House of Cards, Oz actor Reg E. Cathey dead at 59

This is news that saddens us tremendously to report this afternoon — Emmy-winning actor Reg E. Cathey, best known for his work as Freddy on House of Cards, has died at the age of 59.

TMZ reports that the actor passed away in New York on Friday following a battle with lung cancer. He was most-recently a part of the second season of Cinemax’s Outcast, which will premiere at some point later this year. Cathey’s credits are immense, and they include a number of other great shows including Oz, The Good Wife, Banshee, Law & Order: SVU, Lights Out, Person of Interest, Third Watch, ER, The Corner, and many others. Cathey was for the bulk of his career one of those fantastic actors who did many great things but was never properly appreciated for most of them. His Emmy win is fairly recent, and before that he paid his dues in the entertainment industry for decades. You don’t have the career that he had unless there was genuine love for you as both an entertainer as well as a person. There was adoration towards him, whether it be those who worked with him on-screen and those who came to know him off of it.

One of the best tributes that we’ve read today comes courtesy of David Simon, who worked with Cathey on The Wire. It’s poignant, and it reminds you of the man he was in addition to being a great entertainer. It’s one thing to make people smile when they watch you on television; it’s another altogether to do that in life.

We imagine that there will be further tributes out there as the news starts to trickle in. Unfortunately, he left all of us far too soon, but we have his work to remember him by.

Our thoughts go out to Cathey’s family and all who loved him during what has to be a very difficult time.