Isiah Whitlock Jr., the beloved screen actor with numerous TV and movie credits, has died. He was 71.
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Whitlock, a standout actor on The Wire and many Spike Lee movies, died after an unspecified short illness in New York, per Deadline. Manager Brian Liebman shared the official announcement via Instagram on Tuesday.
“It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr.” Liebman wrote. “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.”
Whitlock was a beloved figure in the TV/film industry. His biggest role came as Clay Davis in HBO’s The Wire, with the star also booking sizeable roles on Veep, The Residence and Your Honor. On the film side, his best known for his collaborations with Lee, such as She Hate Me, 25th Hour, BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods.
He also popped up in non-Lee-helmed movies like Goodfellas, Pieces of April, Brooklyn’s Finest, Cocaine Bear, I Care a Lot and Gremlins 2: The New Batch. He was an accomplished voice actor, as well, voicing characters in Cars 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Lightyear, BoJack Horseman, Apple & Onion and the upcoming Pixar movie Hoppers.
He also has the distinction of being one of the few modern actor who coined a catchphrase that is often worked into his projects. He has a comedic, elongated pronunciation of “shit” that comes out like “sheeeeeeeee-it.” It’s become a trademark of his many of his performance and has become an online meme as a result.
No further details on Whitlock’s death are available, including his exact cause of death. Love ones have not announced any sort of memorial details.