The film world has lost a distinctive face.
American actor Isiah Whitlock Jr., known for the series The Wire and Veep and the films of Oscar-winning director Spike Lee, died at the age of 71 on Tuesday. His manager Brian Liebman reported on the actor’s death on social networks. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the AFP agency and the BBC station.
“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr. If you knew him, you loved him. A great actor and an even better person,” Liebman wrote. He clarified for the media that the actor died in New York after a short illness.
Acting beginnings
Whitlock was born on September 13, 1954 in South Bend, Indiana. He was a graduate of Southwest State University and studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
Viewers knew him, for example, in the role of politician Clay Davis in the series The Wire (The Dirt of Baltimore), based on former journalist David Simon’s articles about the dark background of the drug trade and politics in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
He also appeared in Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas and Spike Lee’s many films, such as She Hate Me, 25th Hour, BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods.
Lee posted a photo on social media with Whitlock, whom he described as his “dear beloved brother.”
