I have watched Homicide: Life on the Streets twice, and will likely start watching it again a third time if I can find it streaming somewhere.
We should all be as great at our jobs and avocations as Andre Braugher was at his. A star in every sense of the word.
Appreciation: In drama and comedy, in roles big and small, Andre Braugher commanded the screen
I cannot think of the name Andre Braugher, who died Monday at age 61 after a brief illness, without putting an admiring adjective before it — the great Andre Braugher, the mighty Andre Braugher, the marvelous Andre Braugher, in capital letters, with fancy serifs as on an old theatrical poster.
Whatever sort of part he was playing, and he played all sorts, he commanded the screen — even when his characters might be far from commanding. For an actor who worked all the time, his appearance was somehow always an event.
And always a pleasure. He was lovely to look at — People magazine named him one of the world’s 50 most beautiful people in 1997 — and wonderful to hear. Distinctive and distinct, with a sharp edges and a warm body, his was a voice to get close to, to let slide across you.
Before there was David Simon and “The Wire,” there was “Homicide: Life on the Street,” that other great story of Baltimore cops and criminals created by Paul Attanasio from Simon’s journalism. Running from 1993 to 1999, it was the finest police procedural of the late 20th century and better than most everything since. Though it was an ensemble piece with an exceptionally strong cast, Braugher — who had eased into the genre as Telly Savalas’ sidekick in five “Kojack” TV movies — was inarguably its star. (That he won an Emmy as lead actor in a show without leads should tell you something.)
Amid a cast of eccentric characters written and played toward comic extremes, Holt — New York’s first gay, Black police captain — is the anchor, the rock, still center, and Braugher, his timing impeccable, is extremely funny underplaying straight, and as a straight man. He is delightful in his containment, and when he lets himself get (a little) loose now and again, the effect is doubly funny.
In between, there was notably a civilian role in the great and underappreciated “Men of a Certain Age,” a comedy drama with Ray Romano and Scott Bakula as three very different best friends facing life in their 40s. Where Braugher is often associated with characters of authority and self-possession, his Owen Thoreau Jr. is an anxious man, diabetic, a father of three, whose life has run into a rut, working as a car salesman for a demanding, demeaning father. Here he softens up and slows down, and we get to see him in a family context.
And lately, he joined “The Good Fight” in its final season as Ri’Chard Lane, a puckish, flamboyant, ostentatiously pious lawyer in bright suits and fancy eye wear who breezed into the offices of STR Laurie and started reordering the place.
And although he had come to that point in a career where one might expect him to appear in roles especially tailored to his gifts, it seemed very much an Andre Brauger role — which might be only to say that whatever role he played became, by virtue of the timbre of his instrument, the intelligence of his interpretations, the rhythms of a speech, an Andre Braugher role. Which is to say, in turn, sadly, that we will have no more Andre Braugher roles.
If there’s such a thing as a classical TV actor, one who imbues the medium with a formal rigor from part to part, who makes every thought clear and syllable sensible, Andre Braugher was that actor.
Where to stream 6 essential Andre Braugher shows (LA Times)
Let’s give Andre Braugher the Balloon Juice sendoff he deserves.
Mike in NC
We went and watched “Glory” (1989) again the other night, for the first time in years.
Alison Rose
He really was a singular man. He had some of the best comedic timing and delivery on TV, too. Just awful to lose someone that young.
JP
He also had a memorable stage career in NYC, playing Shakespeare roles in the Delacorte Theater. I remember him in *Measure for Measure* and *Henry V* in the 1990’s. There’s a great spirit gone.
Alison Rose
@JP: Oh wow, Measure For Measure is one of my absolute faves. I assume he played Angelo?
zhena gogolia
I would love to have Homicide to watch again, but I guess it’s not streaming. That whole cast was stellar, but of course Braugher was the standout and linchpin.
Is Brooklyn Nine-Nine good? I see it’s available on Prime.
ETA: There was one episode of Homicide set at a seedy motel, and the whole thing was so surreal and hilarious that I couldn’t believe it when I was watching it. I only saw it once, and would love to be able to revisit it.
Scout211
I have known of other people with lung cancer who had a similar experience. By the time it was finally diagnosed, the cancer was extremely advanced.
