Although Braugher peppered his resume with comedies, many will remember him for his ruthless portrayal of Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. Put him in 'the box', sweating in the interrogation room and outsmarting crime suspects, and you were looking at a weekly dose of delights as good as any could be seen on television at the time. He won an Emmy for the show he starred in from 1992 to 1998. His wife, Ami Brabson, returned as Pembleton's wife in Homicide.
Braugher in Homicide: Life on the Streets
He won the Emmy in 1998, as well as two Television Critics Association Awards in 1997 and 1998. Born and raised in Chicago, he earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.F.A. from Juilliard — Braugher most recently co-starred in She Said, the drama film retold by New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, whose reporting led to the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein and sparked the #MeToo movement. He played the role of Dean Baquet, editor-in-chief of the Times, who supervised the two reporters.
Braugher would star in the Netflix show Residence as his next project. He also starred in the sixth and final season of Paramount+'s legal drama The Good Fight, playing showman-lawyer and rainmaker Ri'Chard Lane alongside Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald.
For eight seasons, Braugher co-starred with Andy Samberg on the hit comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, winning two Critics Choice Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and receiving four Emmy Award nominations for his role as Captain Ray Holt in the series that started on Fox and later moved to NBC.
Braugher in Brooklyn Nine-Nine
He won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Mini-Series and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his starring role in the miniseries Thief, which aired on FX. He also starred in TNT's original four-hour miniseries Salem's Lot, based on Stephen King's bestselling novel. Before that, he starred in the Showtime Original Film A Soldier's Girl.
Braugher starred in the critically acclaimed CBS series Hack opposite David Morse and in the Showtime Original Film 10,000 Black Men Named George with Charles Dutton and Mario Van Peebles for director Robert Townsend. He was executive producer of the latter film and received an NAACP Award nomination for his role as A. Philip Randolph.
He also starred in the ABC drama series Gideon's Crossing and received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Dr. Ben Gideon.
Braugher received a second Emmy nomination in 1996 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series for his work in the Peabody-winning HBO production The Tuskeegee Airmen.
His other television credits include the ABC drama Last Resort; he reprised his Emmy-winning role of Detective Frank Pembleton in the two-hour NBC telefilm Homicide: The Movie (2000); the title role in The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990); HBO's Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990); and NBC's Murder in Mississippi (1990). He began his television career as the sidekick of the late Telly Savalas in television films based on the original Kojak series.
Along with Brabson, his wife of 32 years, Braugher is survived by sons Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley; his brother Charles Jennings; and their mother Sally Braugher. He is also survived by WME agent Brandt Joel, attorney Keith Klevan and his publicist Jennifer Allen of Viewpoint, his rep team for the past 25 years.
Braugher turned 61, RIP.