Isiah Whitlock Jr., an actor who made frequent memorable appearances on the HBO series βThe Wireβ and βVeepβ and in the films of Spike Lee, died Tuesday. He was 71.
Whitlock's manager Brian Liebman told The Associated Press in an email that the actor died in New York after a short illness.
Whitlock played openly corrupt city councilman Clay Davis on 25 episodes across the five seasons of βThe Wire.β
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Davis, a fan-favorite character, was known for his profane catchphrase β βsheee-it" β delivered by Whitlock in moments of triumph and blunt honesty. The actor first used the phrase in his first film with Lee, 2002's βThe 25th Hour.β
βThe Wireβ creator David Simon posted a photo of Whitlock on Bluesky in tribute.
Whitlock is the second significant star of the show to die in recent weeks after the death of actor James Ransone.
A native of South Bend, Indiana, Whitlock went to Southwest Minnesota State University, where he played football and studied theater. Injuries pushed him to study acting, and he moved to San Francisco to work in theater.
He began appearing in small television guest roles on shows including βCagney and Lacyβ in the late 1980s, and he had very small roles in the 1990 films βGoodfellasβ and βGremlins 2: The New Batch."
He went on to appear in five of Lee's films, including βShe Hate Me,β βRed Hook Summer,β βChi-Raq,β βBlacKkKlansmanβ and βDa 5 Bloods.β
He played Secretary of Defense George Maddox for three seasons on the political satire βVeep.β The character ran against Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer in presidential primaries.
Photos: Notable deaths in 2025
Peter Yarrow
Updated
Peter Yarrow, the singer-songwriter best known as one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary, the folk-music trio whose impassioned harmonies transfixed millions as they lifted their voices in favor of civil rights and against war, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. He was 86.
Sam Moore
Updated
Sam Moore, the surviving half and higher voice of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave that was known for such definitive hits of the era as βSoul Manβ and βHold On, I'm Comin,ββ died Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. He was 89.
David Lynch
Updated
David Lynch, the filmmaker celebrated for his uniquely dark vision in such movies as βBlue Velvetβ and βMulholland Driveβ and the TV series βTwin Peaks,β died just days before his 79th birthday.
Bob Uecker
Updated
Bob Uecker, the voice of his hometown Milwaukee Brewers who after a short playing career earned the moniker "Mr. Baseball" and honors from the Hall of Fame, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. He was 90.
Joan Plowright
Updated
Award-winning British actor Joan Plowright, who with her late husband Laurence Olivier did much to revitalize the U.K.'s theatrical scene in the decades after World War II, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. She was 95.
Cecile Richards
Updated
Cecile Richards, a national leader for womenβs rights who led Planned Parenthood for 12 tumultuous years, died Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. She was 67.Β
Garth Hudson
Updated
Garth Hudson, the Band's virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as "Up on Cripple Creek," βThe Weightβ and "Rag Mama Rag," died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 at age 87.
Marianne Faithfull
Updated
Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones' greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, died Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. She was 78.
Dick Button
Updated
Figure skating great and authoritative commentator Dick Button,Β who was the winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. He was 95.Β
Barbie Hsu
Updated
Barbie Hsu, a Taiwanese actress who starred in the popular TV drama βMeteor Gardenβ that once swept Asia, died Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, after contracting pneumonia triggered by the flu. She was 48.
Irv Gotti
Updated
Irv Gotti, the boisterous, smiley music mogul who founded Murder Inc. Records and was behind major hip-hop and R&B artists, died Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. He was 54.Β
Tony Roberts
Updated
Tony Roberts, a versatile, Tony Award-nominated theater performer at home in both plays and musicals and who appeared in several Woody Allen movies β often as Allen's best friend β died Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. He was 85.
Paquita la del Barrio
Updated
Mexican musical legend Paquita la del Barrio, known for her powerful voice and fierce defense of women, died at her home in Veracruz early Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. She was 77.
Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler, a premier soul singer of the 1960s and after whose rich, intimate baritone graced such hits as "For Your Precious Love," "Only the Strong Survive" and "Make It Easy On Yourself," died Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. He was 85.
Voletta Wallace
Voletta Wallace, the dedicated mother of the late great rapper The Notorious B.I.G. and protector of his legacy, died Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. She was 78.
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate vocal and musical style made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after, died Monday, Fe. 24, 2025. She was 88.
