The entertainment industry has lost another great with the passing of Andre Braugher, who proved more than capable of both comedy and drama with roles across the large and small screens. The actor, known for Homicide: Life on the Streets and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has passed away at the age of 61.
Andre Braugher died on Monday, December 11, according to THR, citing confirmation from the actor's publicist, Jennifer Allen. No details are currently available about his cause of death other than that it followed a brief illness. The Chicago native is survived by his wife Ami Brabson, as well as his three children. He was most recently seen on screen in Paramount+'s The Good Fight.
After attending Juilliard School for drama, the actor first made a name for himself in the entertainment industry in the late 1980s. He starred in a series of Kojak television films, with the first two releasing in 1989. He also made his theatrical debut in the same year as part of the cast of the Academy Award-winning Glory, also starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman.
Braugher continued to appear in films for the rest of his career, with his final movie role in She Said back in 2022. He may be best remembered for his work in television, however. After starring in a number of TV movies, he landed the role of Detective Frank Pendleton on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993, and he would star in the first six of the show's seven seasons as well as return for the movie that followed the series finale. He crossed over to Law & Order as Frank Pendleton in 1996.
The actor continued to land ongoing roles on the small screen, including Gideon's Crossing from 2000-2001, Hack from 2002-2004, Men of a Certain Age from 2009-2011, Last Resort from 2012-2013, and Law & Order: SVU in six episodes from 2011-2015. He did not play Detective Frank Pendleton on SVU despite portraying his longtime Homicide character on the original Law & Order nearly two decades earlier.
It was in 2013 that he landed his most iconic role other than Homicide: Life on the Street, and he was once again playing a member of the police force. Captain Raymond Holt was certainly not just another version of Frank Pendleton, however. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a police procedural comedy that ran for eight seasons, with the first five airing on Fox and the final three on NBC before ending in late 2021. Braugher was a series regular and fan-favorite for the full run of the series. Following the sitcom, he would go on to play the straight man again for The Good Fight.
Throughout the course of his career, Andre Braugher was nominated for an impressive eleven Emmys, including twice in the same year when he was an Outstanding Lead Actor nominee for Homicide: Life on the Streets and Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Miniseries or a Special nominee for Tuskegee Airmen, both in 1996. The actor would go on to win two Emmys: first in the Lead Actor category for his work as Frank Pembleton on Homicide in 1998, and then Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2006 for Thief.
Andre Braugher leaves behind a strong legacy of drama and laughter across film and television over the more than three decades of his career. Our thoughts here at CinemaBlend are with the family, friends, and loved ones of Andre Braugher in this difficult time.
