Isiah Whitlock Jr. is a seasoned character actor who has played memorable parts in several Spike Lee films as well as television shows like The Wire, Veep, Your Honor, and The Residence.

He passed away in New York on Tuesday, December 30. He was seventy-one.

Whitlock passed away quietly following a brief illness, according to his manager Brian Liebman. 

“Isiah was a brilliant actor and even better person,” Liebman told Deadline. “He was loved by all who had the pleasure to work with or know him. He will be greatly missed.” 

His first notable screen role was a 1987 guest shot on CBS’ Cagney & Lacey. He worked steadily in television for the past 3½ decades doing dozens of guest appearances including the Law & Order franchise, with multiple episodes each on the mothership series, Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent. 

Whitlock is probably best known for playing corrupt State Sen. R. Clayton “Clay” Davis on HBO’s The Wire. He appeared on all five seasons of David Simon’s lauded crime drama, recurring in Seasons 1-4 before joining the main cast in Season 5. 

He  also recurred on HBO’s political comedy Veep as Secretary of Defense Gen. George Maddox and was a series regular on Showtime’s legal thriller drama Your Honor, playing a politician with connections to organized crime. 

Whitlock’s last TV role was a series-regular turn as the Chief of Police opposite Uzo Aduba on Netflix’s White House murder mystery The Residence, which premiered in March.