Roscoe Lee Browne

ROSCOE LEE BROWNE

Information from IMDb

Date of Birth
2 May 1925, Woodbury, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death
11 April 2007, Los Angeles, California, USA (cancer)

Mini Biography
He was a master class in cerebral eloquence and audience command...and although his dominant playing card in the realm of acting was quite serious and stately, nobody cut a more delightfully dry edge in sitcoms than this gentleman, whose calm yet blistering put-downs often eluded his lesser intelligent victims.

Acting titan Roscoe Lee Browne was born to a Baptist minister and his wife on May 2, 1925, in Woodbury, New Jersey. He graduated from Lincoln University, an historically black university in Pennsylvania in 1946, and went on to earn his postgraduate degree at Middlebury College. He subsequently returned to Lincoln and taught French and comparative literature, seemingly destined to settle in completely until he heard a different calling.

Roscoe relished his first taste of adulation and admiration as a track star, competing internationally and winning the world championship in the 800-yard dash in 1951. He parlayed that attention into a job as a sales representative for a wine and liquor importer. In 1956, he abruptly decided to become an actor. And he did. With no training but a shrewd, innate sense of self, he boldly auditioned for, and won, the role of the Soothsayer in "Julius Caesar" the very next day at the newly-formed New York Shakespeare Festival. He never looked back and went on to perform with the company in productions of "The Taming of the Shrew", "Titus Andronicus", "Othello", "King Lear" (as the Fool), and "Troilus and Cressida".

Blessed with rich, mellifluous tones and an imposing, cultured air, Roscoe became a rare African-American fixture on the traditionally white classical stage. In 1961 he appeared notably with James Earl Jones in the original off-Broadway cast of Jean Genet's landmark play "The Blacks". Awards soon came his way -- the first in the form of an Obie only a few years later for his portrayal of a rebellious slave in "The Old Glory". Additionally, he received the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award for both "The Dream on Monkey Mountain" (1970) and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1989). Roscoe found less successful ventures on 1960s Broadway, taking his first curtain call in "A Cool World" in 1960, which folded the next day. He graced a number of other short runs including "General Seegar" (1962), "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" (1962), "The Ballad of the Sade Cafe" (1964), "Danton's Death" (1965), and "A Hand Is on the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music" (1966), which he also wrote and directed. He did not return to Broadway until 1983 with the role of the singing Rev. J.D. Montgomery in Tommy Tune's smash musical "My One and Only" in which his number "Kicking the Clouds Away" proved to be one of many highlights. Roscoe returned only once more to Broadway, earning acclaim and a Tony nomination for his supporting performance in August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" (1992).

Although he made an isolated debut with The Connection (1962), he wouldn't appear regularly in films until the end of the decade with prominent parts in the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton starrer The Comedians (1967), Jules Dassin's Up Tight! (1968), Hitchcock's Topaz (1969) and, his most notable, The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970). Thereafter, he complimented a host of features, both comedic and dramatic, including Super Fly (1972) (and its sequel), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Logan's Run (1976), Legal Eagles (1986), The Mambo Kings (1992) and Dear God (1996)

Elsewhere, Roscoe's disdainful demeanor courted applause on all the top 70s sitcoms including "All in the Family", "Maude," "Sanford and Son", "Good Times" and "Barney Miller" (Emmy-nominated), and he played the splendidly sardonic role of Saunders, the Tate household butler, after replacing Robert Guillaume's popular "Benson" character on "Soap" (1977). In 1986 he won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on "The Cosby Show" (1984). His trademark baritone lent authority and distinction to a number of documentaries, live-action fare, and animated films, as well as the spoken-word arena, with such symphony orchestras as the Boston Pops and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to his credit. A preeminent recitalist, he was known for committing hundreds of poems to memory. For many years he and actor Anthony Zerbe toured the U.S. with their presentation of "Behind the Broken Words", an evening of poetry and dramatic readings.

At the time of his death of cancer on April 11, 2007, the never-married octogenarian was still omnipresent, more heard than seen perhaps. Among his last works was his narrations of a Garfield film feature and the most recent movie spoof Epic Movie (2007).
IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh

Trivia
Before turning to acting, Browne taught literature and French at Lincoln University.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1992 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for August Wilson's "Two Trains Running."

Has appeared with Steven Hill in two different, completely unrelated productions in which Hill played the New York County District Attorney: Legal Eagles (1986) and the "Law & Order" (1990) episode "Consultation".

Ever the wry quipster, he was once told by a director that his speech sounded "white", to which he responded, "We had a white maid".

Began his acting career on the New York stage.

Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch).