I really loved him in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He played that role the whole time as if he was still on Homicide but his dialogue was hilarious. That was a funny cast.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: It seems ghoulish, but now that Andrea Braugher is gone, I won’t be surprised if several streaming services get in a bidding war for Homicide: Life on the Streets.
espierce
David Simon on xTwitter earlier today:
“I have been informed by a reliable source that NBC/Universal is at last attempting, along with Fremantle on the overseas rights, to clear music rights on #Homicide for eventual streaming. Lot of work to do achieve that, however, I am also told. Andre alone ought to rate such”
Scout211
I enjoyed it. It’s a comedy inside a police squad full of crazy wacky characters that you grow to love. Funny writing and good comic acting.
I liked it but YMMV.
pajaro
Homicide was one of the best TV shows ever, and Braugher was its center. Although the episodes with D’Onfrio and the interrogation episode have received the most commentary in the last few days, there were others that have stuck in my memory. Robin Williams was the guest start in one heartbreaking episode; and there was the episode at Gilman Prep School, where the privileged kid gets away with murder, with Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” as the musical backdrop. Pembleton was a commanding character, but he was also vulnerable physically. His character also dealt with religious belief and doubt in a more adult way than anything I’ve seen on TV since. His was really one of the most human characters, strengths and weaknesses, I’ve ever seen.
His work before, in Glory, and after, in Men of a Certain Age, were of very different people with different personalities, and he was just wonderful in those roles. We were so lucky to have him.
Dan B
It was affirming for me that he played a gay man. Some actors do so to burnish their bonafides as a “serious” actor. He did it to inhabit, and learn from / expand his understanding, of another group of marginalized people. Their are allies of every marginalized group and brilliant people who reveal the humanity, worth, and foibles of people who are demeaned. His life seems filled with great achievements* and great empathy.
*Stanford Math! Juilliard! Etc.
Alison Rose
@Dan B: I feel like he was a good example of how a straight person can play a queer role and do it right. It doesn’t always work but it did with him.
Suzanne
@zhena gogolia: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is fantastic. Hilarious and with a great outlook on a lot of issues around race, policing, masculinity, gender and sexuality.
Braugher as Holt was an absolute joy.
HumboldtBlue
You can find Homicide here if you wish.
Tony Jay
Thing about Andre Braugher, and what made him so damned good at his job, was that, when he turned up in a scene, you wanted him to say something, and you very much wanted to listen.
That’s a very rare talent.
trollhattan
“Pembleton in the box” always announced riveting drama ahead, much like “Omar comin'” did in the Homicide descendant, The Wire.
But the standout for me was the “Subway” episode where he interacts for nearly the full hour with a guy who had been run over by, well, the subway. But, did he fall or was he pushed? Did not hurt one bit that the victim was played by Vincent D’Onofrio. One of the best television episodes, ever.
Gone far, far too soon and will not be forgotten.
eclare
I’ll have to look for Homicide once it comes out. I am embarrassed that I never watched it.
caphilldcne
I have no real connection to Andre Braugher but I moved to Baltimore in 1992 for law school just as Homicide started filming and then showing on network tv. They occasionally filmed near my house. From a law school perspective it was a good watch and fun to spot legal issues. First time I’d really lived in a city and of course I moved to the one that was the setting for Homicide (although I’d tell people I was from Detroit – only marginally true). I read the book The Corner (the basis for Homicide) and it partly helped me better understand the people caught up in the drug trade and reinforced my interest in reform of drug laws. Finally I’ll just say Andre Braugher was about my favorite character and seems to have been a mensch. I’m not sure why he never quite attained major stardom – he could act circles around anyone. In any case, his memory takes me to a particular place and time and in turn here’s a wish for peace and good memories to his family, friends and fans.
Dagaetch
Fuck cancer. That’s all.
lee
If you don’t want to wait for Homicide to appear a streaming site, let me know I’ll download it and put it up on my Plex.
or HumboldtBlue’s option
AM in NC
Such a towering talent; such a loss for us all.
Seeing his name in a cast made me want to watch the show, because you just knew it would be good, because HE was so good.
Lung cancer took my mom very quickly too.
Fuck cancer.
raven
@HumboldtBlue: pretty sketchy sight
WaterGirl
@lee:
I think I would love that, but can you explain what you mean?
