April 11, 2007 Roscoe Lee Browne, actor and director, died.

Browne was born May 2, 1925 in Woodbury, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University in 1946 and in 1949 won the Amateur Athletic Union 1,000-yard national indoor track championship. Browne began his acting career with the Shakespeare Festival Theater and in 1961 had his first movie role when he voiced a part off-screen in “The Connection.”

His first significant role was in “Black Like Me” (1964). Other films include “Topaz” (1969), “The Liberation of L. B. Jones” (1970), and “The Mambo Kings” (1992). In 1964, Browne became a regular cast member on the television series “This Was the Week That Was” and over the years he appeared as a guest star on many comedy and dramatic shows. In 1986, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor for an appearance on “The Cosby Show.”