Sports

Actor Lance Reddick, police chief on ‘The Wire,’ useless at age 60

March 18, 2023

Actor Lance Reddick arrives on the forty sixth NAACP Picture Awards in Pasadena, California Feb. 6, 2015. Picture: Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

LOS ANGELES—Actor Lance Reddick, finest identified for his commanding presence as a no-nonsense police chief on the acclaimed tv drama “The Wire” and for his supporting work within the “John Wick” action-film sequence, died on Friday, March 17, at age 60, his publicist stated.

Reddick died instantly on Friday morning of pure causes, in response to a press release issued by the publicist, Mia Hansen. No additional particulars concerning the circumstances of his dying had been instantly disclosed.

Superstar information web site TMZ.com, citing legislation enforcement sources, reported the performer had been discovered useless at his dwelling within the Studio Metropolis district of Los Angeles at round 9:30 a.m.

His dying got here simply days earlier than the deliberate March 24 launch of the fourth installment within the “John Wick” franchise, during which Reddick reprised his position as a lodge supervisor named Charon, an ally of the title character, an expert murderer pressured out of retirement, performed by Keanu Reeves.

Reddick scored his first main display screen position as police chief Cedric Daniels on the HBO crime drama “The Wire,” set in his hometown of Baltimore. The present, which aired for 5 seasons starting in 2002, was broadly hailed as one in every of tv’s biggest dramas for its gritty portrait of city wrestle as informed from the angle of police, narcotics sellers and the individuals caught between them.

Tall, with a shaved head and a aptitude for portraying low-key however imposing authority figures, Reddick later performed an identical position as a big-city police chief on the Los Angeles-based cop drama “Bosch,” a present from the streaming service Amazon Prime.

He additionally appeared in a pair of reveals co-created by J.J. Abrams, beginning with season 4 of the ABC sequence “Misplaced.” That character was quickly killed off, making approach for Reddick to affix the forged of “Fringe,” a Fox community sequence during which he performed the pinnacle of an FBI unit investigating the paranormal.

Different tv credit embody the HBO jail sequence, “Oz” as undercover police detective Johnny Basil, the Emmy-winning FX anthology sequence “American Horror Story” taking part in a Voodoo grasp named Papa Legba, and the forthcoming Disney+ sequence “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” because the Greek god Zeus.

Movement image work past “John Wick” included appearances in such thrillers as “Angel Has Fallen,” “Monster Social gathering” and “Godzilla vs. Kong.” He was additionally identified to online game fans because the voice of the character Commander Zavala within the “Future” model shooter franchise.

A classically educated pianist, Reddick attended the Peabody Preparatory Institute to check music, labored within the Walden College’s summer season music idea and composition program, and finally obtained a bachelor’s diploma in classical composition from the College of Rochester’s Eastman College of Music.

He launched a jazz album, “Contemplations and Remembrances” in 2007.

{A photograph} of Reddick posted on his Instagram account the day earlier than his dying confirmed the smiling actor, seated on a settee in his lounge surrounded by 4 pet canines.

Fellow actor Wendell Pierce paid tribute to his “Wire” co-star on Twitter, calling Reddick a “man of nice energy and beauty” and the “epitome of sophistication.”

“You made your mark right here. RIP,” Pierce stated.

Reddick is survived by his spouse, Stephanie, whom he married in 2011, and the couple’s son and daughter. AP/ra