Entertainment

Isiah Whitlock Jr., ‘The Wire’ and ‘Veep’ Actor, Dies at 71

December 31, 2025

Dec 30, 2025 2:52pm PT Isiah Whitlock Jr., ‘The Wire’ and ‘Veep’ Actor, Dies at 71 By Ethan Shanfeld Plus Icon Ethan Shanfeld @ethanshanfeld Latest Timothée Chalamet Got Spanked With a Real Ping Pong Paddle in ‘Marty Supreme’ and Refused a Butt Double: ‘He Didn’t Want Some Other Ass Immortalized’ 7 hours ago ‘Stranger Things 5’ Gets Review Bombed as Will’s Coming Out Becomes Worst-Rated Episode on IMDb 1 day ago Chevy Chase Was Put Into a Coma for 8 Days After Heart Failure and ‘Basically Came Back From the Dead’: ‘The Doctor Warned Us We Might Not Get Him Back’ 4 days ago See All Variety via Isiah Whitlock Jr., an actor best known for playing the corrupt state senator Clay Davis on “The Wire,” died on Tuesday in New York, Variety has confirmed. He was 71. His manager, Brian Liebman, shared the news on Instagram, writing: “It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr.

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Credit: Isiah Whitlock Jr. at Lionsgate's "She Rides Shotgun" New York Special Screening held at the Roxy on July 29, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by John Nacion/Variety via

Key Highlights

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.” Indiana-born Whitlock was a prolific character actor who was a frequent collaborator of Spike Lee, appearing in his films “BlacKkKlansman,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “She Hate Me,” “25th Hour,” “Red Hook Summer” and “Chi-Raq.” Popular on Variety Across many of his projects, he developed the catchphrase “sheeeeee-it,” an elongated pronunciation of the word “shit.” It started in “She Hate Me” and “25th Hour,” and then the writers of “The Wire” began incorporating it into the HBO series.

News Obituaries Isiah Whitlock Jr.

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Isiah Whitlock Jr., ‘The Wire’ and ‘Veep’ Actor, Dies at 71

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Isiah Whitlock Jr., ‘The Wire’ and ‘Veep’ Actor, Dies at 71

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