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg, a former child star who appeared in the 1996 βHarriet the Spyβ hit movie and went on to co-star in two buzzy millennial-era TV shows β βBuffy the Vampire Slayerβ and βGossip Girlβ β died Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. She was 39.Β
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa
Updated
Gene Hackman, the prolific Oscar-winning actor whose studied portraits ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains and made him one of the industryβs most respected and honored performers, has been found dead along with his wife, 65-year-old concert pianist Betsy Arakawa,Β at their home in February. He was 95.
David Johansen
David Johansen, the wiry, gravelly-voiced singer and last surviving member of the glam and protopunk band the New York Dolls who later performed as his campy, pompadoured alter ego, Buster Poindexter, died Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. He was 75.
Roy Ayers
Updated
Roy Ayers, a legendary jazz vibraphonist, keyboardist, composer and vocalist known for his spacy, funky 1976 hit βEverybody Loves the Sunshineβ that has been sampled by such R&B and rap heavyweights as Mary J. Blige, N.W.A., Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Mos Def and Ice Cube, died Tuesday, March 4. He was 84.
Pamela Bach
Pamela Bach, an actor and the ex-wife of βBaywatchβ star David Hasselhoff, diedΒ Wednesday, March 5. She was 62.
John Feinstein
John Feinstein, one of the country's foremost sports writers and the author of numerous bestselling books, including the groundbreaking βA Season on the Brinkβ about college basketball coach Bob Knight, died unexpectedly Thursday, March 13. He was 69.
Γmilie Dequenne
Updated
Γmilie Dequenne, the Belgian actor who won a top Cannes Film Festival prize for her breakout role in βRosetta,β diedΒ Sunday, March 16, of a rare cancer in a hospital outside of Paris.Β She was 43.
Kitty Dukakis
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, who spoke openly about her struggles with depression and addiction, died Friday, March 21. She was 88.
Mia Love
Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday, March 23. She was 49.
Denis Arndt
Denis Arndt, a character actor and favorite of TV writer and producer David E. Kelley, getting cast in βL.A. Law,β βPicket Fencesβ and βChicago Hope,β and later earning a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut at age 77 in a play about mismatched lovers, died March 25. He was 86.
Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain, the handsome hero of the 1960s television series "Dr. Kildare" who found a second career as an award-winning "king of the miniseries," died Saturday, March 29. He was 90.
Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan favorite Iceman in βTop Gun,β donned a voluminous cape as Batman in βBatman Foreverβ and portrayed Jim Morrison in βThe Doors,β died April 1. He was 65.
Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale, the genial host of such hit game shows as βGambitβ and βTic-Tac-Doughβ who also did one of the first recorded television interviews with a young Elvis Presley, died April 15. He was 91.
Pope Francis
Pope Francis, historyβs first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humility and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives over climate change and critiques of capitalism, died April 21. He was 88.
Steve McMichael
Steve McMichael, a star defensive tackle on the Chicago Bearsβ famed 1985 Super Bowl championship team, died April 23 following a battle with ALS. He was 67.
Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series βRowan & Martinβs Laugh-Inβ and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, died May 1. She was 88.
Jim Dent
Jim Dent, whoΒ grew up in the caddie yards of Augusta, Georgia, and went on to become one of the PGA Tour's longest hitters and one of the top Black golfers of his generation, died May 2. He was 85.
James Foley
James Foley, a journeyman director best known for βGlengarry Glen Ross,β died May 6. He was 71.Β
David H. Souter
Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a favorite of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, died May 8. He was 85.
Johnny Rodriguez
Country music star Johnny Rodriguez, a popular Mexican American singer best known for chart-topping hits in the 1970s such as βI Just Canβt Get Her Out of My Mind,β βRidinβ My Thumb to Mexicoβ and βThatβs the Way Love Goes,β died May 9. He was 73.
Robert Benton
Robert Benton, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who helped reset the rules in Hollywood as the co-creator of "Bonnie and Clyde," and later received mainstream validation as the writer-director of "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Places in the Heart," died May 11. He was 92.
Charles Strouse
Three-time Tony Award-winner Charles Strouse, Broadway's industrious, master melody-maker who composed the music for such classic musical theater hits as "Annie," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Applause," died May 14. He was 96.
George Wendt
George Wendt, an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy βCheersβ and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in βArt,β βHairsprayβ and βElf,β died May 20. He was 76.
