Johnny Brown is best known for his role on the TV series as Nathan Bookman, the housing project superintendent. Good TimesHe has passed away. His family did not give any cause of death. He died at the age of 84.
Instagram account of Sharon Catherine Brown, actress and daughter “Our family is devastated. Devastated. Devastated. Beyond heartbroken. Barely able to breathe.” .
Brown enjoyed a multi-faceted career. Brown recorded songs, played in a band and appeared on Broadway. He was also a regular on television, including three seasons as part the ensemble for the hit show. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. That appearance was a double-edged sword, as his contractual commitments to the show prevented him from taking the role of Red Foxx’s son on Sanford and Son.
Former Laugh-In writer-turned-producer Allan Manings brought Brown to Good TimesIt was midway through its second year in 1975.
Brown was born in Harlem on June 11, 1937. He won the Apollo Theater’s amateur night competition. This led to his joining a nightclub with June, his future spouse, and tap dancer Gregory Hines Jr., and drummer Gregory Hines Sr.
Sammy Davis Jr. was a mentor to Brown and brought him in to be an understudy to Godrey Cambridge’s musical adaptation. Golden Boy,Broadway.
Cambridge was fired. Brown assumed the role of Ronnie and performed the show-stopping number. “Don’t Forget 127th Street.” Golden Boylasted more than 500 performances.
Brown continued to film the Davis drama Adam, the Man Who Called Himself Adam1966; Broadway returned in 1968 Carry me back to Morningside HeightsSidney Poitier directed “The Greatest Showmanship”.
When Neil Simon asked him to be a waiter on a train, he brought him to Los Angeles.The Out of Towners. This led to him being a part The Leslie Uggams Show.
Bown has been on many shows over his long career. Julia,Maude,The Rookies,You have a lot to be thankful for!,The Jeffersons,Archie Bunker’s Place,Family Matters,Sister, Sister,MoonlightingandMartin,And was in such films as The Wiz(1978), Poitier’sHanky Panky(1982),Life(1999) andTown & Country(2001).