A long-time collaborator of director Spike Lee and star of prestige series 'The Wire', Isiah Whitlock Jr. passed away following a short illness.
Isiah Whitlock Jr., best known for his memorable roles in HBO's The Wire and Veep, along with his frequent collaborations with director Spike Lee, has died aged 71.
The news was announced on Tuesday by Whitlock's manager, Brian Liebman.
"It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr.," Liebman shared on Instagram.
"If you knew him - you loved him. A brilliant actor and even better person. May his memory forever be a blessing. Our hearts are so broken. He will be very, very missed," he continued.
One of Whitlock's most notable roles was that of the openly corrupt state Sen. Clay Davis in The Wire - widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
Davis became a favourite character among fans, beloved 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 film with Spike Lee, 2002's The 25th Hour, when his detective character discovers a cache of drugs hidden in a couch.
“It’s a big, big, big loss,” Lee told the AP. “I’m going to miss him for the rest of my life.”
"A beautiful, beautiful soul"
Whitlock went on to appear in four other films by Lee, including 2004's She Hate Me, 2012's Red Hook Summer, 2015's Chi-Raq, 2018's BlacKkKlansman and 2020's Da 5 Bloods.
“We vibed over all those years,” Lee said. “We clicked from the jump.”
Lee said he has especially sweet memories of the extended time he spent with Whitlock shooting Da 5 Bloods on location in Thailand, and fondly remembered the last time he saw Whitlock at a screening of Kiss of the Spider Woman earlier this year.
“He was just a beautiful, beautiful soul,” Lee said. “If you were around him, he made everybody feel good in his presence. He would radiate. I would put that over his acting.”
Whitlock is the second significant star of The Wire to die in recent weeks following the death of actor James Ransone, who played petty criminal Ziggy Sobotka.
A native of South Bend, Indiana, Whitlock grew up in a large family - one of ten siblings.
After graduating from Southwest Minnesota State University in 1976, where he played football and studied theatre, injuries led him to pursue acting over sport.
He began his on-screen career with brief television guest roles on shows including Cagney and Lacy in the late 1980s, then landed small roles in the 1990 films Goodfellas and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
After The Wire, Whitlock moved on to another HBO show, the political satire Veep, where he played Secretary of Defense George Maddox for three seasons. The character ran against Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer in presidential primaries.
The Wire creator David Simon also paid tribute to Whitlock in a post on Bluesky.
“As fine an actor as he was," Simon said, “Isiah was an even better spirit and the greatest gentleman.”
