Andre Braugher
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Andre Keith Braugher ( ; 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 ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'' (2013–2021). He won two
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
and was nominated for two
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
. 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 ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' (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), ''
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'' (2000), '' Duets'' (2000), '' Poseidon'' (2006), '' The Mist'' (2007), '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' (2007), ''
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'' (2010), '' The Gambler'' (2014), and '' She Said'' (2022). He also had supporting roles in series such as '' The Good Fight'', ''
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'', '' New Girl'', and ''
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''.


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. Andre had three older siblings and was raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school and earned a scholarship to attend
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. Initially majoring in engineering, Braugher found that he enjoyed acting and graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984. He then attended the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
's Drama Division, graduating in 1988.


Career

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. 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,
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-educated police detective. Braugher won Television Critics Association awards for individual achievement in drama in 1997 and 1998. 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. He left ''Homicide'' after its sixth season but returned for the reunion
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
. He also co-starred in the films '' City of Angels'', ''
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'', and '' Poseidon''. In 1997, he was selected by ''
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'' as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World". As part of the Shakespeare in the Park series at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's
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, Braugher played the title role in the 1996 production of '' Henry V'', for which he received an
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
. 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. He narrated ''The Murder of
Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African American youth, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, ...
'' for PBS. He played Detective Marcellus Washington in the TV series '' Hack'' from 2002 to 2004. 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 A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
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''. He took supporting roles in the science fiction film '' The Mist'' (2007), the mystery film '' Passengers'' (2008), and the action thriller ''
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'' (2010). Braugher acted in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of the Matthew Lopez play ''The Whipping Man'',
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
, 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". He narrated the introduction to the
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on NBC from 2006 to
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. Braugher narrated James Patterson's Alex Cross book '' Cross Fire'' (2010). ''
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'' (website).
Braugher had a recurring role as defense attorney Bayard Ellis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' from 2011 to 2015, and starred as the lead character, Capt. Marcus Chaplin, in ABC's 2012 military drama TV series '' Last Resort''. In 2017, Braugher had a recurring role in season four of the
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animated series ''
BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...
'' as California Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz. From 2013 to 2021, he starred in the Golden Globe-winning TV series ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'' as the precinct captain, Raymond Holt. For his performance in ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he was nominated for four
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
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.


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''. 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. 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 Theatre 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.


Filmography


Film


Television


Theatre


Awards and nominations


References


Explanatory notes


Citations


Further reading

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braugher, Andre 1962 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Unitarians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Unitarians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American Unitarian Universalists Juilliard School alumni Male actors from Chicago Male actors from New Jersey Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Actors from South Orange, New Jersey St. Ignatius College Prep alumni Stanford University alumni 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors Deaths from lung cancer in the United States