Johnny Brown, musician, comedian, and beloved actor best known for his role as the housing project superintendent Nathan Bookman on the hit TV show “Good Times,” has died, his family has announced on social media. The multitalented star celebrated his 84th birthday last June.
“Johnny Brown June 11, 1937 – March 2, 2022… Our family is devastated. Devastated. Devastated. Beyond heartbroken. Barely able to breathe. We respectfully ask for privacy at this time because we need a minute to process the unthinkable,” his daughter the actress Sharon Catherine Brown wrote in the Instagram announcement Friday, March 4.
“To articulate the depths of profound sadness. This is my mom’s husband for sixty one years, mine and JJ’s dad, Elijah and Levi’s Pop Pop, older brother to George and brother in law to Pat and extended family to Chris, Hihat, Damian and Derell. It’s too terrible. It will never not be. It’s a shock. He was literally snatched out of our lives, the “Love of Life” star continued in her touching tribute.
“It’s not real for us yet. So there will be more to say but not now. Dad was the absolute best. We love him so very much,” the 60-year-old concluded.
Born on June 11, 1937, in St. Petersburg, Florida, Brown was raised in Harlem. He found stardom after winning an amateur night at The Apollo Theatre, which led him to become part of a nightclub act with his future wife, June, and with tap dancer Gregory Hines Jr. and drummer Gregory Hines Sr.
His résumé included tours with Sammy Davis Jr., who also served as a mentor for him, landing him a role on Broadway as Ronnie in “Golden Boy.” He also held a recurring position on the television show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” He released his first 45 with Columbia Records, “Walkin’, Talkin’, Kissin’ Doll,” with “Sundown” on the B side, at age 23.
Brown went on to film the Davis drama “A Man Called Adam” and later returned to Broadway in 1968 for a play titled “Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights,” directed by the late Sidney Poitier.
Tributes have already begun to pour in on social media as fans and Hollywood reflected on the man whose easygoing nature kept them entertained for over four decades. Many echoed “Not Bookman” throughout the comment sections of various social media platforms.
Fellow “Good Times” star Bern Nadette Stanis, who played the iconic role of Thelma Ann Evans on the CBS sitcom, wrote that she was “devasted to hear about my dear friend Johnny Brown who played Bookmen on our show ‘Good Times.’”
She noted that she will miss “all the stories about Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and even John Wayne. She highlighted the actor’s star quality noting that “his talent was beyond measure. … He was such a pleasure to work with.” She concluded, “I certainly will miss his happy spirit and big smile. Praying for his family in every way. RIP my wonderful friend. I will truly miss you.”
In addition to his daughter and his wife of 61 years, survivors include his son John Jr.
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