“Isiah Whitlock Jr., the actor who portrayed State Senator Clayton “Clay” Davis on HBO’s The Wire, has died. He was 71. Whitlock’s manager, Brian Liebman, announced his death Tuesday on Instagram. “It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr. If you knew him –”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Whitlock’s manager, Brian Liebman, announced his death Tuesday on Instagram.
“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,” Liebman wrote. “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.”
Born in Indiana in 1954, Whitlock began studying theater at Southwest Minnesota State University. Following his 1976 graduation, he attended San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater and earned his first onscreen credit in the 1981 TV movie A Christmas Carol.
Whitlock went on to appear in several projects led by Spike Lee, including 25th Hour, She Hate Me, Red Hook Summer, Chi-Raq, BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods. In 2002, he joined The Wire as the corrupt state senator Clayton “Clay” Davis, a role he played through the series’ end in 2008.
“Today I Learned Of The Passing Of My Dear Beloved Brother ISIAH WHITLOCK. GOD BLESS,” Lee wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
Whitlock most recently appeared on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series The Residencewhich starred Uzo Aduba. He also acted in Showtime’s drama Your Honor across its first and second installments, and Veepwhere he portrayed Secretary of Defense George Maddox.
One of his earliest appearances on the silver screen came in 1990 with Goodfellaswhere he played a doctor. Whitlock has additionally appeared in films including Disney’s Enchanted (2007), Cedar Rapids (2011), the Chris Evans-led Lightyear and Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear.
Whitlock is expected to be heard in the 2026 Pixar-Disney film Hoppers.
December 30, 4:40 p.m Updated with Spike Lee’s statement.