# Reg E. Cathey

Reginald Eurias Cathey (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.

## Early life

Cathey was born on August 18, 1958, in Huntsville, Alabama, to Red Cathey, an Army colonel who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, 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 before returning to Alabama at the age of 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.

## Career

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" and "Rappin' Judge." 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. 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 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".
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.
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. 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'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.
Cathey had expressed a wish to appear in the Irish soap opera Fair City.
Cathey co-starred in Josh Trank's Fantastic Four (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 series Marvel's Luke Cage.

## Death

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. He was cremated, and his ashes were spread in New York City.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | Funny Farm | Reporter #2 | |
| 1988 | Crossing Delancey | Cab Driver | |
| 1988 | Ich und Er | Waiter | |
| 1989 | Penn & Teller Get Killed | Fan's Friend | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Speaker | |
| 1990 | Loose Cannons | Willie | |
| 1990 | Quick Change | Sound Analyst | |
| 1990 | Astonished | Wayne | |
| 1991 | What About Bob? | Howie Katrell | |
| 1994 | Clean Slate | 1st Cop | |
| 1994 | The Mask | Freeze | Credited as Reginald E. Cathy |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Sergeant-Major | |
| 1994 | Airheads | Marcus | |
| 1994 | The Hard Truth | Shotgun cop | |
| 1995 | Napoleon | Frog | Voice, English version |
| 1995 | Tank Girl | Deetee | |
| 1995 | Se7en | Dr. Santiago | |
| 1997 | Ill Gotten Gains | Nassor | |
| 2000 | American Psycho | Homeless Man | |
| 2001 | Pootie Tang | Dirty Dee | |
| 2003 | Head of State | Officer Waters | |
| 2003 | A Good Night to Die | Avi | |
| 2003 | S.W.A.T. | Lt. Greg Velasquez | |
| 2004 | The Machinist | Jones | |
| 2004 | Everyday People | Akbar | |
| 2004 | Men Without Jobs | Mr. Morgan | |
| 2004 | The Cookout | Frank Washington | |
| 2006 | 508 Nelson | Frank Harmon | |
| 2008 | 20 Years After | Samuel | |
| 2008 | Patsy | Dr. Joshua | |
| 2011 | My Last Day Without You | Pastor Johnson | |
| 2012 | Arbitrage | Earl Monroe | |
| 2012 | The Normals | Rodney | |
| 2012 | Sampling | Leonard | Short |
| 2014 | Two Men in Town | Supervisor Jones | |
| 2014 | Alex of Venice | Walt | |
| 2014 | St. Vincent | Gus | |
| 2015 | Nasty Baby | The Bishop | |
| 2015 | Sweet Kandy | Curtis Coleson | |
| 2015 | Fantastic Four | Dr. Franklin Storm | |
| 2016 | Hands of Stone | Don King | |
| 2017 | Flock of Four | Pope Dixon | |
| 2018 | Tyrel | Reggie | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | A Doctor's Story | Richie | Television movie |
| 1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Shepard | Episode: "The Man Who Wasn't There" |
| 1987–1992 | Square One TV | Various | 240 episodes |
| 1988–1989 | Sesame Street | Blue Bird (voice only) | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Great Performances | Guildenstern | Episode: "Hamlet" |
| 1991 | Eyes of a Witness | Prosecutor | Television movie |
| 1992 | Fool's Fire | Minister Gunther | Television movie |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | Staff doctor #2 | Television movie |
| 1993 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Morag | Episode: "Aquiel" |
| 1994 | Roc | Fred | Episode: "The Concert" |
| 1995 | Tyson | Attorney Winston | Television movie |
| 1996 | ER | IAD Investigator David Haskell | Episode: "Take These Broken Wings" |
| 1997–1998 | Arli$$ | Alvin Epps | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Bernard Weeks | Episode: "Full Court Press" |
| 2000 | The Corner | Scalio | 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Bernard Weeks | Television movie |
| 2000–2003 | Oz | Martin Querns | 8 episodes |
| 2001 | Boycott | E.D. Nixon | Television movie |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Professor Roland Sanders | Episode: "Anti-Thesis" |
| 2002 | Between the Lions | Himself | Episode: "Hay Day" |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Gerald | Episode: "Darwinian" |
| 2004 | The Jury | Mr. Grove | Episode: "Mail Order Mystery" |
| 2005 | Third Watch | Jaime Castro | Episode: "Welcome Home" |
| 2006–2008 | The Wire | Norman Wilson | 23 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Victor Tybor | Episode: "Wildlife" |
| 2009 | Une aventure New-Yorkaise | Marcus | Television movie |
| 2010 | 30 Rock | Rutherford Rice | Episode: "Let's Stay Together" |
| 2010 | Inside the Milky Way | Narrator | Documentary Film |
| 2011 | Earth: Making of a Planet | Narrator | Documentary Film |
| 2011 | Lights Out | Barry K. Word | 12 episodes |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Davidson | Episode: "Blue Code" |
| 2012–2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Barry Querns | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Grimm | The Baron / Baron Samedi | 3 episodes |
| 2013–2016 | House of Cards | Freddy Hayes | 15 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (2015) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (2014, 2016) |
| 2014 | Banshee Origins | Det. Julius Bonner | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Banshee | Det. Julius Bonner | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Divide | Uncle Bobby | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Judge Aaron Coleman | Episode: "The Deconstruction" |
| 2015 | Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter | Dad | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville | Narrator | Television movie |
| 2016 | The Blacklist | The Caretaker | Episode: "The Caretaker (No. 78)" |
| 2016 | Horace and Pete | Harold | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Inside Amy Schumer | Congressman #2 | Episode: "The World's Most Interesting Woman in the World" |
| 2016 | Inside Amy Schumer | Adviser | Episode: "Madame President" |
| 2016–2017 | Outcast | Chief Byron Giles | 20 episodes |
| 2017 | The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Zakariyya Lacks | Television movie |
| 2018 | Elementary | Mr. Clay | Episode: "Our Time Is Up"; posthumous release |
| 2018 | Luke Cage | James Lucas | 7 episodes; posthumous release |
| 2018 | Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure | Captain Quaid | Voice, 2 episodes; posthumous release |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 1997 | D.A. Pursuit of Justice | Courtwatcher | |
| 2013 | Star Wars: The Old Republic – Rise of the Hutt Cartel | Additional Voices | |