Emmy-Nominated ‘Hill Street Blues’ Actor Taurean Blacque Passes Away 82

Emmy nominated actor Taurean Blacque was best remembered for his role as Detective Neal Washington in the popular NBC crime drama series Hill Street Blues. The actor recently passed away in Atlanta at the age of 82. After hearing the tragic news of Taurean Blacque’s passing, the acting community is in grief.

Blacque’s family recently informed Deadline that he had a brief battle with an unidentified disease before passing away. Herbert Middleton Jr. was born on May 10, 1940, in Newark, New Jersey. He developed his acting skills at the New Federal Theatre in New York City.

Starting in 1976 with What’s Happening, he had a number of guest-starring parts to launch his career. The Krofft Supershow, The Tony Randall Show, Charlie’s Angels, The Bob Newhart Show, Good Times, Sanford and Son, Wonderbug, Snip, and others would all feature him as a guest star. In the 1978 picture House Calls, Blacque made his feature film debut. In the 1979 follow-up Rocky II, he played a lawyer.

Before getting the role of Detective Neal Washington in NBC’s Hill Street Blues, the actor would continue to work solidly with roles in the films Beyond Death’s Door and The Hunter as well as TV roles in The Love Boat. He received an Emmy nod in 1982 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series since he was one of the few cast members to stick with the program for its entire seven-season run.

With Nowhere Road, Step Off, and his final appearance in a 2018 episode of Kevin Saves the World, he worked even rarely throughout the 2000s. He was a longstanding resident of Atlanta who frequently performed there. His 12 children, 18 grandsons, and two great-great grandchildren survive him. RIP.