Andre Braugher, two-time Emmy-winning actor of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, has died at the age of 61. The actor died on Monday following a brief illness, his longtime publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed to Rolling Stone.
Braugher was known for his dynamic role as Detective Frank Pembleton in NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street, where he starred in the series from 1992 to 1998. His portrayal earned him an Emmy Award in 1998, and two Television Critics Association Awards in 1997 and 1998 for Best Actor in a Drama Series. He met his wife, actress Ami Brabson, on the set of the show, and the couple had three sons, Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley.
Following Homicide, Braugher featured in several television shows, including ABC’s Gideon’s Crossing, CBS’ Hack and TNT’s Men of a Certain Age, and earned his second Emmy for the FX miniseries Thief.
When Braugher entered comedy and played captain Raymond Holt for Brooklyn Nine-Nine alongside Andy Samberg, his portrayal brought him another four Emmy nominations for supporting actor in comedy. The series ended its eight-season run in 2021.
Born in Chicago on July 1, 1962, Braugher graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre. He later attended Juilliard School and earned a Masters of Fine Arts. Braugher featured in his first film for 1989’s Glory as Thomas Searle, a free Black man who joins the Union Army’s first black regiment. That year, ABC revived Kojak for a television movie remake and Braugher played Kojak’s sidekick, Winston Blake.
In the early Nineties, Braugher was cast as Detective Pembleton for Homicide: Life on the Street — the actor was praised for his performance in the breakout role and the show ran for seven seasons. He went on to be nominated four times for his character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and he earned two more of his 11 total nominations as Owen in the sitcom Men of a Certain Age — he starred in the comedy with Ray Romano and Scott Bakula as three best friends traversing their late forties.
Braugher had recently featured in Season 6 of The Good Fight and was set to co-star with Uzo Aduba and Susan Kelechi Watson in Netflix’s murder mystery The Residence.
