Robert F Chew (1960-2013)

[throatybeard]

Unsurprisingly, given his avoirdupois, but sadly, Robert F Chew is dead at 52. I fear this is going to get lost with the deaths of Weaver and Musial this weekend, sort of like when Whitney trumped Etta James last year.

Chew has been one of the David Simon ensemble, and of those people one of those most beloved by Simon's audiences, perhaps surpassed only by Michael K Williams. He was instrumental in the coaching of all the child actors in season four of The Wire, and he also played significant roles in Homicide and The Corner. His Wire character Proposition Joe, deliciously skilled in the both the arts of circumlocution of of getting to the point, is a trivia answer: who are the only three characters in the drug trade to appear in all five seasons. (The others are Malik "Poot" Carr and Wee-Bey).

Very sad, although unsurprising as I said. He looks about half like he's fixing to keel over in season five (2008).

[Reilly]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertai...,6310383.story

[Billy Dat]

Language prohibits posting any of Joe's greatest lines here, save for, maybe this one:

"Omar to one side holding a spade, and maybe Marlo to the other with a shovel, and just at this moment, I manage to crawl out my own damn grave. No way do I crawl back in."

Here's a solid IMDB list of some others:
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0020652/quotes