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Roscoe Lee Browne
Roscoe Lee Browne (1922-2007) was an Emmy Award-winning actor known for his erudite diction and smooth voice, often typecast as butlers, professors, or intellectuals. Browne narrated the Creature Shop film Babe.
In his early years, Browne set the record for the 800 meter dash in 1951, and also taught literature at Lincoln University before turning to acting full time. He has worked steadily on the stage (garnering a Tony nomination for August Wilson's Two Trains Running in 1992), and in film, television, commercials, and animation since the 1960s.
Film work has included parts in Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz, The High Five (with Clarice Taylor), Jumpin' Jack Flash (with Whoopi Goldberg), The Mambo Kings, and Dear God, as well as Polonius in the 2000 Hallmark TV version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Television roles have included Saunders the butler on Soap and a recurring part as Dr. Barnabus Foster on The Cosby Show (winning an Emmy for one appearance) and its spinoff A Different World. Guest spots encompassed All in the Family, Barney Miller, Law & Order, Columbo, and Bill Cosby's later sitcom Cosby (as the estranged brother of Cosby's character).
Browne's animation voice roles range from guest parts on Batman: The Animated Series and Freakazoid to playing the Kingpin on the 1990s version of Spider-Man and principal roles in the Disney features Oliver and Company and Treasure Planet. His final film credits were narration for Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties and the genre spoof Epic Movie.