:Andre Braugher
{{Short description|American actor (1962–2023)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Andre Braugher
| image = JeorgeBennettWatsonWilliamstown-cropped.jpg
| caption = Braugher in 2019
| birth_name = Andre Keith Braugher
| birth_date = {{birth date|1962|7|1}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|12|11|1962|7|1}}
| death_place =
| education = Stanford University (BA)
Juilliard School (GrDip)
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1988–2023
| spouse = {{marriage|Ami Brabson|1991}}
| children = 3
}}
Andre Keith Braugher ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|aʊ|.|ər}} {{respell|BROW|ər}}; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the Fox/NBC police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.
Braugher started his acting career as part of The Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park, appearing in Much Ado About Nothing (1988), Coriolanus (1989), Twelfth Night (1996), Hamlet (2008), and As You Like It (2012). He transitioned his career into television, gaining roles in Kojak (1989–1990), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), followed by leading roles in the ABC medical series Gideon's Crossing (2000–2001), the CBS crime series Hack (2002–2004), the FX crime miniseries Thief (2006), and the TNT comedy series Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011).
Braugher's film roles include Glory (1989), Primal Fear (1996), City of Angels (1998), Frequency (2000), Duets (2000), Poseidon (2006), The Mist (2007), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Salt (2010), The Gambler (2014), and She Said (2022). He also had supporting roles in series such as The Good Fight, House, New Girl, and BoJack Horseman.
Early life
Andre Keith Braugher was born in Chicago on July 1, 1962, the son of Sally and Floyd Braugher, a postal worker and heavy-equipment operator.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/andre-braugher-dead-homicide-life-on-the-street-brooklyn-nine-nine-actor-1235665513/ |work=Deadline |title=André Braugher Dies: Star Of 'Homicide: Life On The Street', 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' & Other Series And Films Was 61 |first1=Mike Jr. |last1=Fleming |date=December 12, 2023}} Andre had three older siblings{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/arts/television/andre-braugher-dead.html|title = Andre Braugher, Actor on 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide,' Dies at 61|last1 = Williams|first1 = Alex|last2 = Ives|first2 = Mike|date = December 12, 2023|newspaper = The New York Times|accessdate = December 12, 2023|url-access = limited}} and was raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago.{{Cite news |last=Rodrick |first=Stephen |date=October 3, 2014 |title=Andre Braugher, the Undercover Comedian of 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/magazine/andre-braugher-the-undercover-comedian-of-brooklyn-nine-nine.html |access-date=November 5, 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/andre-braugher-star-homicide-brooklyn-014341100.html |publisher=TVLine.com
|title=Andre Braugher, Star of Homicide and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Dead at 61 |first1=Dave |last1=Nemetz |date=December 12, 2023}} He attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2021 |title=Braugher '80 Profiled on Acting Career |url=https://www.ignatius.org/news-detail?pk=1160169&fromId=252153 |access-date=June 6, 2022 |publisher=Saint Ignatius College Prep |language=en}} and earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University. Initially majoring in engineering, Braugher found that he enjoyed acting and graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984.{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Frazier |title=Andre Braugher steals the show on 'Thief' |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/andre-braugher-steals-show-thief-wbna11980165 |access-date=December 13, 2023 |work=Today|publisher=National Broadcasting Company |date=March 23, 2006}} He then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division, graduating in 1988.{{cite web |first=Glenn |last=Collins |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/26/arts/glory-resurrects-its-black-heroes.html |title='Glory' Resurrects Its Black Heroes |date=March 26, 1989 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 19, 2019}}
Career
File:Andre Braugher (48591893381).jpg
Braugher's first film role was in the 1989 film Glory as Thomas Searles, a free, educated black man from the North who joins the first black regiment in the Union Army.{{cite web|first1=Michaela|last1=Zee|first2=Pat |last2=Saperstein|title=Andre Braugher, 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide: Life on the Street' Star, Dies at 61|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/andre-braugher-dead-brooklyn-nine-nine-1235835771/|website=Variety|date=December 12, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}} He played Kojak's sidekick in the late 1980s ABC television film revival of Kojak. He subsequently moved on to a role on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street as Detective Frank Pembleton, a self-righteous, fiery, unyielding, Jesuit-educated police detective. Braugher won Television Critics Association awards for individual achievement in drama in 1997 and 1998.{{cite news |last1=Cain |first1=Sian |last2=Sun |first2=Michael |title=Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor, dies aged 61 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/13/andre-braugher-dies-cause-of-death-illness-61-brooklyn-nine-nine |access-date=December 13, 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=December 12, 2023}} He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and 1998, winning in the latter year.{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17 |work=Jet |date=September 28, 1998 |page=17 |volume=94 |number=18 |title=Andre Braugher Wins Top Honor at Prime Time Emmy Awards |accessdate=December 13, 2023}} He left Homicide after its sixth season but returned for the reunion television film. He also co-starred in the films City of Angels, Frequency, and Poseidon.
