Johnny Brown, the actor, comedian and singer best known for his role as Superintendent Nathan Bookman on the hit ’70s sitcom Good Times, died Wednesday. He was 84 years old.
Brown’s death was confirmed by his daughter, Broadway actress Sharon Katherine Brown, in a message posted to her Instagram. There are no other details about Brown’s death yet.
“He was literally torn out of our lives. For us, this is not yet realistic,” wrote Sharon Katherine Brown. “Therefore, there will be something to say, but not now. Dad was the best. We love him very, very much.”
Prior to his sitcom fame, Brown was a seasoned entertainment industry veteran, regularly performing at nightclubs with his future wife, June Russell. Early in his career he was involved in recording music, releasing the single “Walkin’, Talkin’, Kissin’ Doll” for Columbia Records in 1961 and “You’re Too Much in Love With Yourself” for Atlantic Records in 1968.
In 1964, Brown played a supporting role in the Broadway musical adaptation of Clifford Odets’ play The Golden Boy, where he performed the musical number “Don’t Forget 127th Street.” The show, which starred his friend and show business legend Sammy Davis Jr., ran for over 500 performances. In 1968, he starred in the short-lived Broadway production Take Me Back to Morningside Heights directed by Sidney Poiter and featuring an all-star cast including Cicely Tyson, Diane Ladd, Lewis Gossett Jr. and David Steinberg.
Brown landed his first screen role in 1966 playing a blind pianist in A Man Called Adam, which starred Good Times co-star Janet DuBois and starred Davis. His first television role was as a regular cast member on the short-lived 1969 variety show The Leslie Aggams Show, which was the first American variety series to be hosted by a black woman. A year later, he was hired to star in the third season of the hit TV series Rowan & Martin Laughs, where he was a regular cast and performer for the remainder of the show.
One of the writers for Laugh, Allan Manings, worked as a producer on Good Times. After Laughter ended in 1973, Brown joined the cast of Good Times for its second season in a recurring role. He will be promoted to the main cast for the show’s fifth and sixth seasons. The CBS sitcom created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans starred Esther Rolle and John Amos as the parents of a family living in a poor Chicago neighborhood. Jimmy Walker, Bern Nadette Stanis and Ralph Carter portrayed their children, while Dubois played their neighbor Villona. The series was notable for being the first American television show to feature a black family with two parents. As Superintendent Bookman, Brown was a frequent target of ridicule for the rest of the characters and one of the show’s biggest sources of laughs.
In addition to Good Times, Brown starred in many sitcoms of the era, including Maude, Julia, American Love, The Rookies, Big Luck, and Chico and the Man. After Good Times ended in 1979, he continued to appear on high-profile television shows for the next two decades, including Archie Bunker’s Place, The Jeffersons, Fantasy Island, Punky Brewster, Moonlight . Martin, Family Matters, Sister Sister, The Jamie Foxx Show, Touched by an Angel, Kenan and Kel, and Everybody Hates Chris. He also had notable film roles such as “The Wiz” in 1978 and “Hanky Panky” in 1982, which reunited him with his old Broadway director Poiter. In the late 80s, he starred in the musical comedy Gospel Truth, which toured the US and included music by former Motown songwriter and producer William Stevenson.
Brown is survived by wife Jane Russell, 61, children Sharon and John Jr., younger brother Elijah, and two grandchildren.
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