Taurean Blacque, an Emmy-nominated actor best remembered for playing Detective Neal Washington in the popular NBC crime drama series “Hill Street Blues,” passed away on Thursday, July 21 in Atlanta at the age of 82. Blacque passed away after a battle with an unspecified disease. The acting community is mourning his passing.

Deadline received word of Blacque’s passing from his relatives. Herbert Middleton Jr. Blacque was born in Newark, New Jersey, on May 10, 1940. He launched his entertainment career at the prestigious Negro Ensemble Company in New York and soon secured appearances on TV series including Sanford and Son, What’s Happening, Good Times, The Bob Newhart Show, and Taxi, to mention a few.

In 1978’s “House Calls,” Blacque made his feature picture 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,” he continued to work solidly with appearances in the films “Beyond Death’s Door” and “The Hunter” as well as on the TV show “The Love Boat.” He started working on the programme in 1981, and the following year he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He stuck with the well-liked police procedural show all the way through 1987.

The show, which was produced by Steven Bochco-Michael Kozoll, went on to achieve great success despite its initial failure, finishing only 27th among primetime shows and never cracking the Top 20 in a three-network universe. Detective Neal Washington, played by Blacque, was a renowned, street-smart, no-nonsense veteran officer distinguished by his persistent toothpick and cap. His companion was the inebriated Detective JD LaRue (Kiel Martin), who had an unconventional approach to police work that occasionally crossed or straddled the borders of police regulation.