Andre Braugher diagnosed with lung cancer months before death

AFP

Emmy-winning actor Andre Braugher, best known for two television roles playing cops - one dramatic, the other comedic - was diagnosed with lung cancer months before his death this week at age 61, his publicist said on Thursday.

Braugher, who made his 1989 film debut in the Civil War drama Glory, playing a corporal in an all-Black Union Army infantry regiment, died on Monday after what his publicist, Jennifer Allen, originally described only as a brief illness.

She revealed on Thursday that he died of lung cancer just a few months after doctors diagnosed the disease in him.

Braugher co-starred alongside Andy Samberg in the TV police satire Brooklyn Nine-Nine for eight seasons, from 2013 through 2021, in the role of Captain Ray Holt, for which he received four Emmy nominations and two Critics Choice awards as best supporting actor in a comedy series.

In his role as a buttoned-down commanding officer known for deadpan one-liners, he was frequently the "straight man" of the comedic ensemble, once saying in an interview: "I feel like all these incredible comedians are the kites and I'm the string."

He had established himself as a dramatic actor playing hard-charging Baltimore police detective Frank Pembleton in NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street from 1992 to 1998, a breakout role for which he won his first Emmy in 1998, for lead actor in a drama series.

The Chicago-born, Julliard-trained performer also won an Emmy for lead actor in a miniseries in 2006 for the role of Nick Atwater in Thief.

Braugher was a regular on stage at the New York Shakespeare Festival, winning an off-Broadway Obie Award in 1997 for the title role in Henry V. He also played in Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night and As You Like It.

His most recent film role was as New York Times Editor Dean Baquet in She Said, a dramatisation of the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning work exposing the sexual abuse and harassment of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

More from Entertainment

Coming Up on Dubai Eye

  • The Score

    7:00pm - 9:00pm

    Hosted by Chris McHardy, The Score is your comprehensive guide to the world of sport.

  • The Music Mix

    9:00pm - 11:00pm

    Enjoy your favourite music back to back commercial free, tune in to the Music Mix everyday from 1 until 2 for the music you love and the news updates you need

BUSINESS BREAKFAST LATEST

On Dubai Eye

  • Is There Sufficient House Supply In UAE

    Dubai’s current population is more than double compared to almost twenty years ago, which now stands at 3.7 million. Lots of families are also moving to the UAE now. So what does it mean for the property market?

  • Noon's First Female Delivery Driver

    Glory Ehirim Nkiruka is Noon’s first ever female delivery driver. In her first ever interview, she explained why she loves her job, despite the heat!