Bobby J. Brown, best known for playing Officer Bobby Brown on HBO’s The Wire, has died at 62.
According to People, a spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Brown passed away on Tuesday (Feb. 24) due to smoke inhalation after being trapped in a barn fire. His death has been ruled accidental.
His daughter Reina told People she learned about the tragedy after receiving a late-night call from her sister around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“I was sound asleep. I had gone to bed about two hours before,” she said. “My little sister [was] freaking out, saying that Dad’s gone and that he got caught up in a barn fire, and I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’”
Per TMZ, Brown had gone into the barn to jump-start a vehicle when the fire suddenly broke out. He reportedly called a family member for a fire extinguisher, but by the time help arrived, the barn was already consumed by flames. His wife was severely burned while trying to rescue him.
“Bobby J. Brown was an actor of immense talent and even greater integrity. He approached his work with a discipline and a passion that were truly inspiring to witness,” his agent Albert Bramante told People.
“While his career included many notable performances, it was his unwavering dedication to the craft of acting that defined him as an artist,” Bramante continued. “We are deeply saddened by this loss and ask for privacy for his family and loved ones during this time.”
Brown made his television debut in Homicide: Life on the Street in 1998 and later appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, along with HBO projects The Corner and We Own This City.
