Taurean Blacque, who used the street wise Det. Neal Washington in all seven seasons of the critically acclaimed NBC police show Hill Street Blues, died Thursday in Atlanta after a short illness, his family announced. He was 82.
From 1989-90, Blacque played Henry Marshall opposite Vivica A. Fox and others as an original cast member on the NBC daytime soap generations, the first series to feature a black family as part of the main storyline from the start. His character owned ice cream parlors in Chicago.
In 1982, Blacque received an Emmy nomination for a supporting actor for his work as the toothpick-dependent Washington on hill street but lost to co-star Michael Conrad. Amazingly, the other three nominees—Charles Haid, Michael Warren, and Bruce Weitz—were also from the 1981-87 series, created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll.
Bochco and producer-director Gregory Hoblit chose Blacque to say “Previously on Hill Street Blues” over clips from last week’s show. “They loved my melodious voice,” he told the guard in 2016.
He played another cop, Det. Michael Wheeler, for two seasons in the 1996-97 WB drama savanna.
Taurean Blacque as De. Neal Washington on ‘Hill Street Blues’
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Born Herbert Middleton Jr. in Newark, New Jersey, on May 10, 1940, Blacque joined the Negro Ensemble Company in New York in the mid-1970s, performing in plays such as Orrin and Welcome to Black River. In 1976 he appeared for Joseph Papp in So nice, they called it twice.
Also in 1976, he made his on-screen debut in an episode of What is going on!!followed by guest photos on Sanford and son, The Tony Randall Show, Charlie’s Angels, The Bob Newhart Show, Good times, Cab and Dream On.
His big screen resume included Home visits (1978), Rocky II (1979) and the animated Oliver & Company (1988).
As for his stage name, he shared: Playboy magazine: “My heritage is black – spelled QUE – and I’m a Taurus. I decided I needed a name change that I could relate to. It looks good on a marquee and always draws attention in casting agencies.”
Blacque, who had two biological sons and eleven adopted children — five from an addicted mother — was asked by President George HW Bush in 1989 to serve as the national spokesperson for adoption. He was also a spokesperson for adoption services in Los Angeles County.
He was active in the Atlanta Black Theater Company and the Black Theater Festival in North Carolina.
Among the survivors are 12 children, 18 grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.