Personal Quotes
"I remember when I chose acting I thought, 'This is it -- for the time being.' I didn't think I was finished yet. I still don't. I keep thinking about what I should be doing."

[replying to a critic's remark that in his role as a camp cook in the western The Cowboys (1972) he 'spoke too well to be believable'] "I think if I had said 'Yassuh, boss' to John Wayne then the critic would have taken a shine to me."

Flmography
Actor
2009 The Telemarketers: 36 Hrs (video) ..Narrator
2007 Side Order of Life (TV series) – Pilot (2007) … Clarence
2007 Epic Movie ..Narrator (voice)
2006 Garfield 2 ..Narrator (voice)
2006 Independent Lens (TV series documentary) – July '64 (2006) … Narrator
2006 Sweet Deadly Dreams ..Devlin
2004 Will & Grace (TV series)– The Newlydreads (2004) … Linus
2003-2004 Static Shock (TV series)
– Out of Africa (2004) … Dr. Anoyke (voice)
– Static in Africa (2003) … Dr. Anokye (voice)
2004 Tales of a Fly on the Wall (TV movie) ..Narrator (voice)
1992-2003 Law & Order (TV series)
Aaron Miller / Sir Idris Balewa
– Identity (2003) … Aaron Miller
– Consultation (1992) … Sir Idris Balewa
2003 Behind the Broken Words
2002 Treasure Planet Mr. Arrow (voice)
2002 The Shield (TV series)
– Throwaway (2002) … Bryce Wyms
2001 The Proud Family (TV series) – Wedding Bell Blues … Clarence (voice)
2001 Morgan's Ferry ..Peabo
2000/II Hamlet (TV movie) ..Polonius
1999 Hope Island (TV series) – It Takes a Voyage to Learn (1999) … Judge Patrick Bradley
1999 ER (TV series) – Rites of Spring (1999) … Rev. Matthew Lynn
1999 The Wild Thornberrys (TV series) – The Dragon and the Professor (1999) … Komodo Dragon (voice)
1999 Hard Time: The Premonition (TV movie) ..Sebastian Allgood
1998 Babe: Pig in the City ..The Narrator (voice)
1998 Judas Kiss ..Chief Bleeker
1995-1998 Spider-Man (TV series)
Kingpin / Wilson Fisk
– Spider Wars, Chapter 1: I Really, Really Hate Clones (1998) … Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
– Spider Wars, Chapter 2: Farewell Spider-Man (1998) … Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
– Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 5: The Price of Heroism (1997) … Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
– Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 4: The Six Fight Again (1997) … Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
– Six Forgotten Warriors Chapter 3: Secrets of the Six (1997) … Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
and more episodes »
1997 EZ Streets (TV series) – A Ceremony of Innocence (1997) (credit only)
1997 The Notorious 7 (TV movie) ..Leadbelly
1996 Cosby (TV series) – The Broken Reflection (1996) … George Lucas, Hilton's Brother
1996 Dear God ..Idris Abraham
1996 Forest Warrior ..Clovis Madison
1996 CBS Schoolbreak Special (TV series) – Crosstown (1996) … Mr. Wortham
1996 New York Undercover (TV series) – Bad Blood (1996) … Dr. Johnson
1996 Spider-Man: Sins of the Fathers (video) ..The Kingpin (voice) / Wilson Fisk (voice)
1995 The Pompatus of Love ..Leonard Folder
1995 Freakazoid! (TV series) – And Fan Boy Is His Name/Lawn Gnomes Chapter IV: Fun in the Sun/Freak's French Lesson (1995) … Great Mystic Gnome (voice)
1995 Last Summer in the Hamptons ..Freddy
1995 Babe ..Narrator (voice)
1995 Sweet Justice (TV series) – Muddy Waters (1995) … Judge Powell
1995 The Beast (short)
1994 The John Larroquette Show (TV series) – The Job (1994) … Interviewer
1994 Daredevil vs. Spider-Man (video) ..Kingpin
1994 Batman (TV series) – Time Out of Joint (1994) … Dr. Wataki (voice)
1993-1994 SeaQuest DSV (TV series)
– Greed for a Pirate's Dream (1994) … Dr. Raleigh Young
– The Devil's Window (1993) … Dr. Raleigh Young
1993 Naked in New York ..Mr. Ried
1992 Noel (TV movie) (voice)
1988-1992 A Different World (TV series)
– Do the Write Thing (1992) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
– Almost Working Girl (1991) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
– All's Fair (1988) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
– Speech Therapy (1988) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
1992 Eddie Presley ..Doc
1992 The Mambo Kings ..Fernando Perez
1992 You Must Remember This (TV movie) ..Buck
1991 Baby Talk (TV series) – A Star Is Newborn (1991) … Roscoe (voice)
1991 The Pirates of Dark Water (TV series) – Quest (1991) … Additional Voices (voice) (as Roscoe Lee Brown)
1991 Open Window (TV short) ..Neighbor
1990 Swamp Thing (TV series) – Spirit of the Swamp (1990) … Duchamp
1990 Night Angel ..Narrator
1990 Father Dowling Investigates (TV series) – The Passionate Painter Mystery (1990) … Dennis Cray
1990 Columbo (TV series) – Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo (1990) … Dr. Steadman
1990 Moon 44 ..Chairman Hall, Galactic Mining Corp.
1989 Lady in the Corner (TV movie) ..Omar DeLacy
1989 Stuck with Each Other (TV movie) ..Calhearn
1988-1989 The Real Ghost Busters (TV series)
Additional Cast / Edward 'Big Ed' Zeddemore
– Partners in Slime (1989) … Additional Cast (voice) (as Roscoe Lee Brown)
– The Brooklyn Triangle (1988) … Edward 'Big Ed' Zeddemore (voice) (uncredited)
