Isiah Whitlock Jr., an actor who made frequent memorable appearances on the HBO sequence “The Wire” and “Veep” and in 5 movies with director Spike Lee, died Tuesday. He was 71.
Whitlock’s supervisor Brian Liebman instructed The Related Press in an electronic mail that the actor died in New York after a brief sickness.
Whitlock performed brazenly corrupt state Sen. Clay Davis on 25 episodes throughout the 5 seasons of “The Wire.”
Davis, a fan-favorite character, was identified for his profane catchphrase — “sheee-it” — delivered by Whitlock in moments of triumph and blunt honesty. The actor first used the phrase in his first movie with Lee, 2002’s “The twenty fifth Hour,” when his detective character discovers a cache of medication hidden in a sofa.
“It’s a giant, massive, massive loss,” Lee stated in a telephone name with the AP on Tuesday night time. “I’m going to overlook him for the remainder of my life.”
Whitlock went on to look in 4 different Lee movies, together with 2004’s “She Hate Me,” 2012’s “Purple Hook Summer season,” 2015’s “Chi-Raq,” 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” and 2020’s “Da 5 Bloods.”
“We vibed over all these years,” Lee stated. “We clicked from the soar.”
Lee stated he has particularly candy recollections of the prolonged time he spent with Whitlock capturing “Da 5 Bloods” on location in Thailand, and he fondly remembered the final time he noticed Whitlock — Lee and his daughter, Satchel, sat with him at a screening of “Kiss of the Spider Lady” earlier this yr.
“He was only a stunning, stunning soul,” Lee stated. “In the event you have been round him, he made all people really feel good in his presence. He would radiate. I’d put that over his appearing.”
Lee pointed to Whitlock’s comedian abilities each on display and off.
“He was hilarious,” Lee stated. “That was simply his nature, he made individuals snort. Everyone was in on the joke.”
Whitlock is the second important star of “The Wire” to die in current weeks after the demise of actor James Ransone.
A local of South Bend, Indiana, Whitlock went to Southwest Minnesota State College, the place he performed soccer and studied theater. Accidents pushed him to review appearing, and he moved to San Francisco to work in theater.
He started showing in small tv visitor roles on exhibits together with “Cagney and Lacy” within the late Nineteen Eighties, and he had very small roles within the 1990 movies “Goodfellas” and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.”
After “The Wire,” Whitlock moved on to a different HBO present, the political satire “Veep,” the place he performed Secretary of Protection George Maddox for 3 seasons. The character ran in opposition to Julia Louis-Dreyfus ′ Selina Meyer in presidential primaries.
“The Wire” creator David Simon additionally paid tribute to Whitlock in a submit on Bluesky.
“As high-quality an actor as he was,” Simon stated, “Isiah was a fair higher spirit and the best gentleman.”
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This story has been corrected to point out that Clay Davis was a state senator, not a metropolis councilman.
