Isiah Whitlock Jr has died on the age of 71. The performer was famend for his portrayal of corrupt senator Clay Davis in HBO crime drama The Wire, and maintained a longstanding inventive partnership with acclaimed director Spike Lee.

Whitlock additionally featured in Goodfellas and Gremlins 2: The New Batch, while collaborating with Lee on quite a few tasks together with twenty fifth Hour, She Hate Me, Purple Hook Summer season, Chi-Raq, BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods. The well-known actor additionally had a recurring function in Legislation and Order the place he performed 12 totally different characters in 14 episodes.

His consultant Brian Liebman honoured Whitlock, calling him “a superb actor and even higher individual”.

Taking to Instagram to announce the tragic information, he penned: “It’s with super unhappiness that I share the passing of my expensive good friend and shopper Isiah Whitlock Jr. Should you knew him – you liked him. An excellent actor and even higher individual. Could his reminiscence without end be a blessing. Our hearts are so damaged. He will probably be very, very missed.”

Liebman confirmed to Deadline that Whitlock died peacefully in New York after a quick sickness. US publication Selection defined how Whitlock created the memorable catchphrase “sheeeeee-it,” a drawn-out model of the expletive, which The Wire’s writers subsequently wove into his character’s dialogue for the acclaimed collection.

Whitlock revealed he can be approached by admirers on the road two to a few instances every day, requesting he carry out the well-known phrase.

He initially delivered it on display screen within the 2002 movie twenty fifth Hour. Throughout a 2008 interview, he revealed the catchphrase originated from mimicking his uncle Leon.

“I did it there, and I did it in She Hate Me,” he revealed throughout his dialog with Hobo Garbage can. “However then, once I bought on to The Wire, I noticed a few alternatives the place I might do it, and I did. They usually began writing it in.”

Whitlock’s passing arrives merely days after information emerged that his former colleague James Ransone, who portrayed Ziggy Sobotka within the second collection of The Wire, had taken his personal life on the age of 46, in line with Metro.

The Indiana-born Whitlock was additionally a gifted athlete, securing a soccer scholarship to Southwest Minnesota State College, the place he pursued theatrical research.

Following accidents that introduced his soccer aspirations to an finish, he pivoted in the direction of appearing, finishing his diploma in 1976 earlier than becoming a member of the American Conservatory Theater.

His tv debut occurred in Cagney and Lacey, while he grew to become recognised for his performances in Veep, Your Honor and The Residence, alongside his memorable appearances throughout all 5 collection of The Wire.