1989 Ring Raiders (TV series) ..Max Miles
1988 Oliver & Company ..Francis (voice)
1988 Falcon Crest (TV series)
– Last Dance (1988) … Rosemont
– As Tears Go By (1988) … Rosemont
– Telling Tales (1988) … Rosemont
– The Key to Angela (1988) … Rosemont
– Flying Blind (1988) … Rosemont
and more 10 episodes »
1988 Highway to Heaven (TV series) – Country Doctor (1988) … Dr. Hudsbeth
1987 Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (TV series)
– Sorcery Squared (1987) … Merklyn/Reekon (voice)
– Dawn of the Sun Imps (1987) … Merklyn/Reekon (voice)
– Honor Among Thieves (1987) … Merklyn/Reekon (voice)
– The Trail of Three Wizards (1987) … Merklyn/Reekon (voice)
– Horn of Unicorn, Claw of Dragon (1987) … Merklyn/Reekon (voice)
and more13 episodes »
1986-1987 The Cosby Show (TV series)
– Shakespeare (1987) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
– The Card Game (1986) … Dr. Barnabus Foster
1987 227 (TV series) – Men's Club (1987) … Albert Henry
1987 Moments Without Proper Names
1987 The Nativity (video short) (voice)
1986 Christmas (TV movie) ..Ghost of Christmas Past
1986 Head of the Class (TV series) ..Mr. Thomas
– Teacher's Teacher (1986) … Mr. Thomas
1986 Jumpin' Jack Flash ..Archer Lincoln
1986 Legal Eagles ..Judge Dawkins
1986 Foofur (TV series) ...Additional Voices
1985 Space (TV mini-series) ..Farquar
1983 For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story (TV movie) ..Gloster Current
1983 Magnum, P.I. (TV series) – Of Sound Mind (1983) … Carlton
1981 CBS Children's Mystery Theatre (TV series)
Diogenes 'D.C.' Chase
– The Haunting of Harrington House (1981) … Diogenes 'D.C.' Chase
1980-1981 Soap (TV series)
– Episode #4.16 (1981) … Saunders
– Episode #4.10 (1981) … Saunders
– Episode #4.9 (1981) … Saunders
– Episode #4.7 (1980) … Saunders
– Episode #4.6 (1980) … Saunders
and more episodes »
1980 Nothing Personal ..Paxton
1980 Hart to Hart (TV series) – Sixth Sense (1980)
1980 Benson (TV series) – Just Friends (1980) … Howard Walker
1979 Miss Winslow and Son (TV series)
– Post Partum Blues (1979) … Harold Neistadter
– Susan Steps Out (1979) … Harold Neistadter
– The Pediatricians (1979) … Harold Neistadter
– My Mother the Helper (1979) … Harold Neistadter
– A Visit from Aunt Victoria (1979) … Harold Neistadter
and more epsidodes..
1978 Once Upon a Classic (TV series)
– A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1978) … Merlin
1978 Meeting of Minds (TV series)
– Douglass/Tz'u-hsi/Beccaria/DeSade: Part 2 (1978) … Frederick Douglass
1977-1978 Maude (TV series)
– Mr. Butterfield's Return (1978) … Mr. Butterfield
– Victoria's Boyfriend (1977) … Mr. Butterfield
1978 Dr. Scorpion (TV movie) ..Dr. Cresus
1978 King (TV mini-series)
– Episode #1.3 (1978) … Philip Harrison
– Episode #1.2 (1978) … Philip Harrison
– Episode #1.1 (1978) … Philip Harrison
1977 Starsky and Hutch (TV series) – Starsky and Hutch on Playboy Island (1977) … Quatraine
1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming ..James Forrest
1976 Logan's Run ..Box
1975 McCoy (TV series) – Double Take (1975) … Gideon Gibbs
1975 Barney Miller (TV series) – Escape Artist (1975) … Charlie Jeffers
1975 The Big Rip-Off (TV movie) ..Silky Gideon Gibbs
1974 Planet of the Apes (TV series) – Tomorrow's Tide (1974) … Hurton
1974 Uptown Saturday Night ..Congressman Lincoln
1974 Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love (TV movie) ..Mr. Secretary (as Roscoe Lee Brown)
1974 Good Times (TV series) – God's Business Is Good Business (1974) … Reverend Sam
1973 Super Fly T.N.T...Dr. Lamine Sonko
1973 The World's Greatest Athlete ..Gazenga
1972-1973 All in the Family (TV series)
Hugh Victor Thompson III / Jean Duval
– Archie in the Hospital (1973) … Jean Duval
– The Elevator Story (1972) … Hugh Victor Thompson III
1973 The Streets of San Francisco (TV series) – A Trout in the Milk (1973) … Yale Courtland Dancy
1972 Sanford and Son (TV series) – Jealousy (1972) … Osgood Wilcox
1972 Bonanza (TV series) – He Was Only Seven (1972) … Joshua
1972 Cisco Pike ..Music Store Owner
1972 The Cowboys ..Jebediah Nightlinger
1970 Swing Out, Sweet Land (TV movie) ..Frederick Douglass
1969-1970 The Name of the Game (TV series)
– The Time Is Now (1970) … Dean Marshall
– The Third Choice (1969) … Wamumba
1970 The Liberation of L.B. Jones ..L.B. Jones
1969 Topaz ..Philippe Dubois
1969 The Outcasts (TV series).. Gideon (1969) … Gideon
1969 Me and My Brother ..Photographer
1968 Up Tight! ..Clarence
1968 The Invaders (TV series) – The Vise (1968) … Arnold Andrew Warren
1968 Mannix (TV series)
– Deadfall: Part 2 (1968) … Dr. Andrew Josephus
– Deadfall: Part 1 (1968) … Dr. Andrew Josephus
1968 Insight (TV series)
The Stranger– Watts Made Out of Thread (1968) … The Stranger
1967 The Comedians ..Petit Pierre
1967 NET Playhouse (TV series) – Benito Cereno (1967)
1964 Black Like Me
Christopher
1964 Bertolt Brecht: Übungstücke für Schauspieler (short)
1964 Terror in the City ..Preacher
1963 Espionage (TV series) – The Whistling Shrimp (1963) … Mbana
1963 East Side/West Side (TV series) ..– Go Fight City Hall (1963) … Architect
1962 The Connection ..J. J. Burden (as Roscoe Brown)

