Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andre Braugher dies aged 61

The two-time Emmy winner also starred in ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and ‘Men of a Certain Age’

Andre Braugher has died. He was 61.

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star’s death on Monday (11 December) came after a brief illness, according to his long-time representative Jennifer Allen.

As well as his indelible role as Captain Raymond Holt on the much-loved police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Braugher was also well-known for his portrayal of Detective Frank Pembleton on the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street.

In 1998, Braugher won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the latter role.

In 2006, he won a second Emmy for playing heist crew leader Nick Atwater in the FX mini-series Thief.

Braugher was born in Chicago on 1 July 1962. The youngest of four children, his parents were Sally, a postal worker, and Floyd Braugher, a heavy equipment operator.

He grew up on the West Side of Chicago, attending St. Ignatius College Prep for high school and earning a scholarship to Stanford University, where he graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984. He then attended the famed Juilliard School's Drama Division, which he graduated from in 1988.

Braugher with Andy Samberg and Melissa Fumero in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (NBC)

His first film role was in 1989’s Glory, opposite Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington. Braugher played Thomas Searles, a free, educated black man from the North who joins the first black regiment in the Union Army.

Braugher’s television work included recurring appearances as defense attorney Bayard Ellis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and a voice role in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman as California Gov. Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz.

From 2009 to 2011 he starred in the TNT series Men of a Certain Age alongside Ray Romano and Scott Bakula. Braugher was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as car saleman Owen Thoreau Jr.

He also starred in the sixth and final season of Paramount+’s legal drama The Good Fight, alongside Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald, playing showman lawyer Ri’Chard Lane.

His final film role came with last year’s She Said, about the New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohy and the reporting which led to the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein. Braugher starred as former New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet.

Braugher is survived by his wife, Ami Brabson. They met when they were cast together in Homicide: Life on the Street, and married in 1991. They have three children.