Roscoe Lee Browne Dies at 81

Source: Zap2it.com and the Los Angeles Times Online (latimes.com)

Roscoe Lee Browne, the Emmy-award winning actor with the mellifluous baritone that he used to give voice to roles as varied as Shakespeare's plays and the popular animal film "Babe," died Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81.

The cause of death was cancer, said publicist Alan Nierob.

A classically trained actor with a commanding presence, Browne worked for some of the leading directors in film, including Alfred Hitchcock in "Topaz" and Jules Dassin in "Up Tight!" and starring in William Wyler's last film, "The Liberation of L.B. Jones."

Gifted in comedy as well as drama, Browne won his Emmy in 1986 for a guest appearance as Professor Foster in an episode of "The Cosby Show."



Read more: http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-roscoeleebrowneobit,0,2809154.story%3ftrack=rss

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The good die young. I will miss his voice, it was definately one of the best, and very disinctive in it's quality.

were always good for a laugh, usually at Cliff Huxtable's expense, especially the episodes where he, Cliff, Cliff's father, and their friends played cards.

Recently, I sw him in a rerun of Will and Grace as the owner of a bookstore that Will and Jack were trying to keep from going out of business. His delievery of his lines were classic and reminded me of some bookstore owners that I knew in my mis-spent youth.

from John Wayne and the Cowboys when he has a noose around his neck, fixing to be hanged by the bad guys led by Bruce Dern. He asks for a moment of atonement:

"Lord, forgive me for the men I have killed and for the men I am about to."

RIP Roscoe!

His graceful refusal of Colleen Dewhurst's come-on in the Cowboys.
His character is one of the things I like best about that film.

O8)

RIP Roscoe O8)

hat we can live for years thoroughly enjoying an actor's work, and know from their presence on screen that we like them and suspect we'd enjoy their company in real life, too, yet never learn their name until we read their obituary.

Mr Browne was a fine actor with a voice of mellifluous tone. Thankfully, he'll live forever in film, and for the rest of my days I'll have the joy of seeing him again or, with surprised delight, discovering him in anew in some work I've never seen.

in my small local university theater about 6-8 years ago. He toured with Anthony Zerbe in a show they put together reading/performing poetry and literature. It was artful, moving, and thoroughly entertaining even for my then pre-teen and teen sons. It was all about the magic of language and we were thoroughly spellbound.

RIP, Mr. Browne. You will always be remembered as a one-of-a-kind of actor by me.

I have a friend down in LA who's going to miss him, too. They had dinner one night, struck up a friendship, and kept in touch sporadically for years afterward.

My favorite memory though is far more impersonal: his appearance in the classic TV sitcom All in the Family. The episode was "The Elevator Story". Putting Archie Bunker in difficult situations with the people he wants as little to do with in life as possible was this series' stock-in-trade, and this one was priceless: Archie Bunker is trapped in a stuck elevator with the building's Puerto Rican janitor, his very, very pregnant wife (she goes into labor in the elevator, naturally) and a distinguished lawyer, played by Roscoe Lee Browne. His character was Hugh Victor Thompson III. A part of the dialogue:

Archie: I saw a lot of action in the war.
Hugh Victor Thompson III: During KP or latrine duty?
Archie: As a soldier in the Army Air Corp, that's the only place we'd see you people.
Hugh Victor Thompson III: As an officer in the Intelligence Division, I would never have seen you.

:rofl:

His talent, his class, his voice, will all be missed.

Wasn't there an exchange between Archie and Thompson that went something like:

Archie: (some outrageous statement)
Thompson: "What makes you think...(refers to outrageous statement)?"
Archie: (some outrageous statement 2)
Thompson: "What makes you think...(refers to outrageous statement 2)?"
Archie: (some outrageous statement 3)
Thompson: "What makes you think?"

That killed me! :rofl:

He was brilliant on Broadway, on TV and everywhere he ever appeared. He was a great gentleman, learned and keen witted. He will be greatly missed.

A wonderful actor.

There was an episode where Roscoe was a patient with a French accent seperated by a curtain from Archie.
Archie: YOU Didn't tell me you were black!
Roscoe: YOU Didn't tell me you were white!

Came out in 1978, I think. A narrated version of the film, with sound clips from the movie, sound effects, and Roscoe Lee Brown, of all people, narrating. He had a great voice, but for what other reason would they hire him as narrator for Star Wars? Why not James Earl Jones? :shrug:

I had that album as a kid. I recall the baritone narrator. It's been decades since I heard it, but I recall he sounded almost British. More like Alec Guinness than James Earl Jones.

I'm guessing JEJ didn't narrate because of the whole Darth Vader thing.

He recorded the tag line for the TV campaign, "Ahh, the power of cheese."

I think he was often sought out when James Earl Jones was unavailable, or unaffordable.

A rather weak effort from Hitch, but Browne was the best thing in it. That and John Vernon's Cuban general (I know, he didn't look very Cuban, but he was good).

And very talented and intelligent as well. Rest in peace, Mr. Browne.

Who will be #3?

And also, as I just pointed out to someone, Browne is the second of three (black) actors very well known for their voices and their roles as narrator, dubbed voice in films, TV documentaries and other such roles. We lost Paul Winfield a while back, Browne is second, and thankfully, James Earl Jones is still with us and apparently healthy. It's always been a comfort to me to watch a show where I can listen to the narrator and recognize it.

We will miss Roscoe and his comforting voice. RIP

Though the human voice is stilled, he will live on in recordings...

RIP Roscoe Lee Browne :loveya:

like a spice in a stew. May not be that familiar to you-but try making the stew without it-it just comes out flat.