Reg E. Cathey
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Reginald Eurias Cathey (August 18, 1958 – February 9, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for various roles on the children's math show '' Square One Television'', as well as Norman Wilson in ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
'', Martin Querns in '' Oz'', and Freddy Hayes in ''
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...
''. The latter garnered him three consecutive
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, including a win in 2015.U-M alum Reg E. Cathey on his 'House of Cards' Emmy
Julie Hinds.
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. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015


Early life

Cathey was born on August 18, 1958, in
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
, to Red Cathey, an Army colonel who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, and his wife, who was a DOD worker and an educator. He had a sister, Donza. He spent his childhood with his family on a rural farm in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
before returning to Alabama at the age of 14. His interest in theater began at age 9, after attending a
United Service Organization The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
show in West Germany. Cathey graduated from J.O. Johnson High School, where he acted in plays such as ''
To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...
''. He subsequently studied theatre at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and the
Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...
.


Career

Cathey's breakout role was on
Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...
's '' Square One Television'', a math-oriented children's TV series. The program aired on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
from 1987 to 1992. Cathey was not only the game show announcer but had many bit parts in the various sketches and performed songs like "Nine, Nine, Nine" and "Rappin' Judge". Cathey later referred to the cast as the "Not Ready for Prime-Time Mathematicians". This was followed by guest roles in such series as '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. In 1994, he appeared in '' The Mask'' as Freeze, the main antagonist's friend and bodyguard who gets inadvertently killed by the title character.From Huntsville to Hollywood
. ''The Huntsville Times''. December 10, 1993.
He also appeared in 1995's '' Se7en'' as the coroner. He played the villain Dirty Dee in the cult comedy film '' Pootie Tang'' and had a regular role on the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
'' as Norman Wilson during the fourth and fifth seasons. He also worked with ''The Wire'' creator
David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–1995), wrote '' ...
on the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning miniseries ''
The Corner ''The Corner'' is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book '' The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood'' (1997) by David Simon and Ed Burns, and adapted for television by David Simon and David M ...
''; Cathey played a drug addict known as Scalio. He had a recurring role on the HBO prison drama '' Oz'' as unit manager Martin Querns. In the film ''
Tank Girl Tank Girl is a British comic created by Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline (magazine), Deadline'', and then in the solo comic book series ''Tank Girl' ...
'', he played the role of Deetee. He narrated '' Aftermath: Population Zero'', a
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special which imagines what
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
might be like if humanity no longer existed. He played the homeless man Al, murdered by Patrick Bateman, in the film ''
American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...
''. He narrated
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's ''Wonders of Weather'', a TV series. On ''
Between the Lions ''Between the Lions'' is an American animated/live-action/puppet educational children's television series designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, and Mississipp ...
'', he played King Ray in the story of "Rumpelstiltskin" in the episode, "Hay Day". In 2009, Cathey performed in '' The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian
Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian and a veteran of World War II. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn ...
's '' A People's History of the United States''. In Fall 2009, Cathey played the role of Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding in a theatrical production of ''
The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...
'' at
Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...
, London. He has made two guest appearances on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', as an undercover police officer involved with animal smuggling (episode: "Wildlife") and later as a high-priced defense attorney to a hooker (episode: " Rhodium Nights"). He also made a guest appearance on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' in the episode "Anti-Thesis" as a college professor suspected of murder. He also played boxing promoter Barry K. Word on the FX series '' Lights Out''. In 2013, Cathey began a recurring role as Freddy Hayes, the owner of Freddy's BBQ, in
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
's original series ''
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...
'', as well as on ''
Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...
'', in the recurring role of Baron Samedi. His portrayal of Hayes in the second, third, and fourth seasons of ''House of Cards'' earned three Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Cathey had expressed a wish to appear in the Irish soap opera '' Fair City''. Cathey co-starred in Josh Trank's ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' (2015), as Dr. Franklin Storm, the father of The Invisible Woman and The Human Torch. He also played the county sheriff in the city of Rome, WV, in the Cinemax series '' Outcast''. One of Cathey's final TV roles was portraying James Lucas in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Marvel's Luke Cage''.


Death

Cathey died at his home in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on February 9, 2018, at the age of 59. He was reported to have had
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
. He was cremated, and his ashes were spread in New York City.TM
'House of Cards' Star Reg E. Cathey Left Behind Nearly $500,000
. ''TMZ''. June 18, 2018.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathey, Reg E. 1958 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American expatriate male actors in Germany American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Male actors from Huntsville, Alabama Primetime Emmy Award winners University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni