Roscoe Lee Browne

For the Tuskegee Airman, see Roscoe Brown.
Roscoe Lee Browne

Roscoe Lee Browne (in 1979)
Born (1922-05-02)May 2, 1922[1]
Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S.
Died April 11, 2007(2007-04-11) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Stomach cancer
Alma mater Lincoln University
Occupation Actor, stage director
Years active 1960–2007

Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922[2] – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing. 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 America, in addition to his work in television and film.

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.[6]

Browne was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, in 1977[7] and posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, in 2008.[8]

Early life and education

Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Browne was the fourth son of Baptist minister, Sylvanus S. Browne, and his wife Lovie (née Lovie Lee Usher). He attended historically black, Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania. While there, he became a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and graduated with a bachelor's degree, in 1946.

During World War II, he served in Italy with the Negro 92nd Infantry Division and organised the Division's track and field team.[9] After the war Browne undertook postgraduate work at Middlebury College, Columbia University and at the University of Florence. A middle-distance runner, he won two Amateur Athletic Union 1,000-yard national indoor championships and a world championship in the 800-yard dash in 1951.[10]

He occasionally returned to Lincoln University, between 1946-52, to teach English, French and comparative literature. Upon leaving academia, he earned a living for several years selling wine for Schenley Import Corporation. In 1956, he left his job with Schenley to become a full-time professional actor.

Career

Acting

Despite the apprehensions of his friends, Browne managed to land the roles of soothsayer and Pindarus in Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph Papp for New York City's first Shakespeare Festival Theater. More work with the Shakespeare Festival Theater followed,[11] and he voiced an offscreen part as camera operator J.J. Burden in The Connection (1961), his first movie role.[12] In The Cowboys (1972), in a role as a camp cook, he led a group of young cowhands avenging the death of John Wayne's character in the movie.[13]

Browne was much in demand for narration and voice-over parts in film and on commercial sound recordings. In 1968-69, he was heard as a late-night disc jockey on WNEW-FM[14] in New York reciting poetry, passages from the Bible, and assorted literary works. In 1977, a record album, The Story of Star Wars, presenting an abridged version of the events depicted in the first released film, utilizing the dialogue and sound effects. The recording was produced by George Lucas and Alan Livingston and was narrated by Browne.[15][16][17][18][19]

Browne was determined not to accept stereotypical roles which had routinely been offered to African-American actors. He also wanted to do more than act and narrate. In 1966, he wrote and made his directorial stage debut with A Hand Is On The Gate, starring Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, and Moses Gunn. A lifelong bachelor who coveted his privacy in the turbulent decades of the civil rights revolution, Browne avoided participation in public protests, preferring instead to be “more effective on stage with metaphor...than in the streets with an editorial”.[20]

His stage success brought him to the attention of producer Leland Hayward, and in 1964 he began a regular stint as a cast member on Hayward's satirical NBC-TV series That Was the Week That Was. Starting in the late 1960s, Browne increasingly became a guest star on TV on both comedy and dramatic shows like Mannix, All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son, The Cosby Show, A Different World, and dozens of other shows. He also was a regular on Soap[12] where he played Saunders, the erudite butler from 1979–81, replacing Robert Guillaume who went on to his own show Benson. Browne later guest-starred on Benson with Guillaume. His appearances on The Cosby Show won him an Emmy Award in 1986 for his guest role as Professor Foster.[13]

He and fellow actor Anthony Zerbe toured the United States with their poetry performance piece, Behind the Broken Words, which included readings of poetry, some of it written by Browne, as well as performances of comedy and dramatic works.[11]

Browne found additional success performing in the plays of August Wilson, both on Broadway and the Pittsburgh Public Theater. He was described as having "a baritone voice like a sable coat", speaking the King's English with a strong mid-Atlantic accent. To someone who once said Browne sounded "too white", he replied, "I'm sorry, I once had a white maid."[21] Four years before his death, Browne narrated a series of WPA slave narratives in the HBO film, Unchained Memories (2003).[22]

Directing

Browne's directorial credits include a piece called An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music, at the Delacorte Theatre and the Public Theatre in New York City, in 1966. It was also produced as A Hand Is on the Gate, at the Longacre Theatre in New York City, in 1966. The production was also revived at the Afro-American Studio in New York City, from 1976 to 1977.[23]

Birth year

Some year-of-birth records, including the Social Security Death Index,[1] report Browne born on May 2, 1922, while other sources claim that Browne's date of birth was three years later, on May 2, 1925. Those sources include The New York Times,[24] Los Angeles Times,[25] Variety,[26] the Associated Press[27] and several others,[28][29][30] including a Congressional Resolution.[31]

In an undated, videotaped interview with Camille O. Cosby, for the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), Browne said: "I was born, Camille, so they say, May 2, 1922, in Woodbury, New Jersey."[32]

Death

Browne died of stomach cancer in Los Angeles on April 11, 2007, aged 84.[12][33][34][35]

He was remembered for his contributions in a New York Times encomium by Frank Crohn of the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society:

"We mourn the loss of our long-time Trustee and faithful friend. He was always to be counted upon to be supportive of the aims and purposes of the Society. He filled our lives with the soft sound of poetry as only he could recite it. Now the stage is empty and the lights are low."[12]

