An actor who appeared on stage at London's Globe Theatre and on television in "Sanford & Son" has died in New Jersey.

Graham Brown was 87.

Actress Barbara Montgomery often appeared with Brown on the stage and had power of attorney on his behalf. She says he died Tuesday of pulmonary failure at the Lillian Booth Actors' Fund Nursing Home in Englewood.

Montgomery says Brown was meticulous and was a gentleman. Brown often appeared in stage productions of the New York-based Negro Ensemble Company and was a founding member of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

He played a school principal on the 1970s sitcom "Sanford & Son" and a judge on "Law & Order." He also had roles in movies including "Malcolm X," `'Clockers" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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