Beloved actor and longtime NJ resident, Andre Braugher, mourned after death at 61
💠 Braugher is mourned at the age of 61
💠 Raised his family in North Jersey
💠 Actor commuted to Hollywood, as needed
Actor Andre Braugher, a longtime New Jersey resident, has been mourned as a favorite among fans and peers since his death on Monday.
The 61-year-old, two-time Emmy winner had dealt with a “brief illness,” according to multiple reports.
Braugher and his wife moved to South Orange in 1998, where their three sons grew up, according to the New York Times.
He would commute to Hollywood and film sets as needed — including 40 cross-country trips while starring in the ABC medical drama, “Gideon’s Crossing.”
Of their New Jersey suburban life, Braugher told the NY Times in 2002 that his wife had found their new hometown when he resisted moving from the West Coast to New York City.
"She found this town. We have friends who moved here, and they raved about the town. So she scouted it out and she was thrilled about it. If she wants to live here, I want to live here,” Braugher said in the profile piece called “'Starring, and Commuting."
Braugher even took the stage for a local, live audience in 2019, starring in a play at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, as covered by New Jersey Monthly.
While talking about that project, the actor said a bike ride in New Jersey could be “shockingly beautiful.”
Amid a career of more than 100 TV and film credits — Braugher was well-known as detective Frank Pembleton on "Homicide: Life on the Street.”
The series ran from 1993 to 1998 and was also adapted for a 2000 made-for-TV movie.
He co-starred on “Men of a Certain Age,” alongside Ray Romano and Scott Bakula.
The actor did a stint on “House,” the medical drama set in New Jersey — and was featured in the sixth and final season of the legal drama “The Good Fight” on Paramount Plus.
Braugher was also well beloved to fans and co-workers as Capt. Ray Holt on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which wrapped its eight-season run in 2021.
Castmates have written tributes on Instagram, including “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” co-star Terry Crews, who mourned Braugher as an “irreplaceable talent.”
“This hurts. You left us too soon. You taught me so much. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing you. Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your kindness and your friendship,” Crews shared. He added, “Deepest condolences to your wife and family in this difficult time. You showed me what a life well lived looks like.”
Fellow castmate Joe Lo Truglio, who played Charles Boyle on the same show, sent love to Braugher’s wife and sons, “who he loved very much and flew back every weekend from the show to be with.”
Braugher was also captivating in films like “Glory,” “Primal Fear” and “The Mist.”
Off-set, the native of Chicago, Illinois, embraced his time as a PTA parent for his sons’ schools, according to the same 2002 NY Times interview.
"I'm an East Coast kind of guy.... I like a city. I like running into people, the hurly-burly. Once you move West, things become either homogenized or segregated," Brauer said, from a table at a diner in Essex County.
The first five seasons of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” aired on Fox, which has issued a statement saying that the sudden loss of Braugher was devastating.
“He will most certainly be remembered for his iconic comedic and dramatic roles across both film and television, but he will be remembered mostly for his big heart, kindness and the lasting impact he made on his friends, family and fans everywhere,” Fox said on X, formerly Twitter.
It continued, “Andre was the heart and soul of the ‘Nine-Nine’ and will forever be our Captain. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Andre’s family and loved ones at this time.”
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