In 1997, he was selected by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World".{{cite web |url=https://people.com/archive/andre-braugher-vol-47-no-18/ |title=Andre Braugher |date=May 12, 1997 |work=People |access-date=January 19, 2019}}
As part of the Shakespeare in the Park series at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's Central Park, Braugher played the title role in the 1996 production of Henry V, for which he received an Obie Award.{{cite news |last1=Dasrath |first1=Diana |last2=Romero |first2=Dennis |title=Andre Braugher, 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide: Life on the Street' actor, dead at 61 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/andre-braugher-actor-brooklyn-nine-nine-homicide-dead-rcna129429 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |work=NBC News |date=December 12, 2023}} In 2000, he played the title role as Ben Gideon in the series Gideon's Crossing, which lasted one season. In 2002, Braugher narrated the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, produced by Unity Productions Foundation.{{cite web |title=Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet – Full Credits |url=https://www.pbs.org/muhammad/film_fullcredits.shtml |website=PBS |access-date=December 12, 2023}} He narrated The Murder of Emmett Till for PBS.{{cite news |last1=Leydon |first1=Joe |title=The Murder of Emmett Till |url=https://variety.com/2003/film/reviews/the-murder-of-emmett-till-1200544046/ |access-date=December 12, 2023 |work=Variety |date=January 16, 2003}} He played Detective Marcellus Washington in the TV series Hack from 2002 to 2004.
{{Cite web |url=http://www.cbs.com/primetime/hack/cast02.shtml |title=Andre Braugher as Marcellus Washington |website=CBS |access-date=July 25, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225053125/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/hack/cast02.shtml |archive-date=December 25, 2005 |url-status=dead}}
File:Andre Braugher 2011 (cropped).jpg
In 2006, Braugher starred as Nick Atwater in the miniseries Thief for FX Networks, winning a second Emmy for his performance. He portrayed General Hager in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Braugher appeared on the TV series House, M.D. as Dr. Darryl Nolan, a psychiatrist who helps House recover from his addiction to Vicodin. He also appeared in the TNT series Men of a Certain Age, for which he was nominated twice as Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He also voiced the villain Darkseid in the animated film, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.{{Cite web |last=White |first=Cindy |date=July 7, 2010 |title=DC's Superman/Batman: Apocalypse First Look |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/07/07/dcs-supermanbatman-apocalypse-first-look |access-date=December 13, 2023 |website=IGN |language=en}} He took supporting roles in the science fiction film The Mist (2007), the mystery film Passengers (2008), and the action thriller Salt (2010).
Braugher acted in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of the Matthew Lopez play The Whipping Man, off-Broadway, for a limited run from January–March 2011. Braugher co-starred alongside Andre Holland. Marilyn Stasio of Variety described the play as "genuinely moving and Braugher captures the moment with his thrilling evocation of Simon's pride and joy and hope".{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/2011/legit/reviews/the-whipping-man-2-1117944477/|title= The Whipping Man|website= Variety|date= February 2, 2011|accessdate= December 13, 2023}} He narrated the introduction to the Olympic Games on NBC from 2006 to 2010.{{Cite web |last=Perrone |first=Kristen |date=February 10, 2018 |title=The Olympics Opening Ceremony Began With A 'This Is Us' Actor & Fans Are So Excited |url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/whos-narrating-the-olympics-opening-video-sterling-k-brown-has-fans-freaking-out-8184178 |access-date=December 13, 2023 |website=Elite Daily |language=en}} Braugher narrated James Patterson's Alex Cross book Cross Fire (2010).{{cite book |title=Cross Fire by James Patterson |url=https://www.audible.com/pd/Cross-Fire-Audiobook/B0049WFH08 |publisher=Amazon |access-date=December 12, 2023}} Audible (website).