Gin & Tonic
@trollhattan: I remember watching that episode when it aired, and being riveted. Only in the recent commentary did I become aware that the guy pinned by the train was played by D’Onofrio. That he went on to also play a very skilled, yet very complicated, detective/interrogator is fascinating
Kathleen
@Gin & Tonic: Braugher also played defense attorney Bayard Ellis in 6 episodes of L&O SVU. My father loved him and Homicide.
WaterGirl
@raven: I thought so, too.
Yutsano
It just connected for me. Andre’s death was similar to Elisabeth Sladen. Diagnosed but the cancer was already too far gone. He is indeed gone too soon. May his next existence be gentle.
Scout211
@raven: About Go Movies
ETA: added paragraph
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Thank you for that information!
HumboldtBlue
@raven:
I’ve had no issues with it, just use ad blockers and you’re good.
Barbara
@Yutsano: We’re so used to reading about people who die after a long battle or courageous struggle with cancer that it comes as something of a shock that it doesn’t have to happen like that. My brother (still unknown type of cancer) and my sister’s ex-boyfriend (esophageal cancer) were both were diagnosed with brain metasteses by the time they had any symptoms. My brother only ever had neurological symptoms. My brother’s was so far gone they stopped looking for the original site after they ruled out the “easy gets,” like lung cancer or stomach cancer. He died within three weeks of his first visit to a doctor.
Doctors in both cases were stunned that they had no earlier symptoms.
PST
The first time Andre Braugher made an impression on me was in Primal Fear, back in the 90s, a movie I think might be best remembered for young Edward Norton’s turn as an accused murderer with multiple personalities (maybe). I thought it had a fantastic supporting cast, including not only Braugher but Laura Linney, Francis McDormand, John Mahoney, and Maura Tierney. I liked that a key scene took place in a bar around the corner from where I was living. Braugher exuded youthful confidence, a character utterly unlike in Men of a Certain Age.
eclare
@PST:
The cast for that movie was phenomenal.
zhena gogolia
@Suzanne: Okay, I guess I’ll buy it!
zhena gogolia
@trollhattan: Yes, that was a classic.
zhena gogolia
@raven: Yeah, I’m a little leery.
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
You’re right, and Det. Gorin had interesting quirks, some of which I wonder whether they were informed by working, even briefly, with Braugher. e.g., He’d tilt his head sideways and speak very closely to a suspect.
lee
@WaterGirl: I take the ripped versions of the DVDs of Homicide and then put them on my Plex server.
A Plex server is like your own personal Netflix. You load content on it and then stream said content.
Suzanne
@PST: Primal Fear is so good. Those kind of thriller/mystery movies are my favorite genre, and that one is just excellent. I ish they made more movies like that.
Another one I really enjoyed with Edward Norton is The Score.
lee
WaterGirl I just sent an invite to my Plex server to your gmail account.
PST
@eclare:
And I left out Alfre Woodard! Perfect as a judge. There was something marvelous about the way she poured drinks in chambers after the violent climactic scene that sticks in my mind.
waspuppet
@JP: My favorite Brooklyn Nine-Nine cold open is at 2:03 of this video, but 8:37 is where he did a Shakespearean flex, just because he could.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pyUxnriXg
WaterGirl
@lee: Okay. Thank you! I accepted the invitation – first with the email I use for public-facing stuff, but then it said I didn’t have an invitation. (I should have seen that coming!)
So then I created the account with my WG email, and that was good, but it tells me that Homicide: Life on the Streets isn’t available at any location. Does that mean you haven’t loaded it yet?
moonbat
I remember seeing Andre Braugher and being floored by him in Homicide: Life on the Streets in a multi-episode segment of that series where there is a sniper shooting people in Baltimore randomly, it seems. There’s a scene where, eaten alive with worry and guilt that the police have not already caught the guy, he goes to his pregnant wife’s place of work (a big glass-walled skyrise) and convinces her to wear a bullet-proof vest. It was an absolutely devastating and completely empathetic turn.
The man was an unquestioned master of his craft. I seriously miss knowing he is in the world.
WaterGirl
@lee: Do you mean my WateGirl account? Or do you actually mean gmail?
WaterGirl
@moonbat: I did not know until today that his wife in Homicide: Life on the Streets was actually his wife in real life.
raven
There arises a small glimmer of hope for those wishing they could stream Homicide: Life on the Street, in the wake of Andre Braugher’s death on Dec. 11.
