Andre Braugher!

 Man, this hit me hard. Andre Braugher, an actor and a man who commanded whatever screen you saw him on, passed away at age 61. I was stunned. How is this man no longer here? 

First saw him as this bespectacled upper class educated black man in Glory, the movie that also starred an up-and-coming Denzel Washington and a legend named Morgan Freeman as men of the Massachusetts 54th fighting the Confederacy that had enslaved them. Though Washington won the Oscar, deservedly so, it was Braugher who left the wow who's that guy impression on me. I searched him out before the days of streaming. The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson for one. What a force.

Homicide: Life on the Street is still one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time. But who knew that it was Frank Pembleton who would be such a lasting character. Braughers scenes in "the box" interrogating people he thought were guilty, his awkward interaction with his coworkers, and his unabashed Catholicism (played so perfectly) made Pembleton a character that will never fail to impress.

We would watch virtually anything if he was in it because he made everything better for having been in it. Get on the Bus, Hack, Thief, Men of a Certain Age, even Last Resort, the wayward submarine drama that didn't last. The arch nemesis of Olivia Benson, a defense lawyer on Law and Order SVU, the therapist of the fucked-up Dr Gregory House, the showboat lawyer on the Good Fight, man there are so many. 

But in 2013, a show called Brooklyn 99 was about to debut. Maxs Mom and I both wondered what in the hell was Andre Braugher doing being in a show with a clown like Andy Samberg. But we watched it and goddam, we were totally off base about both of them. Captain Holt, a gay black cop with a husband named Kevin and a corgi named Cheddar. dominated the screen. And he was hilarious playing the intellectual stuck up by the book in life as well as policing Captain Holt. He hated the word Bone , he thought nothing of dentists , his prediction expertise , eating marshmallows, or Holt and Cheddar.

He was a such a joy. I will miss him.