Roscoe Lee Brown sadly only made 1 movie with Duke

The Cowboys. 1972 ..Jebediah Nightlinger

I thought he was magnificent in the film,
his acting,his mannerisms, his voice, superb!

The passing of Roscoe in 2007,

Quote from Kevin

Roscoe Lee Browne, the Emmy-winning actor with the mellifluous baritone that he used to give voice to roles in everything from Shakespeare's plays to the popular animal film "Babe," died at 81 Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.The cause of death was cancer, said publicist Alan Nierob.

A classically trained actor with a commanding presence, Mr. Browne worked for some of the leading directors in film, including Alfred Hitchcock in "Topaz," Jules Dassin in "Uptight" and William Wyler in his last film, "The Liberation of L.B. Jones." Gifted in comedy as well as drama, Mr. Browne won his Emmy in 1986 for a guest appearance as Professor Foster in an episode of "The Cosby Show."

On Broadway, he appeared as the narrator in a Broadway production of "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," a play by Edward Albee from a novella by Carson McCullers in the 1960s. He was nominated for a Tony for best supporting actor in 1992 for his role as Holloway in August Wilson's acclaimed play "Two Trains Running."

"He was one of the most remarkable presences on stage, on film, on television," Sidney Poitier, who directed Mr. Browne in the 1974 comedy "Uptown Saturday Night" and knew him for about 40 years, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.
One of Mr. Browne's great loves was poetry, which he wrote as well as read.

For several years, he and fellow actor Anthony Zerbe toured the country presenting "Behind the Broken Words," an evening of poetry and dramatic readings. The project, which began in Los Angeles in 1969, offered the works of such noted literary artists as e.e. cummings, Dylan Thomas, Richard Wright and Amiri Baraka.

