Roscoe Lee Browne | |
|---|---|
 Browne in 1979 | |
| Born | May 2, 1922[1] Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 11, 2007 (aged 84) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Lincoln University Middlebury College Columbia University University of Florence |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, stage director |
| Years active | 1956–2007 |
Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922[2] – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward's satirical NBC series That Was the Week That Was, and a poetry performance tour of the United States in addition to his work in television and film. He is perhaps best known for his many guest appearances on TV series from the 1970s and 1980s as well as movies like The Cowboys (1972) with John Wayne.
In 1976, Browne was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series for his work on ABC's Barney Miller. In 1986, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for his work on NBC's The Cosby Show.[3] In 1992, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as "Holloway" in August Wilson's Two Trains Running.[4][5]
In 1995, he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his performance as the Kingpin in Spider-Man.
Browne was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977[6] and posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008.[7]
- ^ Roscoe L Browne. United States Social Security Death Index. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch.org. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ Browne's year of birth was cited as 1925 through much of his career and at the time of his death. Since then evidence has emerged that he was actually born three years earlier, the most notable of which would be the Social Security Death Index:
Roscoe Lee Browne [Roscoe L Browne]
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Birth Date: 2 May 1922
Birth Place: Woodbury, New Jersey
Father Name: Sylvanus Browne
Mother Name: Louie [sic] L Usher
Death Date: 11 Apr 2007
Type of Claim: Original SSN.
Notes: Jul 1940: Name listed as ROSCOE LEE BROWNE; 21 Apr 2007: Name listed as ROSCOE L BROWNE
Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index.
Other websites and census data also confirm 1922, as well as a YouTube video in which the actor gives 1922 as his year of birth. However, obituaries in the New York Times, The Guardian and the Los Angeles Times, as well as his profile at IBDb, cite 1925. - ^ Roscoe Lee Browne. Awards and Nominations Television Academy. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Two Trains Running Internet Broadway Database, The Broadway League. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Roscoe Lee Browne profile, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Inductees. Roscoe Lee Browne. Image 80 of 295. Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Theater Hall of Fame American Theatre Critics Association. Retrieved February 23, 2016.