Getty Andre Braugher.
Andre Braugher, the “Homicide: Life On The Street” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor, is dead at the age of 61.
His cause of death was lung cancer, Variety reported. The diagnosis was recent, according to Variety.
His cause of death was previously given only as a “brief illness” by his rep, according to TMZ. Braugher’s publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death to Variety.
Deadline reported that Braugher died on Monday, December 11, 2023, although news of his death broke publicly on December 12.
Braugher’s last Instagram post, in July, was about a theater production. The page gives no sense that Braugher had health struggles.
“It was clear by that time that guys like me have bull’s-eyes on our back,” he told Variety in 2020, referring to a play that was shut down due to COVID-19 concerns. “I’m 58, I’m overweight, I have high blood pressure, so it was just time to bow out.”
Here’s what you need to know:
‘This Hurts,’ Actor Terry Crews Wrote of Andre Braugher’s Death
GettyAndre Braugher.
Terry Crews appeared in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” with Braugher. He posted a tribute to Braugher on Facebook.
“Can’t believe you’re gone so soon. I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent,” Crews wrote.
From the HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET pilot. Our first real look at the mercurial Frank Pembleton, played so magnificently by Andre Braugher. May he rest in peace. I’ll likely be posting more of his standout scenes from Homicide in the coming days. He’s a legend.
“This hurts. You left us too soon. You taught me so much. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing you. Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your kindness and your friendship. Deepest condolences to your wife and family in this difficult time. You showed me what a life well lived looks like. Rest In Peace, Andre. I love you, man. 😢❤️”
Braugher famously played law enforcement roles on TV: Detective Frank Pembleton on “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1998 and Captain Raymond Holt on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” from 2013-2021.
Andre Braugher Leaves Behind a Wife & 3 Sons
GettyAmi Brabson and Andre Braugher.
According to Deadline, Braugher is survived by his wife, actress Ami Brabson and three sons: Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley. Brabson is also a cabaret singer and has starred in theater productions.
Brabson and Braugher married in 1991, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2020, Braugher told Variety, “Everything’s new. I’d never done it before. Am I any good? I remember turning to my wife and asking her, ‘Is this funny?’ And she said, ‘Yes, of course, you’re not being deceived.’ But I kept looking at it, saying to myself, is this good? I couldn’t really judge.”
Andre Braugher Once Said the Public Gets Its Information ‘About the State of Policing’ From Televised ‘Cop Shows’
GettyAndre Braugher.
Braugher also spoke about playing a police officer in the Variety interview:
I look up after all these decades of playing these characters, and I say to myself, it’s been so pervasive that I’ve been inside this storytelling, and I, too, have fallen prey to the mythology that’s been built up. It’s almost like the air you breathe or the water that you swim in. It’s hard to see. But because there are so many cop shows on television, that’s where the public gets its information about the state of policing.
He added: “Cops breaking the law to quote, ‘defend the law,’ is a real terrible slippery slope. It has given license to the breaking of law everywhere, justified it and excused it. That’s something that we’re going to have to collectively address — all cop shows.”
Braugher was a two-time Emmy award winner, earning the honor of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2006 for his role as Nick Atwater on the FX crime drama “Thief” and a 1998 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series award for his work on “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He received nine additional nominations between 1996 and 2020.
Public records show Braugher and his family lived in New Jersey.
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