"This is the only person I know who could recite, without anything written in front of him, hundreds of poems," Poitier said.

The son of a Baptist minister, Mr. Browne was born in Woodbury, N.J., on May 2, 1925. After serving in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II, he graduated from historically black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he later taught French and comparative literature. A gifted runner, he was a national amateur champion in 1,000 yards in 1950 and 1951.

In the mid-1950s, he decided to give up his job selling wine for an import company and become a full-time actor. His debut was as the Soothsayer in "Julius Caesar" in the New York Shakespeare Festival's inaugural season.

In 1965, he won an Obie Award for his role as a defiant slave in the Robert Lowell play "Benito Cereno." In 1970, he received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Actor for his performance as Makak in "Dream on Monkey Mountain." He received another L.A. Drama Critics Award in 1989 for his performance as Bynum Walker in Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."

For much of his career, television provided Mr. Browne with steady employment.
When Robert Guillaume's character Benson left to star in his own series, Mr. Browne replaced him in 1980 as the butler to the Tate family on the ABC series "Soap." He also appeared as Rosemont on the CBS prime-time drama "Falcon Crest."

One of his more memorable guest appearances on television came in a 1972 episode of "All in the Family," when Mr. Browne played a snobbish attorney who got stuck in an elevator with Archie Bunker and a pregnant woman.

Film roles ranged widely from the story of a Harlem drug dealer in "Superfly T.N.T." to the John Wayne film "The Cowboys." Mr. Browne described working with Wayne as "delightful" and said he had "never worked with anyone who was more professional or generous of spirit."

In 1966, he wrote and made his directorial stage debut with "A Hand is on the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music," which starred Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones and Moses Gunn.

Over the years, he made steady work as a narrator of documentaries in "The Ra Expeditions," live action family fare in "Babe" and "Babe: Pig in the City," and in the animated "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties."

His authoritative voice kept him busy in audiobooks, with readings of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, the complete sonnets of William Shakespeare and the Old Testament of the Bible.

- San Francisco Chronicle

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Just to add to this thread many of our posts,
on the passing of Roscoe

Quote from Stumpy

Another one bites the dust. His role in "The Cowboys" was wonderful.

Quote from Tbone

What a great actor. He always impressed me with his bearing. He had gravitas in spades.

Rest in peace Roscoe.

Quote from DukePilgrim

Shame to hear this sad news.

Rest in Peace Roscoe

Mike

Quote from Stumpy

I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where) that both Mark Rydell (the director) and Roscoe Lee Browne came to have vast respect and admiration for the Duke while they were filming "The Cowboys", even though they were flaming liberals and Big John was an unapologetic conservative. Shows what charisma the man had.

Quote from Robbie

He was really good in 'The Cowboys' but I'm ashamed to say that this is the only film I have seen him in, does anyone have any recommendations of movies/TV programmes of his that I should see.

The John Wayne scrapbook claimed that Brown and Duke got along well with each other or as the Author quoted it 'They can't get off the phone to one another'. Does anyone else have any information regarding Dukes relationship with Brown and what the two men thought of each other.

Quote from Stumpy

I've seen him in TV and movie roles over the years, Rob, but nothing that really leaps out and grabs you, except for his performance in "The Cowboys". I thought he was excellent in that role.

Quote from gt12pak

This happens every year. We are losing more and more classic actors. Sad story indeed. The only tv show I remember seeing him in was an All in the Family episode.

Quote from The Ringo Kid

Rest in Peace Mr. Nightlinger.

The TV show I most remember him on was several episodes of: Sanford and Son. He was the paitent of Sanford's (Redd Fox) Fiancee -- who was a home-Nurse.

Forgot to mention that he also was a WWII Veteran. Mr. Browne was a Tuskeegee Airman. A few months ago on The History Channel, that had played that movie and had a few of the Tuskeegee vets there and Mr. Browne was one of them.

Quote from Kevin

I remember him in Soap. I didn't realize that he was in the Cowboys. Everytime I watched Soap I thought who is that guy, I've seen him before.

Quote from Lt. Brannigan

He was also the voice of The Kingpin on the Spider-Man cartoon that started in 1994.

Quote from arthurarnell

Hi

Sad to hear of another actor passing on.

He was memorable in the Cowboya as Nightlinger, and although politically against John Wayne, the two got on very well together.

RIP Roscoe

Regards

Arthur

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Quote from Jay J. Foraker

R.I.P. Roscoe Lee Browne - I always loved to hear his voice!
Cheers - Jay

Quote from RJCogburn

Gotta love that apple pie recipe.

Quote from Tbone

And the story his character tells about his father in the movie is wonderful.

He will be missed.