Actor Roscoe Lee Browne dies

LOS ANGELES, April 12 (UPI) -- Roscoe Lee Browne, whose deep, modulated voice led to roles on a Shakespearean stage and as narrator of the barnyard "Babe" films, died in Los Angeles at 81.

Browne, who died Wednesday of cancer, worked for some of the leading Hollywood directors, including Alfred Hitchcock in "Topaz." On the small screen, Browne had guest roles on television hits such as "All In The Family" and "The Cosby Show," for which he won an Emmy, the Los Angeles Times said Thursday.

Although not on-camera, moviegoers heard his voice as the narrator in the popular film "Babe," and its sequel, "Babe: Pig in the City."

Browne debuted as the Soothsayer in "Julius Caesar" during the New York Shakespeare Festival in the mid-1950s. He appeared in Broadway productions such as "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" and "Two Trains Running."

For several years, Browne, who read and wrote poetry, and actor Anthony Zerbe toured the United States, offering audiences poetry and dramatic readings in "Behind the Broken Words."

Browne won an Obie for his role in "Benito Cereno." He also received two Los Angeles Drama Critics awards for performances in "Dream on Monkey Mountain" and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."