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Roscoe Lee BrowneAdd to My CelebsAge 81 (passed away Apr. 11th, 2007) Birthday May. 2nd, 1925 Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, USA Height |
Roscoe Lee Browne's Main TV Roles
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Main Movie Roles2007 - Epic Movie2007 - Smiley Face 2006 - Garfield 2: A Tail of Two Kitties 2002 - Treasure Planet 1998 - Babe: Pig in the City 1996 - Dear God 1995 - Babe 1993 - Naked in New York 1992 - The Mambo Kings 1990 - Night Angel 1988 - Oliver & Company 1986 - Legal Eagles 1986 - Jumpin' Jack Flash 1976 - Logan's Run 1974 - Uptown Saturday Night 1972 - The Cowboys 1969 - Topaz |
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB
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 (I)'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 (I)/Richard Burton (I) 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).
TRIVIA:
- 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".
- Before turning to acting, Browne taught literature and French at Lincoln University.
- Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch).
- Set a world's record in 1951 at Paris for the 800-meter run.
- Began his acting career on the New York stage.
- Was nominated for Broadway's 1992 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for 'August Wilson' (qv)'s "Two Trains Running."
- Has appeared with 'Steven Hill (I)' (qv) in two different, completely unrelated productions in which Hill played the New York County District Attorney: _Legal Eagles (1986)_ (qv) and the _"Law & Order" (1990)_ (qv) episode "Consultation".
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