Social Media Mourns The Death Of Their Captain: Andre Braugher Passes Away At 61

The passing away of one of your favourite fictional characters is always a hard truth to swallow. A large part of the Internet is feeling this heavy emotion today as the news of the death of legendary actor Andre Braugher came out. The Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on the series Homicide: Life on The Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, died on December 11, 2023, Monday at 61 years old.

Confirming the news, Andre Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen said that he was suffering from a ‘brief illness.‘ He is survived by his actor-wife Ami Brabson and his three sons, Micheal, Isaiah and John Wesley. Andre wowed the audience on many occasions through his varied portrayal of epic characters. The Chicago-born actor had his breakthrough role in 1989’s ‘Glory‘, starring alongside Morgan Freeman and Oscar-winning Denzel Washington in a movie about an all-Black army regiment during the Civil War.

Also Read: An Ode To The One Who Made Us Laugh Our Hearts Out: Matthew Perry, You Shall Be Missed

Andre’s Stellar Career

Born and raised in Chicago — he earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.F.A. from Juilliard. Despite the success of ‘Glory‘, he struggled to find work in Hollywood where roles for African American actors were “few and far between. Period.” But things changed when he landed the role of “Detective Frank Pembleton” in the series ‘Homicide: Life on the Street.’ Andre established himself in this gritty police drama for seven seasons on NBC.

He won his career-first Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1998 for this role. The actor starred in the 2006 limited series ‘Thief’ for which he won his second Emmy for Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. He also won two Television Critics Association Awards in ’97 and ’98. By then, he had been nominated for 11 Emmys overall. Having played serious roles, Braugher then dipped his toe into comedy in the dramedy ‘Men of a Certain Age’. He aced his role as an anxiety-stricken diabetic dad on the show.

But playing the deadpan Captain Raymond Holt on ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ represented a major shift for Andre Braugher, who was known for acting in dark and heavy dramas. The Andy Samberg-starring comedy series had eight very successful seasons wherein Andre played NYPD’s first black gay police captain. His character’s stoic and no-nonsense personality but deep sense of humanity made him an instant fan favourite of the show, especially when paired with Detective Jake Peralta.

Andre was nominated for four Emmys during the run and won two Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The official page of Brooklyn Nine-Nine shared a heartfelt post in honour of their Captain Holt.

Recently, he appeared in ‘She Said‘, which is a drama about the New York Times reporting of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. In the project, he essayed the role of Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times. Braugher also made his directorial debut in the Showtime trilogy ‘Love Songs‘, and acted in it as well.

The Cast Of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Pays Tribute

For a show that runs for eight seasons, the cast members turn into family. From Terry Crews, Chelsea Peretti, Dirk Blocker, Joel McKinnon Miller, Joe Lo Truglio to cinematographer Rick Page took to social media to share their sorrow on the news and reminisce about the sweet memories they made with Andre. A heartbroken Rick said, “Rest easy friend. All love, all heart.” The ‘Scully’ of the show, Joel wrote, “An actor prepares… Sending love to Andre’s family and friends and all of us who had the honor of working with him.”

Terry, who played yogurt-loving cop Terry Jeffords in B99, penned a beautiful note for the late actor. He said, “Can’t believe you’re gone so soon. I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your 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. 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. 😢❤️“

Dirk Blocker, who played one-half of the hilariously lazy cop duo Hitchcock and Scully, also made note of Braugher’s immense talent. “Fiercely intelligent, remarkably kind, supportive, generous and possessed a deep and extraordinary talent, and had even more to offer,” he wrote on his Instagram. “I am devastated. I love him. The 9 years I was able to work with him and to just be in his presence was truly a blessing. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family.“

Writer-director Steven Canals, in his eulogy for Andre Braugher, wrote, “Andre Braugher was a megawatt talent. Reliable, dependable, emotional. Whenever he was part of a cast I knew it meant the show would be great. Rest well, sir.” Marc Evan Jackson, Andre’s on-screen husband, posted a behind-the-scenes picture of them with the caption, “O Captain. My Captain.” Chelsea, who played Holt’s sassy assistant Gina, also wrote an emotional caption for him.

Though the role was important to Andre’s career, co-star Joe Lo Truglio, who played Charles Boyle, pointed out that Braugher treasured the role of being husband to wife, Ami, and father to three sons a lot more. “He spoke often about his sons, and knew how lucky he was to have Ami. I’m grateful to them for allowing us to share eight years with him,” Joe wrote. “He was committed and passionate about the things he loved. And that voice. It laid anchor to the roughest of dialogue.“

“And that voice. It laid anchor to the roughest of dialogue. What you probably don’t know is that Andre could sing too, and did often at lunch, belting bassy vocals from his dressing room to whatever new music he found” he added. In true Charles spirit, he spoke about this favourite memory of his departed costar, “At first, it was odd because well…*it was Andre Braugher crooning at full volume from behind closed doors*…but then very quickly it made all the sense in the world because the man was so full of song and that’s why the world took notice.”

He concluding saying, “I miss him so much already. What an honor to work with a man who knew what it was really all about. I feel blessed and thankful. Miss you Capt Holt. Love, Porkchop.💔” Melissa Fumero added an old Instagram post of hers to her story. Out of a carousel post that showcased BTS from the show, she posted the slide which had a picture of Captain Holt’s empty office. Andy is yet to make any comments. Christopher Miller, who directed and produced the show’s pilot, paid his tribute to the ace actor on X.

Social Media Mourns The Captain

The fans of the shows Andre has starred in are feeling deep sorrow upon his demise. Social media is flooded with tributes for the late actor, lauding his performances. An X user wrote, “61 is waaaaay too young to lose someone as god-tier as this.” Another remembered their favourite funny scene from B99, “Captain Holt trying to act straight was some of the funniest stuff I’ve watched.“

A true fan of Andre, this user applauded his debut performance.

Another loved his portrayal of Detective Frank Pembleton.

We couldn’t agree more 🙁

The show B99 was a go-to for many, especially on a bad day when they are looking to smile. This Instagram user poured his emotion into this post.

A Facebook fan group page for Brooklyn Nine-Nine made this sweet post encapsulating everyone’s feelings.

Andre Braugher was going to star in the Netflix show Residence as his next project. We won’t get to see that, but he has left a stellar legacy of amazing characters and content behind. And we will always come back to those shows and movies to relive his brilliance on screen. Rest easy, Captain.