Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr., most well known for his role in the smash television hit The Wire, has passed away at the age of 71. Brian Liebman, his manager, confirmed that Whitlock died peacefully on December 30, 2025, after a brief battle with an illness. Whitlock played the role of corrupt state senator Clay Davis in The Wire, a series produced by HBO that has earned a place among some of the greatest television shows ever produced.
Liebman revealed the actor’s death on Instagram in a post that honored Whitlock following his passing. “It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr. 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,” Liebman said in the caption alongside images of Whitlock.
Another breakout role for Whitlock was the part of George Maddox, the U.S. Secretary of Defense in the series Veep. The actor also made appearances in several films directed by controversial filmmaker Spike Lee, including BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods, She Hate Me, 25th Hour, Red Hook Summer, and Chi-Raq. In the film, 25th Hour, Whitlock introduced what would become his iconic catchphrase, “sheeeit,” which was a funky way of dropping the word “s**t.”
According to a report from Fox News, the phrase became so popular that writers on The Wire imported it to the series and made it part of his character’s vocabulary. “I was in, I think, Grand Central Station and far away I heard someone say it and they’d be kind of smiling,” he said. “I’m glad people enjoy it,” Whitlock stated in an interview in 2008.
Whitlock also played a small part in Martin Scorsese’s hit film, Goodfellas. The actor’s final television role was in the Netflix original series, The Residence. The series was released on the streaming giant in March 2025. He also provided voice work for an upcoming Pixar animated film, Hoppers, which is scheduled for a 2026 release.
Whitlock, who was born in South Bend, Indiana, according to Deadline, started his acting career by joining San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. He was fresh out of college at the time. His first big role was as a guest star on the popular 1980s series Cagney & Lacey. He’s made regular appearances on television for over three decades with dozens of guest appearances on shows like Law & Order, popping up in several episodes on each of the franchise’s series Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent.
One particularly hilarious role from the 2011 film, Cedar Rapids, has him playing a character who professes to be a huge fan of The Wire. As far as final big screen appearances, Whitlock was seen in Elizabeth Banks’ dark comedy Cocaine Bear, a film about, well, a bear that does cocaine. Shockingly, it’s based on a true story. Another interesting tidbit about the movie is that the bear in the film was nominated for Best Villain at the MTV Movie & Television Awards in 2023.
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