Reginald Cathey
*Reginald Cathey was born on this date in 1958. He was a Black actor.
Reginald Eurias Cathey was born in Huntsville, Alabama, to Red Cathey, an Army colonel and his wife, a Department of Defense worker and an educator. He had a sister, Donza, and he spent his childhood with his family on a rural farm in West Germany before returning to Alabama at 14. His interest in theater began at age 9, after attending a United Service Organization show in West Germany.
Cathey graduated from J.O. Johnson High School, where he acted in plays such as To Kill a Mockingbird. He subsequently studied theatre at the University of Michigan and the Yale School of Drama. One of Cathey's earliest roles was starring in the children's television show Square One. Guest roles followed this 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. 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.
He worked on the Emmy Award-winning miniseries The Corner; Cathey had a recurring role on the HBO prison drama Oz. In the film Tank Girl, he played the role of Deetee. He narrated Aftermath: Population Zero, a National Geographic Channel special. He played the homeless man Al in the film American Psycho. He narrated TLC's Wonders of Weather, a TV series. In 2009, Cathey performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film, and played the role of Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding in a theatrical production of The Shawshank Redemption at Wyndham's Theatre, London. He has made two guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
He also played boxing promoter Barry K. Word on the FX series Lights Out. In 2013, Cathey began recurring in Netflix's original series House of Cards. His portrayal of Hayes in the second, third, and fourth seasons earned three Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. One of Cathey's final TV roles was portraying James Lucas in the Netflix series Marvel's Luke Cage. Reginald Cathey died at his home in New York City on February 9, 2018, at 59. He was reported to have had lung cancer.