Jim Irsay
Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Coltsβ owner who leveraged the popularity of Peyton Manning into a new stadium and a Super Bowl title, died May 21 at age 65.Β
Dave Shapiro
Dave Shapiro, a groundbreaking music executive in the heavy metal and hard rock scene, died May 22 in a San Diego plane crash. He was 42.
Marcel Ophuls
Marcel Ophuls, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose landmark 1969 documentary βThe Sorrow and the Pityβ shattered the comforting myth that most of France had resisted the Nazis during World War II, died May 24. He was 97.
Phil Robertson
Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman's paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative cultural phenomenon, died May 25, according to his family. He was 79.
Rick Derringer
Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded βHang On Sloopy,β had a hit with βRock and Roll, Hoochie Kooβ and earned a Grammy Award for producing βWeird Al β Yankovic's debut album, died May 26. He was 77.
Loretta Swit
Updated
Loretta Swit, who won two Emmy Awards playing Maj. Margaret Houlihan, the demanding head nurse of a behind-the-lines surgical unit during the Korean War on the pioneering hit TV series βM.A.S.H.,β died May 30 at her New York City home, likely from natural causes, publicist Harlan Boll said. She was 87.
Jonathan Joss
Updated
Jonathan Joss, a voice actor best known for his work on the animated television series "King of the Hill," was fatally shot near his Texas home June 2. He was 59.
Sly Stone
Sly Stone, the revolutionary musician and dynamic showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and β70s and beyond with such hits as βEveryday People,β βStand!β and βFamily Affair,β died June 9. He was 82
Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson, the Beach Boysβ visionary and fragile leader who helped compose and arrange βGood Vibrations,β βCalifornia Girlsβ and dozens of other summertime anthems and became one of the worldβs most influential and admired musicians, died June 11. He was 82.
Anne Burrell
Updated
TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of βWorst Cooks in America,β died June 17 at her New York home. She was 55.
Jimmy Swaggart
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who became a household name amassing an enormous following and multimillion-dollar ministry only to be undone by his penchant for prostitutes, died July 1. He was 90.
Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen, the actor best known for his coolly menacing, steely-eyed, often sadistic characters in the films of Quentin Tarantino including βReservoir Dogsβ and βKill Bill: Vol. 2,β died July 3. He was 67.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who as teenage son Theo Huxtable on βThe Cosby Showβ was central to a cultural phenomenon that helped define the 1980s, died July 20 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica. He was 54.
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne, the gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of the pioneering band Black Sabbath who became the throaty, growling voice β and drug-and-alcohol ravaged id β of heavy metal, died July 22, just weeks after his farewell show. He was 76.
Chuck Mangione
Two-time Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single βFeels So Goodβ and later became a voice actor on the animated TV comedy βKing of the Hill,β died July 22. He was 84.
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing, bicep-busting icon of professional wrestling who turned the sport into a massive business and stretched his influence into TV, pop culture and conservative politics during a long and scandal-plagued second act, died July 24 in Florida. He was 71.
Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer, a song satirist who gained a popular following in the 1950s and β60s lampooning marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, and then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, died July 26. He was 97.
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman who became one of baseballβs best all-around players while starring for the Chicago Cubs, died July 28. He was 65.
Jeannie Seely
Jeannie Seely, the soulful country music singer behind such standards like βDonβt Touch Me,β died Aug. 1. She was 85.
Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp, the British actor who often played the role of a complex villain, including that of General Zod in the early Superman films, died Aug. 17. He was 87.
Jerry Adler
Jerry Adler, who spent decades behind the scenes of storied Broadway productions before pivoting to acting in his 60s withΒ roles on βThe Sopranosβ and βThe Good Wife,βΒ died Aug. 23. He was 96.
Davey Johnson
Davey Johnson, an All-Star second baseman who won the World Series twice with the Baltimore Orioles as a player and managed the New York Mets to the title in 1986, died Sept. 5. He was 82.
Rick Davies
Rick Davies, the co-founder, singer and songwriter of British band Supertramp, died Sept. 6 after a long battle with cancer, the band said. He was 81.
Charlie Kirk
Updated
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk died Sept. 10, after he was shot at an event on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. He was 31.