The most sought-after, non-streaming show of all in a July TVLine poll, the NBC cop drama was the recipient of 17 Emmy nominations and four wins — including Outstanding Lead Actor for future Brooklyn Nine-Nine scene stealer Braugher, who first made a name for himself as Baltimore detective Frank Pembleton.
moonbat
@WaterGirl: I did not know that either. That is just wild.
lee
@WaterGirl: [email protected]
If there is a different one you want me to send it to, send it to my gmail :: lee franke @ ….
It should be completely loaded in a few minutes.
zhena gogolia
Okay, I’m convinced I have to get Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
zhena gogolia
Does anyone remember Kyle Secor’s girlfriend who would only make love to him in a coffin? What a show that was.
lee
WaterGirl (*#(#$(# Sorry it was W__g__ at ball__jui
Miss Bianca
@zhena gogolia: I just put a hold on Season One DVDs from the library.
And I think I have seen Season One and Two of Homicide, but I would have to review it before going on.
JustRuss
Well damn, same age as me. Yet another reminder that the clock is ticking.
Darkrose
I never met Andre Braugher, but I always felt a connection to him. We were both Black and from Chicago, we both went to St. Ignatius (he was several years ahead of me, back when it was still an all-boys school), and we both graduated from Stanford as drama majors.
I first saw him in Glory, but the role I’ll always remember him for is as Captain Holt. I wasn’t terribly interested in Brooklyn Nine-Nine at first–it sounded like another SNL spinoff–but I was curious when I saw Braugher was in it. The whole cast was good, but he was amazing as the center of the show.
Also, I really did get sniffly when I learned that he was a Wonkette subscriber and donor. RIP Andre Braugher.
WaterGirl
@lee: Sending you email.
Ruckus
@Scout211:
That’s been a problem with lung cancer for a very long time. I was told by my doctor a long time ago that by the time it has affected one enough to be noticeable it is too late. We normally have excess lung capacity because when those times arise that you can’t take in enough air for what you might be doing, you need the extra capacity to survive. When you get lung cancer you likely won’t know until you can’t breathe regular and get enough oxygen, and then complain about it to a doctor. And that’s too late.
Ruckus
@Alison Rose:
I’ve known a number of gay people and have been related to one of them and yes I knew, but there is no obvious signal unless one wants to send that signal to the world. I knew they were gay because I met them through my gay sibling and some of them have been extremely good friends. Because I don’t judge people who live their lives in a manner that they need to and that works for them. I’d rather live in a world of all gay people than one where even the secret gay people attempt to present themselves as something they are not. (And yes that can apply to far more than being gay.) This is my philosophy – Be yourself, be real and mind your own damn business. Everything else isn’t your life to run, ruin, own, destroy.
Ruckus
@Dagaetch:
Always the proper response.
I often wonder how many people have had one sort of cancer or another. Because I saw a lot of people being treated when I was in treatment. And I remember the absolute fear while being told.
Ruckus
@Barbara:
Above this comment you’ll notice that I’ve had cancer. I never had a clue. It was detected during a physical, something I get yearly. I was lucky as it was early in the development stages. My sister had cancer, and after what they felt was the normal treatment she still had symptoms. They opened her up, I think the words uttered were “Oh holly hell!” They sewed her back up, she lasted 3 more days. If you have a doctor, get checked regularly because very often you really don’t know. Ladies – breast cancer. Check yourself regularly. If you don’t know how, ask a doctor or nurse to show you. Men – prostrate cancer. Get checked regularly. Other forms, like skin cancer, lung cancer, rarer cancers – see a doctor. Many forms can be fixed or at least your life can often be extended – a lot – if caught early. From my experience and what I’ve been told by docs, if it can be caught early it very often can be treated and not become a major or life ending event. If you don’t know, it is never fun. But getting treatment and cured is a HELL of a LOT better than not.
It’s like polio when I was a kid. A very real threat in so many ways. I’ve known several people that had polio, I currently have a close friend my age who had it at 1 yr old and lives in a wheelchair. Which has been, so I’m told, far better than the alternative.
Ruckus
Also, Andre Braugher. A man who found his place and made the most of it.
Extremely good at his craft and humanity, and gone way too soon. Rest in peace.
Ben Cisco
Great actor, and he’s my age too.
Cancer sucks.
rikyrah
Never saw him give a bad performance.