Andre Braugher—'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide: Life on the Street'—Dead at 61

Andre Braugher

Andre Braugher—known for his roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Homicide: Life on the Street, Frequency, Mist and more—has died at age 61.

The actor died on Monday, Dec. 11, after a brief illness, multiple sources have confirmed.

Braugher was a two-time Emmy winner, snagging the honor for Homicide: Life on the Street in 1998 and the TV mini-series Thief in 2006.

Following the news of his death, fans took to social media with touching tributes. One X user wrote, "Andre Braugher was incredible on Homicide, but he was an absolute treasure as Captain Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. RIP."

Another X user posted, "rest in peace andre braugher here's one of my most favorite scenes of him on brooklyn nine-nine, thanks for the laughs andre."

Yet another person tweeted, "Get yourself a renowned Shakespearean actor for your ludicrously silly comedy, and you get scenes like this peppered in amongst the goofing and slapstick - ‘gravitas’ doesn’t even come close to describing Andre Braugher’s mastery of big speeches."

In addition to his acting career, Braugher was active in Black Lives Matter in recent years. He reflected on how portraying police officers impacted his views about real-life law enforcement officials.

“I look up after all these decades of playing these characters, and I say to myself, it’s been so pervasive that I’ve been inside this storytelling, and I, too, have fallen prey to the mythology that’s been built up,” he told Variety in 2020.

"It’s almost like the air you breathe or the water that you swim in. It’s hard to see. But because there are so many cop shows on television, that’s where the public gets its information about the state of policing," Braugher added. "Cops breaking the law to quote, ‘defend the law,’ is a real terrible slippery slope. It has given license to the breaking of law everywhere, justified it and excused it. That’s something that we’re going to have to collectively address—all cop shows."

Braugher is survived his wife, actress Ami Brabson—whom he met on the set of Homicide: Life on the Street—and his sons, Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley.

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