JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Andre Braugher has died after a short illness. He was 61 years old. The actor was best known for playing police officers on two long-running shows - "Homicide: Life On The Street" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has this appreciation.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Andre Braugher made a name for himself playing very serious characters, but he became well-loved in recent years for his comedic role on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." So "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is a police procedural spoof where Braugher plays this captain, Raymond Holt, who's corralling a ragtag team of detectives. He's a straight-laced guy. They're a bunch of goofballs. You know the drill. In this scene, Holt finds the detectives standing around trying to guess why a colleague, goody-two-shoes Amy Santiago, is late for work, so he joins in.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BROOKLYN NINE-NINE")
ANDRE BRAUGHER: (As Raymond Holt) I'd like to play. I'd say she's in line at the bank.
MELISSA FUMERO: (As Amy Santiago) I'm just 70 seconds late. It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it.
BRAUGHER: (As Raymond Holt) Santiago, you will tell us, and you will tell us now.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Braugher's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" co-star, Joe Lo Truglio, says this scene, this moment, is when he found his way as a comic actor because, it turns out...
JOE LO TRUGLIO: Holt guesses right.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BROOKLYN NINE-NINE")
FUMERO: (As Amy Santiago) There was a problem at the bank.
BRAUGHER: (As Raymond Holt) Hot damn.
LO TRUGLIO: That was, like, the moment where you felt like Andre really loosened up and became very comfortable in his shoes as Holt.
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: He had this authority and this presence that served every character that he played.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: NPR TV critic Eric Deggans.
DEGGANS: And what was so interesting was that he was able to make it work in drama and comedy.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Braugher rose to fame on "Homicide," playing detective Frank Pembleton, a tough cop who solved murders.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET")
BRAUGHER: (As Frank Pembleton) This is my job. This is what the city of Baltimore pays me to do - to pin murder one on a girl in this situation.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: He played that role for six seasons, which won him his first Emmy. He won a second one for the FX miniseries "Thief" in 2006. Back then, he told Fresh Air's David Bianculli how he chose his projects.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
BRAUGHER: I like messy dramas. So when I read the pilot, the question in my mind is, is there enough of a mess that needs to be cleaned up that will allow this show to live on?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Eric Deggans describes Braugher as...
DEGGANS: A man who elevated the intelligence of his characters in a way that was singular and really impressive.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: But Joe Lo Truglio says that even though Braugher's characters showcased his savvy, driven side, as a person, he led with his heart.
LO TRUGLIO: The gift that I got from Andre was how he prioritized the people that were important in his life, that he was deeply passionate about his work, and he was a very curious man. But my main takeaway was how much he loved his family.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The actor is survived by his wife and three children.
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GOAPELE SONG, "CLOSER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
