BIRTHDAYS: Roscoe Lee Browne (Birthday May 2nd), American Actor & Director, Roscoe Lee Browne Biography on Acting Career, Awards & Honor, Achievements

Roscoe Lee Browne Biography

Roscoe Lee Browne was a revered American actor and director who won many awards for his work. He was also known for his dynamic and impressive personality.

Roscoe Lee Browne Background Information:

Roscoe Lee Browne was born on May 2, 1925 in Woodbury, New Jersey, USA. Roscoe Lee Browne succumbed to cancer at the age of 81 on April 11, 2007 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Roscoe Lee Browne graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1946. Roscoe Lee Browne completed his postgraduate education from Middlebury College in Vermont, Columbia University in New York City, and at the University of Florence in Italy. As an athlete, Roscoe Lee Browne won the Amateur Athletic Union championship for middle-distance running. Roscoe Lee remained a bachelor all his life. Roscoe Lee Browne dabbled in wine-trade for a while before quitting it for an acting profession.

Roscoe Lee Browne Acting career:

Roscoe Lee Browne started his career with a role in Julius Caesar for Shakespeare’s Film Festival in New York. Roscoe Lee Browne bagged his first movie role in “The Connection” (1961). Even in cameo roles, Roscoe Lee Browne succeeded in showcasing his versatile talent. His rich baritone voice made him a popular choice for narrations, dubbings and recordings. Even after entering movies, Roscoe Lee Browne continued to do theatre by acting in Shakespeare plays and Broadway.

Throughout Roscoe Lee Browne career, Roscoe Lee Browne steered away from the stereotypical negative characters that blacks were often cast in. “A Hand is On the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music” marked his first on-stage directorial debut in 1966. During the civil rights revolution, Roscoe Lee Browne chose to deliver public messages through his performances and themes in plays. Roscoe Lee Browne toured all over the US for a poetry performance piece called “Behind the Broken Words” along with another actor Anthony Zerbe.

Roscoe Lee Browne also featured in several television programs and series including:

• That Was the Week That Was (1964).
• Mannix
• All in the Family
• Good Times
• Sanford and Son
• The Cosby Show
• Soap (1979 - 1981)
• Benson.
• Kingpin (voice)
• Spider-man (voice)

As an actor and voice artist, Roscoe Lee Browne most acclaimed movies were:

• Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock)
• The Liberation of L.B. Jones (William Wyler)
• Babe (narrator)
• Babe: Pig in the City (narrator)
  

Roscoe Lee Browne Awards and Honors:

• Roscoe Lee Browne won the Emmy Award in 1986 for his role as Professor Foster in “The Cosby Show”.
• Obie Award (1965) - Best Performance for his role Babu in the play Benito Cereno
• Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards in Best Actor category for his roles as Makak Derek Walcott's The Dream on Monkey Mountain (1970) and as Bynum Walker in Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1989)
• Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977

Roscoe Lee Browne Films

• Black Like Me (1964)
• Graham Greene's The Comedians (1967)
• Up Tight! (1968)
• Topaz (1969)
• The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
• The Cowboys (1972)
• Cisco Pike (1972)
• The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)
• Superfly TNT (1973)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
• Logan's Run (1976)
• Legal Eagles (1986)
• Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
• The Mambo Kings (1992)
• Naked in New York (1993)
• Morgan's Ferry (1999)

Roscoe Lee Browne Voice work

• The Ra Expeditions (1972)
• Logan's Run (1976)
• The Story of Star Wars (1977)
• Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)
• Oliver & Company (1988)
• Babe (1995)
• Galapagos: Beyond Darwin (1996)
• Haiti: Harvest of Hope (1997)
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
• Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1995-1998)
• The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story (2000)
• Treasure Planet (2002)
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
• Epic Movie (2007)
• Smiley Face (2007)
• Proud Family (2003)

Roscoe Lee Browne Awards and recognition

• Obie Award (1965) - Best Performance for his role as the deceitful, mutinous slave Babu in the Robert Lowell play Benito Cereno
• Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor Award for his roles as Makak the mountain hermit in Derek Walcott's The Dream on Monkey Mountain (1970) and the voodoo priest Bynum Walker in Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1989)
• Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977

Roscoe Lee Browne Television Career

Eastside/Westside (1963) That Was The Week That Was (1964) NET Playhouse (1967) The Invaders (1968) Mannix (1968) Espionage (1968) Name of the Game (1969) The Outcasts (1969) The Name of the Game (1971) Insight (1971) Bonanza (1972) All in the Family (1972) Sanford and Son (1972) The Streets of San Francisco (1973) Good Times (1974) Barney Miller (1975) Starsky and Hutch (1977) Maude (1977) Miss Winslow and Son (1979) Soap (1979-1981) Hart to Hart (1981) Santa Barbara (1980s)

Falcon Crest (1980s) The Cosby Show (1980s) Benson (1980s) Magnum, P.I. (1983) 227 (1987) Highway to Heaven (1988) Falcon Crest (1988) Ring Raiders (1989) Columbo (1990) Father Dowling Mysteries (1990) A Different World (1992) SeaQuest DSV (1993) The John Larroquette Show (1994) New York Undercover (1996) Hope Island (1999) ER (1999) The Wild Thornberrys (1999) The Shield (2002) Law & Order (2003) Will and Grace (2004) Side Order of Life (2007)