André Braugher​ Dead At 61

LOS ANGELES — André Braugher, the two-time Emmy winner known for his roles in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Homicide: Life on The Street" died Monday. He was 61.

Braugher died after a brief illness, his publicist, Jennifer Allen, told The Associated Press. No further details were given.

Born and raised in Chicago, Braugher graduated from Stanford and got a master of fine arts degree from Juilliard.

He had his breakthrough role in 1989’s “Glory,” starring alongside Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, who won an Oscar for the film about an all-Black Army regiment during the Civil War.

Despite the part, Braugher told The Associated Press in 2019 that he struggled to find work in a Hollywood where roles for African American actors were "few and far between. Period."

But he would establish himself with the role of Detective Frank Pembleton, which he would play for seven seasons in "Homicide: Life on the Street," a gritty police drama on NBC based on a book by David Simon, who would go on to create "The Wire."

Years later he would play a very different kind of cop on a very different kind of show, shifting to comedy as Capt. Ray Holt on the Andy Samberg-starring Fox series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." It would run for eight seasons from 2013 to 2021.

"I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent," Terry Crews, who co-starred alongside Braugher on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as Sgt. Terry Jeffords, said in a social media post.

"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. Rest In Peace, Andre. I love you, man."

Those behind the camera for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" also took to social media to pay tribute to Braugher.

"One of my other favorite memories was me, him and Terry Crews talking on set," Prentice Penny, who was a consulting and co-executive producer on the show, posted. "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.'"

Ryan Case, a director and editor for the show, described Braugher as an "amazing man who was so immensely talented and kind to me."

"If there weren’t men like Andre in this business I probably would’ve quit it a long time ago," she posted. "The world is worse without him."

Braugher won two career Emmys from 11 nominations.

He recently appeared in the television show "The Good Fight" and "She Said," a film about the reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal, in which he played The New York Times' former executive editor, Dean Baquet.

"This is impossible for me to process," Mike Royce — who co-created the TNT series "Men of a Certain Age," starring Braugher, Ray Romano and Scott Bakula — said in a social media post. "He was best actor in the world. An incredible human being. An incomprehensible loss."

Braugher was married for more than 30 years to his “Homicide” co-star Ami Brabson. He is also survived by sons Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley, his brother, Charles Jennings, and his mother, Sally Braugher.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.