Taurean Blacque, the best-known actor for an Emmy-nominated performance as a detective in the acclaimed NBC drama series “Hill Street Blues,” died in Atlanta on Thursday. He was 82 years old.
His family announced his death in a statement. It did not identify the cause, just saying he died after a short illness.
Starting his career as a stage actor in New York, Black made several television appearances under his belt when he played a groundbreaking role in 1981. He was praised for his realistic portrayal of the day-to-day reality of police operations, and was nominated for 98 Emmy Awards in seven seasons, winning 26.
The part of Washington that Mr Black later recalled was roughly written, and his choice was to play a quiet and reflexive character. “I think the original concept was a hip and jive black man,” he told the TV Guide. “But I wanted to change that a bit to give him some depth and not get into that stereotype.”
Black was nominated for the 1982 Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in the Drama Series, but he lost to fellow cast member Michael Conrad. (All candidates in that year’s category (others Charles Haid, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz) were members of the “Hill Street Blues” cast.)
“Hill Street Blues” ended broadcasting in 1987, and two years later, Mr. Black co-starred with Vivica A. Fox and others in the NBC soap opera “Generations.” Perhaps the most racially diverse daytime drama of the era, Generations dealt with a long-standing relationship between two Chicago families (one white and one black). Blacque played the owner of a series of ice cream parlors.
He then moved to Atlanta, where he was active in the local theater scene, performing in plays such as August Wilson’s “Jitney” and James Baldwin’s “Armen Corner.” He also National Black Theater Festival Winston Salem, North Carolina
Taurean Blacque was born on May 10, 1940 in Newark as Herbert Middleton Jr. His father was a dry cleaner and his mother was a nurse.
He graduated from Newark’s High School of Arts, but didn’t decide to pursue an acting career until he was nearly thirty years old and worked as a mail carrier. He enrolled in the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York in 1969 and told USA Today, “When I found out that acting was my niche, I put all my energy into it.”
He said he chose the stage name Taurean Blacque (Torin was his constellation) as part of the way to get the casting director’s attention. Eventually, after paying the membership fee for several years, he did.
His work at the New York Community Theater led to his role at the Negro Ensemble Company, where he eventually went to Hollywood, where he was “Sanford and Son,” “Taxi,” “Charlie’s Angels,” and “The Bob Newhart Show.” Played the role of a guest on TV such as. The series before appearing in “Hill Street Blues”.
In addition to being an actor, Blacque, who had two biological sons and adopted 11 other children, was an advocate of adoption. He was a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Adoption Service. In 1989, President George Bush appointed him a national spokesman for adoption.
Blacque’s survivors include 12 children, 18 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
