Hollywood actor Bobby J Brown, who played Officer Bobby Brown in the hit HBO police procedural series The Wire (2002–2008), died on Thursday in a barn fire in Marlyand at the age of 62.
Brown’s daughter confirmed his death. TMZ after the incident, telling the outlet that the actor died of smoke inhalation and it is believed that he did not suffer from the severe burns inflicted on him in the deadly blaze.
The actor’s cause of death was ruled to be diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation, as per Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s office, reported. TMZ.
The fire started after Brown entered the barn and attempted to jump-start a vehicle.
It’s not clear what exactly happened, but TMZ reported that a little while after entering the barn, Brown called his family to get a fire extinguisher.
By the time the actor’s family reached the barn, it was already engulfed in flames. Brown’s wife suffered serious burns trying to get the actor out of the flaming barn, reported TMZ.
Who was Bobby J Brown?
Born and raised in Washington, Robert Joseph Brown boxed in his youth, scripting an amateur record of 73-13 and winning five Golden Glove championships, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Brown made his on screen debut in 1998 on an episode of NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Streetand also acted in two HBO miniseries set in Baltimore, namely The Corner (2000) and the recent We Own This City (2022).
The actor’s most famous role, however, was in The WireHBO’s five-season hit series created by David Simon and set in Baltimore.
Brown appeared in 12 of the series’ 60 episodes, playing a character who is said to be a homage to a real-life Western District patrolman named Bob Brown.
Brown also appeared on Law & Order: SVU and Veep and in films such as City by the Sea (2002), My One and Only (2016), fishbowl (2018), Miss Virginia (2019), Really Love (2020) and Off-Time (2022).
The actor also directed two documentaries: Off the Chain (2005), about America’s pit bull terriers, and Tear the Roof Off: The Untold Story of Parliament Funkadelic (2016).
