Graham Brown (October 24, 1924 – December 13, 2011) was an American actor known for his work in theatre.

Life and career

He was born Robert E. Brown in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, and was a one-time boxer. He attended

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, where he earned a BA in theater. He also studied

method acting Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...

at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

in New York. He began his career as a

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

actor at

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

, where he appeared in productions such as ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

''. Brown was an original member of Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) and played in many NEC productions, including ''Malcochon'' by

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...

, '' Ceremonies in Dark Old Men'' by Lonne Elder III, and ''District Line'' and ''The River Niger'' by Joseph A Walker. He was part of the original cast of controversial play ''Song of the Lusitanian Bogey'' by Peter Weiss, which toured Europe and was subject to a riot in a London theatre in August 1968. Graham Brown was often cast as professional and/or highly educated people such as doctors and clergymen. One of his best remembered roles was as Jared Philibert, the 50-year-old patriarch of a Caribbean-American family in Steve Carter's critically acclaimed play ''Nevis Mountain Dew''. He originated the role in NEC's Off-Broadway production and reprised the role in the West Coast premiere of the play. For the latter he received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance. Brown died on December 13, 2011, of pulmonary failure at the Lillian Booth Actors' Fund Nursing Home.

Selected credits

Theatre

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Graham Brown at the Internet Theatre DatabaseGraham Brown Papers
at Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Graham 1924 births 2011 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from New York City 20th-century African-American male actors Howard University alumni 20th-century American male actors