable. But unfortunately also means that the contributions of everyone involved also have been forgotten in addition to Cosby.
Warner’s own legacy is particularly hard. Because Theo was ultimately the best comedic counterpart for Cliff. The Huxtafles was loose on Cosby’s own family. And Cosby’s son Ennis (who also died far too early) was the family member, whom Cosby mentioned most frequently in his stand-up appearances. The most famous moment of the pilot sequence of “The Cosby Show” is the scene in which Theo explains to his father that he does not want to go to college. But simply be “a normal person”.
Schauspiel art with 14
Cliff displaces his son’s argument bit by bit. With a loud laughter and stormy applause from the studio audience. It was already clear that the interaction between Cliff and his arrogant son would represent an inexhaustible source of humor. Anyone who looks at Warner’s best moments in the series today cannot avoid seeing Cosby at their side.
In “A Shirt Story” there are many scenes between the two. Starting with cliffs, horror about the price of the real Gordon Garrell shirt up to his amusement amazement when he sees what a chaos denise did. But the scene that everyone remembers belongs exclusively to the Huxtable children. Theo has fully trusted Denise. Because he loves her. And because he is young and naive enough to believe that Denise can do everything if she claims it only confidently enough. Shame about the unsuccessful result is all the strange because everything went from a sincere belief.
Most of the time, however, it is Warner who carries the scene over the shirt with an epic freak. As Denise suggests that it may look better if Theo plug it a little more, he screams – through teeth bitten together -: “It is in my socks!” An incredible line. Masterfully presented. A performance that a 14-year-old would not expect. Even if this is staged by a future member of the Television Hall of Fame like Jay Sandrich. But Warner delivers.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was still pure magic
The episode even offers a happy ending for the battered Theo. Cliff confesses that he held back the real gartrell shirt because he knew that Denise would fail because of her task. Theo runs to change – not knowing that Michelle and her friends are already waiting in the living room. His reaction, when he was caught in underwear by the girl he wanted to impress, is another brilliant slapstick insert from Warner. But in the end it is not necessary: Michelle thinks the fake shirt finds a surprisingly great manner and is looking forward to going out with the good-looking boy. It almost seems as if the creative team had guessed how brilliant Warner can be in the worst moments – and in the end granted him a little victory as a reward.
When the terrible news of Warner’s death came, I saw the episode for the first time since the many allegations against Cosby. It was not always easy to look at them because so much stressful is associated with Cosby. But Malcolm-Jamal Warner was still pure magic. I am glad that I could remember it. I just hate that this reason was needed.