Brooklyn Nine-nine Actor Andre Braugher Passes Away at 61; cause of death

61-year-old Emmy-winning actor Andre Braugher passed away on Monday. He was famous for playing icy cops on the television series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Homicide: Life on the Street.” As his longtime spokesperson Jennifer Allen confirmed his death on Tuesday, the New Jersey resident passed away following a brief illness, according to her. She offered no further details.

Mr. Braugher’s breakout role was in the crime drama “Homicide,” which followed police in a city plagued with killings in the 1990s. During the last few years of his life, he was a serious police officer on the series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” but he played the character for laughs because the show was a comedy. His portrayal of a gay police officer who refused to conform to stereotypes was also commended.

A wide variety of characters were portrayed by him, including Henry V from Shakespeare, an automobile salesman named Owen Thoreau Jr., and an executive editor of the New York Times involved with the investigative research that would lead to the #MeToo movement.

In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, David Simon—a former Baltimore Sun writer and author of the book “Homicide”—referenced his work with many great performers. Simon went on to develop the groundbreaking crime drama “The Wire” in the years before to this. “An improved collaborator will never be found.”

Andre Keith Braugher was born on July 1, 1962, on the West Side of Chicago. His mother, Sally Braugher, was employed by the US Postal Service. His father, Floyd Braugher, operated heavy machinery for the Illinois state government. He told the New York Times in 2014 that they lived in a ghetto.

“I could have pretended I was hard or tough and not a square. I wound up not getting in trouble. I don’t consider myself to be especially wise, but I will say that it’s pretty clear that some people want to get out and some people don’t. I wanted out.” After graduating from the exclusive Chicago Jesuit Catholic high school St. Ignatius College Prep, Mr. Braugher was awarded a full academic scholarship to attend Stanford University.

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As a result of his son’s decision to pursue acting rather than engineering, his father was understandably upset. At that time, he was told, “Show me Black actors who are earning a living.” He attended Stanford University and graduated with a degree in mathematics; he then obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School, and the question he asked was, “What am I going to do, juggle and travel the country?”

His first professional acting appearance was in 1989’s Academy Award-winning film, Glory, which was about African American soldiers serving in the Union army during the American Civil War. Among its star-studded cast members were Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick, and Morgan Freeman.

“I’d rather not work than do a part I’m ashamed of,” Mr. Braugher told The Times that year. “I can tell you now that my mother will be proud of me when she sees me in this role.” Mr. Braugher, who adamantly preferred to reside in New Jersey despite frequently working in California, would thereafter appear in a plethora of more films.

“Get on the Bus” (1996) follows a group of Black men traveling to Washington, DC, for the Million Man March. “City of Angels” (1998) depicts an angel (Nicolas Cage) who develops feelings for a doctor (Meg Ryan). A thriller titled “She Said” (2022), which Mr. Braugher has recently developed, follows the lives of New York Times journalists who attempt to expose Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse.

A Shakespearean role has also been performed by Mr. Braugher at several venues, including the New York Shakespeare Festival. At the time, Mr. Braugher played Mr. Baquet, the executive editor of the newspaper. He revealed in 2014 to The Times that he had planned to write the play “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” for a later date.

He explained, “I haven’t read it because I want to see one Shakespeare play I do not know how it will turn out.” Mr. Braugher’s mother, brother Charles Jennings, wife Ami Brabson, and children Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley will carry on his legacy, according to Ms. Allen.

According to Deadline, his most recent project, The Residence, a miniseries about a murder in the White House, was scheduled to resume production in January after being suspended due to the Writers Guild of America strike. It was unclear whether he would be recast or written off.