Andre Braugher, star of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and ‘Men of a Certain Age,’ dies at 61

Andre Braugher, who captivated television audiences in the gritty crime drama “Homicide: Life on the Street” and cop comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” among other standout roles, has died. He was 61.

The two-time Emmy winner died Monday after a brief illness, his publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

Braugher earned a permanent place on the honor roll of iconic TV detectives with his portrayal of the intense, no-nonsense Frank Pembleton on the groundbreaking series “Homicide: Life on the Street.” That role on the Baltimore-set drama, which ran from 1993 to 1999, earned him rave reviews and an Emmy Award for lead actor in a drama. He later added a second Emmy statuette for his rare turn as a baddie in the 2006 FX miniseries “Thief.”

Born July 1, 1962, in Chicago, Braugher kicked off a career largely defined by law enforcement roles playing Det. Winston Blake in a series of TV movies inspired by the popular 1970s series “Kojak” in 1989 and 1990, starring opposite Telly Savalas as a young colleague of the New York police officer.

Indeed, though he made a mark in films — from the Academy Award-winning “Glory” (1989), starring alongside Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick as a Union corporal in the Civil War, to last year’s “She Said,” as New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet — it was on television that Braugher became a household name.

In addition to his work on “Homicide,” he appeared in series such as the ABC medical drama “Gideon’s Crossing,” lauded TNT dramedy “Men of a Certain Age” and, most recently, acclaimed legal procedural “The Good Fight.”

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2014 about his portrayal of Capt. Ray Holt in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Braugher said he had no problem playing the straight man while his cast mates improvised.

“I’m the string, they’re the kites,” Braugher said. “I’m really a believer in the script. I don’t want to embarrass myself by jumping out here with professional comedians trying to catch up. They’re much too swift for me. The best I can do at this moment really is to ride the rapids and try to stay afloat.”