The death has been announced of the American actor Andre Braugher, star of the series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, at the age of 61.
Braugher died on Monday after a brief illness, his publicist Jennifer Allen told the PA news agency.
The two-time Emmy-winning actor starred as Captain Raymond Holt in the US comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine alongside Andy Samberg and Terry Crews, playing New York police officers in Brooklyn's fictional 99th Precinct.
Braugher received an Emmy Award in 1998 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Detective Frank Pembleton in Homicide: Life on the Street, which ran from 1993 until 1999.
The actor met his wife Ami Brabson during his time in the US drama, and they later had three children.
Chicago-born Braugher won another Emmy Award in 2006 for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Mini-Series for his starring role in Thief, where he played the professional burglar Nick Atwater.
During his acclaimed career, Braugher was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards – four of which were for his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which first aired in 2013 and ended after eight seasons in 2021.
His breakout role was in the 1989 Ed Zwick-directed film Glory, starring alongside Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington. Washington won his first Academy Award for his supporting role in the film.
Other notable credits include starring as Benjamin O Davis in Tuskegee Airmen, Dr Ben Gideon in Gideon's Crossing, and Owen in Men of a Certain Age – all roles that earned Braugher Emmy Award nominations.
Paying tribute, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews wrote on Instagram: "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.
"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."
Mike Royce, who co-created Men of a Certain Age, said on X, formerly Twitter: "This is impossible for me to process. He was [the] best actor in the world. An incredible human being. An incomprehensible loss."
This is impossible for me to process. He was best actor in the world. An incredible human being. An incomprehensible loss https://t.co/778v5NGNI4
— Mike Royce (@MikeRoyce) December 13, 2023
The Wire creator David Simon, who wrote the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets on which Homicide: Life on the Street was based, wrote: "I've worked with a lot of wonderful actors. I'll never work with one better.
Andre Braugher. God.
— David Simon (@AoDespair) December 13, 2023
I've worked with a lot of wonderful actors. I'll never work with one better.
Stunned and thinking of Ami and his sons and so many memories of this good man that are now a blessing. But too damn soon.
"Stunned and thinking of Ami and his sons and so many memories of this good man that are now a blessing."
Braugher most recently starred in She Said, the biographical drama that saw 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.
Source: Press Association