Braugher had a recurring role as defense attorney Bayard Ellis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2011 to 2015,{{Cite web |last=Mitovich |first=Matt Webb |date=December 6, 2011 |title=Law & Order: SVU Preview: Treat Williams Talks About Tackling an 'Extraordinary' Episode |url=https://tvline.com/interviews/law-order-svu-season-13-episode-10-treat-williams-277597/ |access-date=December 13, 2023 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}} and starred as the lead character, Capt. Marcus Chaplin, in ABC's 2012 military drama TV series Last Resort.{{cite news |last1=Tinoco |first1=Armando |title=Remembering André Braugher: A Film & TV Career In Photos |url=https://deadline.com/gallery/andre-braugher-film-tv-career-photos/henry-v-andre-braugher-ph-michal-daniel-1996/ |access-date=December 13, 2023 |work=Deadline |date=December 12, 2023}} In 2017, Braugher had a recurring role in season four of the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman as California Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz.{{cite news |last1=Seitz |first1=Matt Zoller |title=The Fourth Season of BoJack Horseman Is a Marvel of Melancholy |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/bojack-horseman-season-four-review.html |access-date=December 12, 2023 |work=Vulture |date=September 15, 2017}} From 2013 to 2021, he starred in the Golden Globe-winning TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine as the precinct captain, Raymond Holt. For his performance in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Braugher was cast as Chief Usher A. B. Wynter in Netflix's The Residence, but he died after more than half his scenes had been filmed resulting in the role having to be recast and refilmed. The series was dedicated to Braugher's memory.{{Cite web |last=Gao |first=Max |date=March 23, 2025 |title=‘The Residence’ Creator on Casting Al Franken (but Not Hugh Jackman!), a Possible Season 2 and Losing Andre Braugher: ‘We All Loved Him and He Loved the Show’ |url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/the-residence-killer-explained-recasting-andre-braugher-season-2-1236345508/ |access-date=March 30, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
Personal life and death
In 1991, Braugher married actress Ami Brabson, who later appeared as Frank Pembleton's wife Mary in Homicide: Life on the Street.{{cite book |last1=Otfinoski |first1=Steven |title=African Americans in the Performing Arts |date=May 14, 2014 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0776-9 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gtKKftZw2cC&pg=PA27 |language=en}} They had three sons, Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley, and lived in New Jersey.
Braugher died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 61. His death was attributed to lung cancer, with which he had been diagnosed a few months prior.{{cite news |last1=Salam |first1=Maya |title=Andre Braugher Died of Lung Cancer, His Publicist Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/arts/television/andre-braugher-cause-of-death-lung-cancer.html |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=December 14, 2023}}{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/andre-braugher-cause-of-death-lung-cancer-1235838559/ |title=Andre Braugher's Cause of Death Revealed as Lung Cancer |first1=Zack |last1=Sharf |work=Variety |date=December 14, 2023}} Braugher had previously been a smoker, but quit in 2010. Following his death, many of his co-stars expressed gratitude for his warmth, kindness, and talent as an actor. The Classical Theater of Harlem dedicated its 2024 season to Braugher's memory; Braugher had served as Vice Chairman of the company and had been a longtime trustee.{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Margaret |date=2023-12-27 |title=Classical Theatre of Harlem Dedicates 2024 Season to Andre Braugher |url=https://playbill.com/article/classical-theatre-of-harlem-dedicates-2024-season-to-andre-braugher |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240107163701/https://playbill.com/article/classical-theatre-of-harlem-dedicates-2024-season-to-andre-braugher |archive-date=2024-01-07 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Playbill |language=en-US}}
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
Theatre
Awards and nominations
References
= Explanatory notes =
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}
= Citations =
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite book |last1=Kalat |first1=David P. |year=1998 |title='Homicide: Life on the Streets': The Unofficial Companion |volume=1 |edition=Illustrated |location=Los Angeles; New York |publisher=Renaissance Books |isbn=9781580630214 |language=English}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0105672}}
- {{IOBDB name|5000}}
- {{Discogs artist|Andre Braugher}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Andre Braugher
| list =
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series}}
{{Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series}}
{{EmmyAward DramaLeadActor 1976-2000}}
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor 2001-2025}}
{{TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama}}
{{TCA Career Achievement Award}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braugher, Andre}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:20th-century Unitarians
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:21st-century Unitarians
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American Unitarian Universalists
Category:Juilliard School alumni
Category:Male actors from Chicago
Category:Male actors from New Jersey
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Actors from South Orange, New Jersey
Category:St. Ignatius College Prep alumni
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:20th-century African-American male actors