Andre Braugher, known for playing Captain Raymond Holt in the hit NBC comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine among other roles, has died. He was 61.
Per Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, Braugher’s death on Monday (December 11) was confirmed by his longtime rep Jennifer Allen, who also added that he passed away from a “brief illness”. He leaves behind his wife, actress Ami Brabson, and his sons, Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley.
Tributes have been pouring in from various people who worked with Braugher. Terry Crews, who played Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, took to Instagram to express his condolences. “Can’t believe you’re gone so soon,” he wrote. “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.”
Marc Evan Jackson, who played Braugher’s on-screen husband on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, simply wrote: “O Captain. My Captian.”
O Captain. My Captain. pic.twitter.com/ekGFz3EUTG
— Marc Evan Jackson (@MarcEvanJackson) December 13, 2023
Others who worked on Brooklyn Nine-Nine also paid their tributes, including Prentice Penny, who wrote for the comedy in addition to show-running Insecure. Recalling a memory on the set of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he wrote: “One of my other favorite memories was me, him and Terry Crews talking on set. He was so warm with us and then when a white person would walk by, he’d look serious again. He then leaned in and said “Gotta keep ‘em on they toes”.”
“Several members of the crew once told me they’d never seen someone smile as much as me when I was discussing Sex and the City at length over a long lunch on an empty set with Andre,” wrote Brooklyn Nine-Nine director and editor Ryan Case. “My cheeks actually hurt.”
One of my other favorite memories was me, him and Terry Crews talking on set. He was so warm with us and then when a white person would walk by, he’d look serious again. He then leaned in and said “Gotta keep ‘em on they toes.” Again, I fell out! RIP #andreBraugher
— Prentice Penny (FUX YO BLUE CHECK) (@The_A_Prentice) December 13, 2023
It makes me feel better to gush about him. Several members of the crew once told me they’d never seen someone smile as much as me when I was discussing Sex and the City at length over a long lunch on an empty set with Andre. My cheeks actually hurt.
— Ryan Case (@film114) December 13, 2023
Spider Man: Across The Spider Verse and Cocaine Bear producer Christopher Miller, who directed Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s pilot alongside frequent collaborator Phil Lord, praised Braugher’s onscreen chemistry with Samberg, writing: “He was a kind, thoughtful, supremely talented person. The way he and Andy [Samberg’s] opposite approaches to acting baffled & then slowly influenced each other was a magical dynamic that was the heart of the show.”
Sad. I got to know Andre a little while doing the Brooklyn Nine-Nine pilot. He was a kind, thoughtful, supremely talented person. The way he and Andy’s opposite approaches to acting baffled & then slowly influenced each other was a magical dynamic that was the heart of the show. https://t.co/j8Mvu86w8T
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) December 13, 2023
Mike Royce, who created Man Of A Certain Age, a drama which Braugher starred in between 2009 and 2011, called him the “best actor in the world”, adding that his untimely death was 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
Other Hollywood figures have paid their respects, including Bojack Horseman writer and producer Nick Adams. Referring to Braugher’s guest appearance on the show, he wrote: “An absolute titan. Hearing this man speak words that I wrote was an absolute high point of my career”.
Sharing a clip from the pilot of Homicide: Life On The Street, TV and comics writer Jay Faerber wrote: “May he rest in peace. I’ll likely be posting more of his standout scenes from Homicide in the coming days. He’s a legend.”
What an incredible loss. An absolute titan. Hearing this man speak words that I wrote was an absolute high point of my career. https://t.co/nN2vGGOJOD
— Nick “From the River to the Sea” Adams (@nickadamsweb) December 13, 2023
From the HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET pilot. Our first real look at the mercurial Frank Pembleton, played so magnificently by Andre Braugher. May he rest in peace. I’ll likely be posting more of his standout scenes from Homicide in the coming days. He’s a legend. pic.twitter.com/RY2WqIcX67
— Jay Faerber (@JayFaerber) December 13, 2023
Minions screenwriter Brian Lynch also wrote: “Andre Braugher’s Holt on BROOKLYN 99 was one of my favorite TV characters of all time. His deadpan delivery balanced the insanity of the show perfectly. And he was able to convey such warmth even as he was doing his masterful slow burn. May he Rest in Peace.”
Andre Braugher’s Holt on BROOKLYN 99 was one of my favorite TV characters of all time. His deadpan delivery balanced the insanity of the show perfectly. And he was able to convey such warmth even as he was doing his masterful slow burn. May he Rest in Peace. pic.twitter.com/5OL90n5miP
— Brian Lynch (@BrianLynch) December 13, 2023
Braugher was born and raised in Chicago, before he earned his bachelor’s degree in Stanford University and subsequently, his M.F.A from the Julliard School. He made his acting debut in the 1989 film, Glory, in which he played a black man who joins the first black regiment in the Union Army, playing alongside Matthew Broaderick and Denzel Washington.
Braugher’s breakout role was as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police procedural, Homicide: Life On The Street, which ran from 1993 to 1999. For the role, Braugher earned a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and two Television Critics Association Awards. Homicide: Life On The Street was also where he met his wife Ami Brabson, who had a recurring role on the show.
In the 2000s, Braugher’s career was marked by roles in films including Poseidon, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer, and Passengers, alongside starring roles in television mini-series, including 2004’s Salem’s Lot and 2006’s Thief, the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy.
Between 2013 and 2021, Braugher co-starred with Andy Samberg in the beloved NBC comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as the stoic Captain Raymond Holt. His performance earned him two Critics’ Choice Television Awards and four Primetime Emmy nominations.
Braugher’s final role was in the 2022 drama She Said, which starred Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan and was based on the 2019 book of the same name, about the New York Times journalists whose reporting sparked the #MeToo movement and resulted in the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein. In it, Braugher played journalist and editor Dean Baquet.
He was scheduled to resume shooting the Netflix murder-mystery The Residence, which had completed production for four episodes before the Writers’ Guild of America strike. While it was originally slated to restart production on January 2, it is now unclear if the show’s resumption will maintain on this date, or what the future of Braugher’s role is.
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