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Isaiah Whitlock Jr., an actor who made many memorable appearances on the HBO series. Wire And Vice President and five films directed by Spike Lee died on Tuesday. He was 71 years old.
Whitlock's manager Brian Liebman told The Associated Press in an email that the actor died in New York after a short illness.
The actor played the openly corrupt state senator Clay Davis in 25 episodes over five seasons of the series. Wire.
Davis, a fan-favorite character, was known for his foul-mouthed “fu-fu” phrase, which Whitlock would utter in moments of triumph and raw honesty. The actor first used the phrase in his first film with Lee in 2002. 25th hourwhen his detective hero discovers a stash of drugs hidden on the couch.
“It’s a big, big, big loss,” Lee said in a phone call with the AP Tuesday night. “I will miss him for the rest of my life.”
Whitlock starred in four more of Lee's films, including the 2004 film. She hates me2012 Red Hook Summer2015s Chi-Lear2018s BlackKkKlansman and 2020s Yes 5 bloods.
“We have been in harmony all these years,” Lee said. “We clicked from the jump.”
Lee said he has particularly fond memories of the long time he spent shooting Whitlock. Yes 5 bloods on set in Thailand, and he fondly recalled the last time he saw Whitlock – Lee and his daughter Satchel sat with him at a screening of the film Kiss of the Spider Woman earlier this year.
“He was just a beautiful, beautiful soul,” Lee said. “If you were around him, he made everyone feel good in his presence. He would beam. I would put that above his acting.”
Lee pointed out Whitlock's comic talents both on and off screen.
“He was funny,” Lee said. “That was his nature, he made people laugh. Everyone was in on the joke.”
Whitlock is the second significant star Wire die in recent weeks following the actor's death James Ransonewho played bumbling low-level criminal Ziggy Sobotka in the series.
A native of South Bend, Indiana, Whitlock attended Southwestern Minnesota State University, where he played football and studied theater. Injuries prompted him to study acting, and he moved to San Francisco to work in the theater.
He began appearing in small roles on television in shows such as Cagney and Lacey in the late 1980s, and he had very small roles in the 1990 films. Nice Guys And Gremlins 2: New Batch.
After WireWhitlock moved on to another HBO show, a political satire. Vice Presidentwhere he played Secretary of Defense George Maddox for three seasons. The character ran against Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, in the presidential primaries.
Liebman, Whitlock's manager, also posted on social media about the actor's passing, calling him a “very dear friend.”
“If you knew him, you would love him. A brilliant actor and an even better person,” Liebman wrote.
Wire creator David Simon also paid tribute to Whitlock in post on Bluesky.
“As fine an actor as he was,” Simon said, “Isaiah was an even better spirit and the greatest gentleman.”
