ACTOR ROSCOE LEE BROWN DIES AT 81

Roscoe Lee Browne, 84, a film, television and stage actor died April 11th at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Cancer claimed his life. Once an amateur athlete, Browne was 35 when he commenced his career in acting. He developed quickly as an astute performer of the Bard and classic literature. He appeared with actors Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett Jr. and James Earl Jones in Jean Genet's 1961 production of "The Blacks," an unflinching statement about colonialism that ran off-Broadway for many performances. Nominated for a Tony as best supporting actor during the 1992 Broadway run of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running," he was given greater exposure through film and television work. He appeared on the ABC sitcom "Soap" and twice played a man whose manner got the better of Carroll O'Connor's classic Archie Bunker in the comedy "All in the Family." An Emmy Award win in 1986 for a his guest starring role in the "The Cosby Show" and later made many appearances on numerous American sitcoms and series. He also appeared in "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974), starring and directed by Sidney Poitier. The Los Angeles Times reports that Browne, who was a minister's son, was born May 2, 1922, in Woodbury, N.J. He was a college track athlete too.

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