Johnny Brown, who starred in the 1970s comedy show “Good Times” and lighted up television screens for years, has passed away.
According to TMZ, the 84-year-old actor, comedian, and father of two died on March 2 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
“Our family is devastated,” Johnny’s daughter, Broadway star Sharon Catherine Brown, said on Instagram on Saturday after learning of her father’s death.
Sharon told TMZ that her father passed out immediately after leaving a normal doctor’s appointment to have his pacemaker checked in Los Angeles. He died later at the hospital, she claimed.
Sharon said in her Instagram post that the family is “beyond heartbroken” and asked for privacy because “we need a minute to process the unthinkable. To articulate the depths of profound sadness.”
“He was literally snatched out of our lives. It’s not real for us yet,” she added. ”Dad was the absolute best. We love him so very much.”
Johnny’s most well-known role was as building superintendent Nathan Bookman on CBS’s Chicago-set sitcom “Good Times,” which was a spinoff of another CBS comedy from the 1970s, “Maude.”
The actor was born in 1937 in St. Petersburg, Florida, before migrating to Harlem, New York, where he was raised, according to PEOPLE.
According to the publication, Johnny’s early television performances included appearances on shows such as “The Jeffersons,” “Family Matters,” “Sister, Sister,” “Martin,” and “The Wayans Bros.”
Johnny was reportedly a talented musician who performed songs with jazz saxophonist Sam “The Man” Taylor and later appeared twice on Broadway, according to PEOPLE. In addition to a role in the 1970 film “The Out-of-Towners,” Johnny was reportedly a talented musician who performed songs with jazz saxophonist Sam “The Man” Taylor and later appeared twice on Broadway, according to PEOPLE.
Janet Jackson, who co-starred with Johnny on “Good Times,” paid a poignant tribute to her friend and former co-star after his death on Saturday.
“Such loving memories of our time together,” Jackson wrote, captioning an Instagram picture of a beaming Johnny. “You were full of laughter and forever smiling. Always so sweet and so kind to me. I love you and will miss you. 🤍 #JohnnyBrown 🙏🏽.”
Johnny is survived by his wife of 61 years, June Brown, his daughter Sharon, and his son John Brown Jr., according to PEOPLE.
