An emotional Whoopi Goldberg returned to The View on Tuesday after taking some time off to mourn the loss of her brother Clyde Johnson, who died suddenly of a reported brain aneurysm last week. 
“Thank you for all of the outpouring of sympathy,” she said to her fans and co-hosts. “My brother Clyde Johnson was an amazing cat. He was the funny one of the family.” Goldberg also took a moment to give a special shout-out to the mortuary where Johnson was laid to rest for treating her family with respect and empathy.
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Goldberg had been absent from the table since last Tuesday, when she had flown to California to be at her brother's bedside. Her co-hosts seemed visibly happy to have her back. “We are all so dearly sorry for your loss and to your family,” Rosie Perez said. “But I just want to make a statement here. You are truly the captain of this ship and we missed you.” Raven-Symoné, who has been a regular guest host in recent weeks, echoed the sentiment.

As viewers saw in photos that Goldberg shared, she and her brother were extremely close, and Johnson even worked as her driver and assistant frequently over the years. The siblings lost their mother just five years ago. At the time, Goldberg said about her mother's death, "I think I’m just sad sometimes because I think, 'Who will love me the way that she did?' But I realized that my brother and I have each other, so we’re okay."

Though the show never officially confirmed the sad news during Goldberg's absence, The View hinted at the tragedy on the show's official Twitter account last week, saying Goldberg was taking some time off to be with her family. 
Whoopi is a Black Hollywood icon and we're sure her brother and mother were extremely proud of her. Watch our tribute to the star of stage, screen and television below:

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(Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Variety)