Awards and recognition

Filmography

Film

Voice

Television

Theatre

Other work

Recordings

  • Enjoyment of Poetry: Memorial Program for Claude McKay, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature, 1967.
  • Poems, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature, 1968.
  • Caribbean, Random House Audio, 1989.
  • Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story, Listening Library, 1989.
  • Martin Luther King Edition: New Testament Value Pack, World Bible Publishing Company, 1991.
  • Audio Bible, World Bible Publishing, 1991.
  • Bible for Today, New Testament, 1992.
  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X, with Joe Morton. Simon & Schuster Audio, 1992.
  • M. C. Higgins, the Great, by Virginia Hamilton Recorded Books, 1993.
  • Kwanzaa Folktales, by Gordon Lewis, Warner Adult, 1994.
  • The Word Workout: 10 Easy Exercises for a Stronger Vocabulary, Dove Books Audio, 1995.
  • The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare: With A Lover's Complaint and Selected Songs, Dove Books Audio, 1996.
  • The Poetry of Robert Frost, Dove Books Audio, 1996.
  • Masterpieces of Modern Short Fiction, Audio Literature, 1998.
  • The Haunting of Hill House, New Star Media, 1999.
  • The Bible: Old Testament, King James Version, Audio Literature, 2001.
  • The Poetry of Robert Frost, New Millennium Audio, 2001.
  • The Poetry of Walt Whitman, New Millennium Audio, 2001.
  • KJV on Cassette: New Testament, Nelson Bibles, 2003.

Radio Appearances

Writings

References

  1. 1 2 Roscoe L Browne. United States Social Security Death Index. Church of Latter Day Saints. FamilySearch.org. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 3 Roscoe Lee Browne. Awards and Nominations Television Academy. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  4. Two Trains Running Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. 2001- 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  5. Roscoe Lee Browne. Director, Performer. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. Roscoe Lee Browne: Awards, Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  7. Inductees. Roscoe Lee Browne. Image 80 of 295. Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  8. Theater Hall of Fame American Theatre Critics Association. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  9. Dillard, Harrison; McIntosh, Michael (July 17, 2012). Bones: The Life and Times of Harrison Dillard. AuthorHouse. pp. 48–49.
  10. Roscoe Lee Browne Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Roscoe Lee Browne, lortel.org. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Robertson, Campbell (April 12, 2007). "Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, (sic) Actor of Stage and Screen, Dies". The New York Times.
  13. 1 2 Roscoe Lee Browne at the Internet Movie Database
  14. Annals of College: When She Called Off the Blocks. September 21, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2016
  15. The Story of Star Wars (Complete) Disney Audio Archive. YouTube. November 15, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  16. It’s Time To Listen To The Story Of Star Wars…On 8-Track Tape! Retroist. April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  17. Vinyl Movies... In Space Age Stereo! Space:1970. March 19, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2016
  18. Roscoe Lee Browne - The Story Of Star Wars Audiophile International USA. 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  19. STAR WARS Week: Happy Star Wars Day! Sound Beat. Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved March 3, 2016
  20. Quincy Troupe. “Roscoe Lee Browne” profile, Essence (December 1976), p. 92, at blackpast.org.
  21. Rawson, Christopher (2009-01-28). "Lane, Hamlisch among Theater Hall of Fame inductees". Post-Gazette.com. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  22. Jet Magazine profile. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  23. Roscoe Lee Browne profile, Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  24. "Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, Actor of Stage and Screen, Dies", The New York Times, April 12, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  25. "Roscoe Lee Browne, 81; award-winning film, stage, TV actor", Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  26. Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, actor, Variety, April 12, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  27. "Actor Roscoe Lee Browne dies at 81", The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  28. Roscoe Lee Browne obituary, The Guardian. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  29. Roscoe Lee Browne profile, NNDB.com, Soylent Communications. 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  30. Simonson, Robert (April 12, 2007). "Roscoe Lee Browne, Dignified Stage Actor, Dies at 81". Playbill. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  31. Congress of the United States. U.S. House of Representatives. Washington D.C. In Memoriam Roscoe Lee Browne Scholarship Fund website. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  32. Roscoe Lee Browne profile, The National Visionary Leadership Project. 2002-2013. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  33. "Actor Roscoe Lee Browne dies at 81 (sic) in Los Angeles". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. April 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  34. Roscoe L. Browne: Death Record from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) - GenealogyBank(subscription required)
  35. Profile Familysearch.org. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  36. 1969 – 1979 Awards LA Drama Critics Circle. 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  37. Past Western Heritage Award Winners. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016
  38. Inductees. Roscoe Lee Browne. Image 80 of 295. Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  39. 1980–1989 Awards, LA Drama Critics Circle. 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  40. Awards for 1989. Soap Opera Digest Award Internet Movie Database. January 16 1989. Retrieved March 1, 2016
  41. Two Trains Running Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. 2001- 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  42. Roscoe Lee Browne. Director, Performer. Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. 2001- 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016
  43. HHA Nominees & Recipients. theatreWashington. 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2016
  44. Roscoe Lee Browne. Awards Internet Movie Database. 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016
  45. Theater Hall of Fame American Theatre Critics Association (ACTA). 2010-2013. Retrieved February 23, 2016

External links

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