Brown appeared frequently on Broadway and Off-Broadway during his long career, including productions of The River Niger, Weekend, The Man in the Glass Booth, Black Picture Dew, The Talented Tenth, Macbeth, and News Mountain Dew, which he also performed in Los Angeles to critical acclaim. He also performed in London and at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
His film and television credits include Malcolm X., Clockers, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and Sanford & Son.
