Taurean Blacque, 'Hill Street Blues' actor, dead at 82

foxnews.com:

Taurean Blacque, an Emmy-nominated actor and star of hit '80s show "Hill Street Blues," has died. He was 82. Blacque died following a brief battle with an undisclosed illness, his family said Thursday.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Blacque began studying acting in New York, where his training helped him land small roles on many popular television shows, including "Sanford and Son," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Good Times," "Taxi" and "What’s Happening!!" Taurean Blacque had a lot of guest starring roles on several shows before making it big on "Hill Street Blues." (Photo by: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) While Blacque found success as a guest star, his biggest television role came when he was cast as Detective Neal Washington on "Hill Street Blues." Washington was a football player who suffered a career-ending injury before deciding to join the police force.

Blacque portrayed the streetwise detective for seven seasons from 1981-1987, the entire run of the show. He was so successful in the role, he earned an Emmy nomination in 1981, but ended up losing out on the award to one of his co-stars who was also in his category.

Two years after the end of "Hill Street Blues," Blacque landed a role on another successful television show. He starred as Henry Marshall on NBC’s soap opera "Generations" for 102 episodes from 1989-1991.