# Reg E. Cathey
**Reg E. Cathey** (full name Reginald Eurias Cathey; August 18, 1958 – February 9, 2018) was an American character actor known for his deep, expressive baritone voice and for roles on the television series *The Wire*, *Oz*, and *House of Cards*, the last of which won him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2015.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/) • [2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Huntsville, Alabama[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/) |
| Died | February 9, 2018, at his home in New York City, aged 59; cause was lung cancer[2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/) |
| Signature roles | Norman Wilson in *The Wire* (2006–2008); Freddy Hayes in *House of Cards*; Martin Querns in *Oz*[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey) |
| Emmy | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, 2015, for *House of Cards*, one of three nominations for the role[2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/) |
| Training | University of Michigan; master's degree from the Yale School of Drama[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59) • [5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/) |
| Stage honors | Obie Award, 2002, for outstanding ensemble performance in *Talk*[6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Reg-E-Cathey/) |
## Early life and education
Cathey was born in [Huntsville, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/huntsville-alabama), in 1958.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/) His father, Reginald, known as Red, was a [United States Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army) officer who served in World War II, the [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war), and Vietnam, and his mother, Eva, a librarian at Alabama A&M University, later worked for the Department of Defense.[5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/) When Cathey was about seven years old, his family moved to West Germany because of his father's military career, and he spent much of his childhood there.[5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/)
He dated his theatrical awakening to a USO performance of *Guys and Dolls* that he saw in Germany at age nine.[7](https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/06/reg-e-cathey-steps-into-his-first-beckett/) He has also said he knew he would be an actor from age 14.[5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/) After returning to Alabama as a teenager in the early 1970s, he acted in school and local theater, becoming the first African American actor involved with the local theater company in Huntsville.[5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/)
He attended the University of Michigan and then earned a master's degree at the [Yale School of Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/yale-school-of-drama), where his classmates included [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett), Charles S. Dutton, [David Alan Grier](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-alan-grier), and Roger Guenveur Smith.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59) • [5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/) He moved to New York City in 1981.[5](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/)
## Television career
**Early television.** Cathey's screen career began with the 1984 telefilm *A Doctor's Story*.[8](https://www.premiere.fr/Star/Reg-E-Cathey) Between 1987 and 1992 he appeared regularly on the PBS children's mathematics program *Square One TV*, where he served as announcer for game-show segments such as "Piece of the Pie," "Square One Squares" (later "Square One Challenge"), "Close Call," and "Triple Play."[8](https://www.premiere.fr/Star/Reg-E-Cathey) • [9](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/reg-cathey-obituary?pid=188140819)
His episodic television credits through the 1990s and 2000s included *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (Commander Morag, 1993), *Homicide: Life on the Street*, *ER*, *Law & Order* and its spin-offs, *30 Rock*, *The Good Wife*, *Person of Interest*, *Grimm* (as [Baron Samedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/baron-samedi)), and *The Blacklist* (as The Caretaker).[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/reg-e-cathey/)
**David Simon collaborations.** Cathey worked with [David Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-simon) on the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries *The Corner* (2000), playing Scalio, and then in *The Wire* (2006–2008) as Norman Wilson, a newspaperman who becomes a political operative.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59) On HBO's prison drama *Oz* he had the recurring role of Martin Querns.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey)
**House of Cards and the Emmy.** Cathey's best-known later role was Freddy Hayes, the barbecue-joint owner whose restaurant serves as a refuge for Frank Underwood in Netflix's *House of Cards*.[2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/) The portrayal brought him three Emmy nominations and one win, in 2015, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/) In later television he played Chief Giles in *Outcast* (2016) and James Lucas, the estranged father of the title character, in *Luke Cage* (2018).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/)
In a 2016 interview with *The Guardian*, Cathey said his screen career accelerated after [Barack Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/barack-obama) was elected president, because audiences and employers could begin to accept a well-spoken black man in such roles.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59)
## Film work
Cathey's film debut was in *Funny Farm* (1988), followed the next year by [Oliver Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-stone)'s *Born on the Fourth of July*; in 1990 he appeared in *Quick Change* alongside [Bill Murray](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-murray), Geena Davis, and [Randy Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-quaid).[8](https://www.premiere.fr/Star/Reg-E-Cathey) His screen characters included Freeze in *The Mask* (1994), Marcus in *Airheads* (1994), Deetee in *Tank Girl* (1995), the coroner in *Se7en* (1995), Dirty Dee in *Pootie Tang* (2001), Lieutenant Greg Velasquez in *S.W.A.T.* (2003), Jones in *The Machinist* (2004), Dr. Franklin Storm in *Fantastic Four* (2015), and Don King in *Hands of Stone* (2016).[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey) • [11](https://www.fandango.com/people/reg-e-cathey-109469/film-credits)
## Stage career and honors
The theater remained Cathey's first commitment, and he described New York rather than Los Angeles as his base.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/) His stage credits included the New York Shakespeare Festival productions *King Richard III* (1983) and *Measure for Measure* (1985), [Julie Taymor](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-taymor)'s *The Green Bird* (1996), and the off-Broadway play *Talk*.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey) He shared a 2002 Obie Award for outstanding ensemble performance for *Talk*, and received Black Reel Award nominations for the television films *Boycott* (2002) and *Everyday People* (2005).[6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Reg-E-Cathey/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey)
In January and February 2017 he appeared opposite [Brian Dennehy](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-dennehy) in [Samuel Beckett](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-beckett)'s *Endgame* at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, his first time acting in a Beckett play professionally.[7](https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/06/reg-e-cathey-steps-into-his-first-beckett/)
## Death and tributes
Cathey died on February 9, 2018, at his home in New York City, at age 59; the cause was lung cancer, confirmed by his agent, Sarah Fargo.[2](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/) David Simon, creator of *The Wire*, announced his death on Twitter, writing: "Not only a fine, masterful actor – but simply one of the most delightful human beings with whom I ever shared some long days on set. On wit alone, he could double any man over and leave him thinking."[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59) Tributes also came from Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, and Wendell Pierce, among others.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59)
## References
1. [Reg E. Cathey, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146146/)
2. [Reg E. Cathey, Actor on 'House of Cards' and 'The Wire,' Dies at 59 (New York Times via WRAL)](https://www.wral.com/archive/17328461/)
3. [Cathey, Reg E. 1958– (Reginald E. Cathey), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cathey-reg-e-1958-reginald-e-cathey)
4. [House of Cards actor Reg E Cathey dies aged 59, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/10/house-of-cards-actor-reg-e-cathey-dies-aged-59)
5. [Reg E Cathey's Last Interview, blackfilm.com](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/reg-e-cathey-last-interview-2018/)
6. [Reg E. Cathey, Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Reg-E-Cathey/)
7. [Reg E. Cathey Steps Into His First Beckett, American Theatre](https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/06/reg-e-cathey-steps-into-his-first-beckett/)
8. [Reg E. Cathey, Premiere.fr](https://www.premiere.fr/Star/Reg-E-Cathey)
9. [Reg Cathey Obituary (2018), Legacy.com](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/reg-cathey-obituary?pid=188140819)
10. [Reg E. Cathey, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/reg-e-cathey/)
11. [Reg E. Cathey Filmography and Movies, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/reg-e-cathey-109469/film-credits)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Bu to Ce*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license