Polly Holliday
Polly Holliday, a Tony Award-nominated screen and stage actor who turned the catchphrase βKiss my grits!β into a national retort as the gum-chewing, beehive-wearing waitress aboard the long-running CBS sitcom βAlice,β died Sept. 10. She was 88.
Robert Redford
Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Sept. 16. He was 89.
Brett James
Grammy award-winning country songwriter Brett James, whose string of top hits includes βJesus, Take the Wheelβ by Carrie Underwood and "When the Sun Goes Downβ by Kenny Chesney, died in a plane crash in North Carolina on Sept. 18. He was 57.
Claudia Cardinale
Acclaimed Italian actor Claudia Cardinale, who starred in some of the most celebrated European films of the 1960s and 1970s, has died in France Sept. 23. She was 87.
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall, the intellectual, soft-spoken conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking, immersive chimpanzee field research in which she documented the primates' distinct personalities and use of tools, died Oct. 1. She was 91.
Joan Kennedy
Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who endured a troubled marriage marked by family tragedies, her husbandβs infidelities and her own decades-long struggles with alcoholism and mental health, died Oct. 8. She was 89.
Sister Jean
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the chaplain for the men's basketball team at Loyola Chicago who became a beloved international celebrity during the school's fairy-tale run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2018, died Oct. 9. She was 106.
John Lodge
John Lodge, the singer and bassist of British rock band The Moody Blues for more than 50 years, died Oct. 10. He was 82.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of βAnnie Hall,β βThe Godfatherβ films and βFather of the Bride,β whose quirky, vibrant manner and depth made her one of the most singular actors of a generation, died Oct. 11. She was 79.
June Lockhart
June Lockhart, who became a mother figure for a generation of television viewers whether at home in βLassieβ or up in the stratosphere in βLost in Space,β died Oct. 23. She was 100.
Nick Mangold
Nick Mangold, a two-time All-Pro center who helped lead the Jets to the AFC championship game twice, died Oct. 25, less than 2 weeks after announcing he had kidney disease. He was 41.
Donna Jean Godchaux
Updated
Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, a soulful mezzo-soprano who provided backing vocals on such 1960s classics as βSuspicious Mindsβ and βWhen a Man Loves a Womanβ and was a featured singer with the Grateful Dead for much of the 1970s, died Nov. 2. She was 78.
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, died Nov. 3. He was 84.
Diane Ladd
Updated
Diane Ladd, a three-time Academy Award nominee and actor of rare timing and intensity whose roles ranged from the brash waitress in βAlice Doesnβt Live Here Anymoreβ to the scheming parent in βWild at Heart,β died Nov. 3. She was 89.
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae pioneer and actor who preached defiance, joy and endurance in such classics as βMany Rivers to Cross,β βYou Can Get it If You Really Wantβ and βVietnamβ and starred in the landmark movie βThe Harder They Come,β died Nov. 24. He was 81.Β
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper, who co-wrote classic songs, including β(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bayβ and βIn the Midnight Hour,β during his years playing guitar at the legendary Stax Records in Memphis, died Dec. 3. He was 84. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T. and the M.G.'s, the house band for the Stax/Volt labels.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, a Tokyo-born actor known for his roles in the film βMortal Kombatβ and TV series "The Man in the High Castle" died Dec. 4. He was 75.
Raul Malo
Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of the genre-defying, Grammy-winning band The Mavericks, died Dec. 8. He was 60.Β Malo was battling colon cancer and later leptomeningeal disease.
Sophie Kinsella
Writer Sophie Kinsella, whose effervescent rom-com βConfessions of a Shopaholicβ sparked a millions-selling series, died Dec. 10. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
Anthony Geary
Anthony Geary, who rose to fame in the 1970s and '80s as half the daytime TV super couple Luke and Laura on βGeneral Hospital,β died Dec. 14. He was 78.
Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner, the son of a comedy giant who became one himself as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as βThe Princess Bride,β βWhen Harry Met Sally β¦β and βThis Is Spinal Tap,β died Dec. 14, along with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. He was 78.
Greg Biffle
Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle died Dec. 18 in a North Carolina plane crash along with his wife, two children and three others. He was 55. Biffle won championships in the Truck and Xfinity Series and drove for years in the Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing.
James Ransone
James Ransone, the actor who played Ziggy Sobotka in the HBO series βThe Wireβ and appeared in many other TV shows and movies, died Dec. 19. He was 46.
