Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide Actor, Dies at 61

Andre Braugher, a beloved actor known for his work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, has passed away at the age of 61. The news was confirmed on the night of Monday, December 12th, with reports revealing that Braugher died earlier that day after a brief illness. Born on July 1, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, Braugher graduated with a BA in theatre from Stanford University in 1984, going on to graduate from Julliard’s Drama Division in 1988. His first onscreen role was in the Oscar-winning 1989 war drama Glory, alongside Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick.

Braugher went on to star as Detective Winston Blake in the TV movie revival of Kojak, before getting his breakout role as Detective Frank Pembleton on the NBC crime procedural Homicide: Life on the Street. Braugher starred in the role through the show’s sixth season, scoring multiple Emmy nominations, and later a win in 1998. He returned to reprise his role in 2000’s Homicide: The Movie. Around this time, he also starred in movies such as City of Angels, Frequency, and Poseidon.

“Homicide really launched my career forward,” Braugher told Variety in a 2020 interview. “In those well-written episodes that Tom and Jim Yoshimura laid out for us, I had the opportunity to create a really interesting, compelling character who was not necessarily friendly, but he was very, very good at what he was doing.”

Following Homicide: Life on the Street, Braugher’s filmography included appearances on House, Hack, Men of a Certain Age, The Mist, Salt, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He also co-starred on TNT’s Men of a Certain Age as Own Thoreau Jr., earning two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also a prolific narrator, narrating the opening of the Olympic Games from 2006 to 2010. He joined both the Marvel and DC universes throughout his tenure, portraying General Hager in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and voicing Darkseid in 2010’s Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

Braugher gained a whole new generation of fans, as well as four Emmy nominations, through his role as Captain Raymond Holt on the Fox (and later NBC) sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His later roles also included appearances on The Good Fight, Spirit Untamed, and She Said. He will posthumously appear in the upcoming Shonda Rhimes and Netflix series The Residence.

“I’ve been surprised by the youth of the audience, and how sharp and how emotionally engaged they are to the storytelling,” Braugher revealed in the same interview. “It makes me proud of the work that we’ve done collectively to tell these stories and to elicit these feelings.”

Braugher is survived by his wife, Homicide co-star Ami Brabson, who he has been married to since 1991. Braugher and Brabson have three children together.

Our thoughts are with Braugher’s family, friends, and fans at this time.