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LOS ANGELES — Andre Braugher, the star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street has died aged 61 following a brief illness.
Braugher often portrayed a police officer during his career, performing both in dramatic and comedic roles.
He won an Emmy in 2006 for his role in Thief, in which he played the leader of a heist crew.
Terry Crews, who played Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, paid tribute to Braugher’s “irreplaceable talent”.
“I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared eight glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent,” Crews posted on Instagram.
“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.
“You showed me what a life well lived looks like.”
Born in Chicago, Braugher graduated from Stanford University before attending The Juilliard School for drama.
He was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards — including four for his role as Captain Raymond Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Braugher’s breakthrough came in the 1989 film Glory, where he played a soldier in a black Union regiment in the American civil war.
Directed by Ed Zwick, the film also starred Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington – who won his first Academy Award for his supporting role in the film.
His television career flourished playing detective Frank Pembleton in the gritty Baltimore police show Homicide: Life on the Street, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1998.
Braugher most recently starred in She Said, the biographical drama which sees Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play the investigative journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story.
He played Dean Baquet, the New York Times executive editor who oversaw the two reporters.
The actor’s other film credits include Primal Fear, which saw him star opposite Richard Gere, Salt, with Angelina Jolie, and City of Angels, alongside Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage.
But many will remember him best for his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which saw him star alongside Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio and Melissa Fumero, playing New York police officers in Brooklyn’s fictional 99th Precinct.
David Simon, whose non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets inspired the show, said Braugher’s death was “too damn soon”.
“I’ve worked with a lot of wonderful actors. I’ll never work with one better,” Simon, who also created The Wire, said on Twitter.
Actor Marc Evan Jackson, who played Braugher’s on-screen husband in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, shared a picture of the pair hugging while on set, wearing their wedding rings.
He captioned the post on X: “O Captain. My Captain.”
Speaking to BBC News earlier this year, Homicide writer and producer Tom Fontana praised Braugher’s screen presence, charisma and energy.
“I had never seen an actor like that on television,” said Fontana. “His rhythms were so unique.”
Braugher’s other notable credits include Benjamin O Davis in Tuskegee Airmen, Dr Ben Gideon in Gideon’s Crossing — which won him a Golden Globe nomination – and Owen in Men Of A Certain Age, all roles which won him Emmy Award nominations.
Mike Royce, who co-created Men Of A Certain Age, said on Twitter: “This is impossible for me to process. He was best actor in the world. An incredible human being. An incomprehensible loss.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, he had been cast as the male lead in a Netflix-backed murder-mystery The Residence, set at the White House.
Braugher died on Monday after a brief illness, his publicist Jennifer Allen told the PA news agency.
He is survived by his wife, actress Ami Brabson, who he met on the set of Homicide, and his three sons. — BBC
