Goodnight Andre
You left us too soon.
You had much more to give us.
Even though you had already given us a lot.
From the ill-prepared soldier in “Glory”
To “Men from a Certain Age,”
And “Brooklyn Nine Nine,”
You made us laugh, cry, and think.
And then there was your best role,
“Homicide: Life on The Street,”
Playing homicide detective Frank Pembleton.
In an ensemble cast, you stood out,
In the rarest of roles, playing a Black man.
Who was an intellectual, a thinker,
Arrogant, caustic, unrelenting.
You didn’t play the role for laughs,
Although you could be wickedly humorous,
You weren’t warm and fuzzy,
But edgy and brittle.
You dominated the screen,
You captivated countless audiences,
You moved us in every possible way.
Now, you are part of our history,
Leaving a legacy of excellence,
From the big to the small screen,
Of spectacular, noteworthy performances.
You are gone, and it doesn’t seem right.
You won’t become someone new,
And it doesn’t seem fair.
But our consolation, our one consolation,
In our grief and tears,
Is that we had you at all.
Goodnight, Andre.
Goodnight.