He was my favorite actor from my favorite TV show.
When I got a text from a friend Monday afternoon that read, simply, RIP Omar, I was gutted. Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little on the greatest TV show ever produced, "The Wire," was found dead at age 54.
Wow.
Being a fan of celebrities is a tricky thing. We don't know these people. In most cases we've never had a conversation with them, never shaken their hands, never looked them in the eye up close. We don't know of their private struggles, in many cases.
We view from afar and yet they become part of our lives. Celebrity deaths don't normally hit me very hard. But the death of Williams was different.
He was an unknown actor when he joined the cast of "The Wire." I think I read once that he wasn't supposed to have a big role in Season One. But when the directors saw his impact, they quickly made sure his role expanded.
Omar Little was violent. He stole from drug dealers on the mean streets of Baltimore. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, and his trusty shotgun in hand, he would whistle as he walked down a street. Kids ran in every direction when they heard the whistle, fearful of the man with a distinctive scar that ran the length of his face.
"A man gotta have a code," he memorably said in one episode. And he did have a code. He was an honorable thief, a guy trying to make a living with little options available.
It wasn't Williams' only role. I always was impressed by his work on "Boardwalk Empire" when he played Chalky White. But I'll always remember Williams for his portrayal of Omar Little on "The Wire," a show that ran from 2002-08. There have been other great TV shows. "The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones" are some of my favorites.
But there's only one "The Wire" and there's only one Omar Little. Thanks, Michael K. Williams. Rest in peace.
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