Reg E. Cathey
Cathey in 2016
Born	Reginald Eurias Cathey ( 1958-08-18 ) August 18, 1958 Huntsville, Alabama , U.S.
Died	February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09) (aged 59) New York City, New York , U.S.
Education	University of Michigan ( BFA ) Yale University ( MFA )
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984?2018

Reginald Eurias Cathey ^{[1] [2] [3]} (August 18, 1958 ? February 9, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles as Norman Wilson in The Wire , Martin Querns in Oz , the game show announcer in Square One Television , and Freddy Hayes in House of Cards , the last earning him three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series , including a win in 2015. ^[4]

Early life [ edit ]

Cathey was born on August 18, 1958, in Huntsville, Alabama , to Red Cathey, an Army colonel ^[5] who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War , ^[6] and his wife, who was a DOD worker and an educator. ^{[5] [7]} He had a sister, Donza. ^[2] He spent his childhood with his family on a rural farm ^[6] in West Germany before returning to Alabama at the age of 14. ^{[6] [7] [8]} His interest in theater began at age 9, after attending a United Service Organization show in West Germany. ^[9] Cathey graduated from J.O. Johnson High School , ^[10] where he acted in plays such as To Kill a Mockingbird . ^[11] He subsequently studied theatre at the University of Michigan and the Yale School of Drama . ^[4]

Career [ edit ]

One of Cathey's earliest roles was starring in the children's television show Square One TV . Cathey was not only the game show announcer, but had many bit parts in the various sketches and was renown for songs like "Nine, Nine, Nine" ^[12] and "Rappin' Judge." ^[13] 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. ^[11] 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 series The Wire as Norman Wilson during the fourth and fifth seasons. ^[14] He also worked with The Wire creator David Simon on the Emmy Award -winning miniseries The Corner ; 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 , he played the role of Deetee. He narrated Aftermath: Population Zero , a National Geographic Channel special which imagines what Earth might be like if humanity no longer existed. He played the homeless man Al, murdered by Patrick Bateman , in the film American Psycho . He narrated TLC 's Wonders of Weather , a TV series. On Between the Lions , he played King Ray in the story of "Rumpelstiltskin" in the episode, "Hay Day". ^{[ citation needed ]}

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 's A People's History of the United States . ^[15]

In Fall 2009, Cathey played the role of Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding in a theatrical production of The Shawshank Redemption at Wyndham's Theatre , London. ^[16] 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 . ^[17]

In 2013, Cathey began a recurring role as Freddy Hayes, the owner of Freddy's BBQ, in Netflix 's original series House of Cards , as well as on Grimm , 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 . ^[18]

Cathey had expressed a wish to appear in the Irish soap opera Fair City . ^[19]

Cathey co-starred in Josh Trank 's Fantastic Four (2015), as Dr. Franklin Storm , the father of The Invisible Woman and The Human Torch . ^[20] 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 series Marvel's Luke Cage . ^[21]

Death [ edit ]

Cathey died at his home in New York City on February 9, 2018, at the age of 59. He was reported to have had lung cancer . ^{[2] [3] [22]} He was cremated, and his ashes were spread in New York City. ^[23]

Filmography [ edit ]

Film [ edit ]

Television [ edit ]

Video games [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Reg E. Cathey at IMDb
• The People Speak at IMDb