Johnny Brown

Born: 1937-06-11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John "Johnny" Brown (born June 11, 1937) was an American actor and singer. Brown was a nightclub and stage performer as well as a comic actor, and a regular cast member of the television series Laugh-in. Brown is mostly remembered for his chubby physique, wide ingratiating smile, mobile facial expressions, and easy pleasant joking style. Brown is most famous, however, for his role as building superintendent Nathan Bookman on the 1970s CBS sitcom, Good Times. Bookman was often the brunt of fat jokes via the show's main character J. J. Evans (Jimmie Walker). Brown portrayed Bookman until the series was cancelled in 1979. Other television shows Brown has appeared on include Flip Wilson Show, The Jeffersons, Family Matters, Sister, Sister, The Jamie Foxx Show and Martin. Brown also used to go to school with Walter Dean Myers when he lived in Harlem as a boy. Brown is also the father of actress Sharon Brown,[citation needed] who was born in 1962, and also the father of John Brown Jr. or J.J Brown Jr. Brown had earlier established himself in the Broadway musical Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis, Jr.; his supporting role was in the part of Ronnie and was featured as the lead voice on the show stopping rouser, "Don't Forget 127th Street". In the early 1970s, Brown starred in a television commercial for the Write Brothers pen, a short-lived product of the Papermate pen company. The commercial consisted of an elaborate musical number, "Write On, Brothers, Write On", led by Brown as a schoolteacher who encourages his chorus line of students to use this pen for their school assignments. In 1997, Brown contributed his voice to the introduction of the compilation album Comedy Stew: The Best of Redd Foxx. In the introduction, Brown tells of how Norman Lear had considered Brown to play the role of Lamont in Sanford And Son, but was unavailable to do so because of his prior commitment to Laugh-In, leading Lear to give the role to Demond Wilson instead.


Placeholder

Hanky Panky

as Bus Driver
Released: 1982-06-04

Naïve Michael Jordon is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious...

Movie page

Town & Country

as Chauffeur
Released: 2001-04-27

Porter Stoddard is a well-known New York architect who is at a crossroads... a nexus where...

Movie page

The Out-of-Towners

as Waiter in Train
Released: 1970-05-28

George & Gwen Kellerman make a trip to New York, where George is going to start a new job, it...

Movie page

Jackie's Back!

as Rev. Eustace Barnett (Pastor, Kinloch Baptist Temple)
Released: 1999-06-14

A British documentarian profiles washed-up diva Jackie Washington as she prepares for her...

Movie page

Lord Help Us

as Cephas Thomas
Released: 2007-02-01

Comedy about faith and family directed by Shavar Ross. When a recently widowed Baptist preacher...

Movie page

A Man Called Adam

as Les
Released: 1966-03-16

A famous jazz trumpeter finds himself unable to cope with the problems of everyday life.

Movie page

I'm Through with White Girls

as Sam Moore
Released: 2007-02-01

Jay Brooks is that black guy who digs indie rock, graphic novels, and dates white chicks. After...

Movie page

In Da Cut

as Granddad
Released: 2013-12-16

In Da Cut is a comically inspiring story of a young aspiring film maker, fresh out of school,...

Movie page

The Old Negro Space Program

as Wallace 'Suitcase' Jefferson
Released: 2004-03-04

The suppressed history of America's Black space program, in mockumentary form broadly satirizing...

Movie page

Man in the Mirror

as Wallace Jones
Released: 2008-11-20

A group of people living on the edge of society try to survive on the streets of New York City...

Movie page

Family Matters

as Pastor Fuller
First aired: 1989-09-22

A long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family...

TV Show page

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...

TV Show page

Moonlighting

as Sam the Piano Player
First aired: 1985-03-03

After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in...

TV Show page

Gimme a Break!

as uncredited
First aired: 1981-10-29

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons, October 29, 1981, until...

TV Show page

The Wayans Bros.

as Maurice
First aired: 1995-01-11

The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from January 1995 to May 1999 on The WB. The...

TV Show page

The Wayans Bros.

as Bookman
First aired: 1995-01-11

The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from January 1995 to May 1999 on The WB. The...

TV Show page

The Parent 'Hood

as uncredited
First aired: 1995-01-18

The Parent 'Hood is an American sitcom that aired on The WB airing from January 18, 1995 to July...

TV Show page

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

as Regular Performer
First aired: 1967-09-09

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

TV Show page

Night Gallery

as Man with Stake (segment "How to Cure the Common Vampire")
First aired: 1970-12-16

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a...

TV Show page

Love, American Style

as Gordon
First aired: 1969-09-29

An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in...

TV Show page

The Jamie Foxx Show

as uncredited
First aired: 1996-08-28

Texas native Jamie King is an aspiring actor who heads to Hollywood in hopes to find fame and...

TV Show page

227

as uncredited
First aired: 1985-09-14

A housewife sits on the stoop of her apartment building in a black neighborhood of Washington,...

TV Show page

The Flip Wilson Show

as Self
First aired: 1970-09-17

The Flip Wilson Show is an hour long variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September...

TV Show page

Archie Bunker's Place

as uncredited
First aired: 1979-09-23

Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived...

TV Show page

Martin

as uncredited
First aired: 1992-08-27

Sassy sitcom centering on radio and television personality Martin Payne. Series focuses on his...

TV Show page

The Rookies

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-11

The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows...

TV Show page

Kenan & Kel

as Uncle Louie
First aired: 1996-08-17

Set in Chicago, the show follows the kid-friendly misadventures of two high-school friends who...

TV Show page

The Jeffersons

as uncredited
First aired: 1975-01-18

Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as...

TV Show page

The Parkers

as uncredited
First aired: 1999-08-30

The Parkers is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004. A...

TV Show page

Sister, Sister

as uncredited
First aired: 1994-04-01

Twins Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell were separated and adopted at birth. Fourteen years later,...

TV Show page

Punky Brewster

as Chuck
First aired: 1984-09-16

An abandoned waif and her dog are taken in by a cranky apartment manager who becomes her...

TV Show page

Good Times

as Nathan Bookman
First aired: 1974-02-08

Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1,...

TV Show page

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show

as uncredited
First aired: 1980-09-27

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show is an animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears...

TV Show page

On Our Own

as Mr. Terwilliger
First aired: 1994-09-13

On Our Own is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1994 until April 14, 1995....

TV Show page

Out All Night

as Man at Reunion
First aired: 1992-09-19

Out All Night is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1992 to July 9, 1993...

TV Show page

Baby Bob

as uncredited
First aired: 2002-03-18

Baby Bob is an American sitcom that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement in March 2002. The...

TV Show page

Lotsa Luck

as Ronnie
First aired: 1973-09-10

Lotsa Luck is an American sitcom that aired during the 1973-74 television season. The series...

TV Show page

E! True Hollywood Story

as uncredited
First aired: 1996-08-21

E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood...

TV Show page

Rickety Rocket

as Splashdown
First aired: 1979-09-01

Rickety Rocket is an animated television series, produced by Ruby-Spears Productions, and ran...

TV Show page