In Memoriam: Roscoe Lee Browne, 1925-2007

[thatcrazycajun]

It is my sad duty to report that veteran character actor Roscoe Lee Browne, who has more credits on stage and screens both large and small than I have room to list here (and the richest, deepest basso profundo this side of James Earl Jones), has died at the age of 81. Cancer took him at Cedars-Sinai yesterday; the Hollywood Reporter tells the story here.

Fans of 1970s television will remember him for roles on All in the Family, as the butler on Soap (he succeeded Robert Guillaume after the latter got his own spinoff show, Benson) and The Cosby Show. SF fans will recall his role as Box in the film Logan's Run. He was also a playwright and a poet, and refused to cater to stereotypes for the sake of what some critics considered believability in a traditional "black" role opposite the late John Wayne ("I think, if I had said, 'Yassuh, boss' to...Wayne, then the critic would have taken a shine to me").

I remember him fondly as a frequent majestic, regal presence in many of the TV shows I grew up with. And I remember that voice. Sleep sweet, sir, and thank you.

Comments

[darrenzieger.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, Brown was also a gifted athlete as a young man; he set the world's record for the 800 meter run in Paris in 1951.

A very neat guy. Sorry he's gone.