Melvin Williams, the former Maryland drug dealer who appeared in The Wire and partly inspired the crime drama's narcotics kingpin Avon Barksdale, has died. He was 73 and had been battling cancer.
Williams played the Deacon in seasons three, four and five of The Wire, featuring in many scenes with the character Dennis 'Cutty' Wise (played by actor Chad Coleman), a former member of the Barksdale gang who was trying to turn his life around.
In his own life, Williams had also travelled the path of redemption. Having become a major player in the Baltimore underworld in the 1970s, amassing a multi-million-dollar fortune, he was sentenced in 1985 to 34 years in prison for cocaine trafficking.
In 1987, The Wire creator David Simon profiled Williams as part of his work as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun newspaper. Upon his release from prison in 2003, Williams became involved in campaigning against drugs and gang culture and was later cast by Simon in The Wire.
Paying tribute on Twitter, Simon wrote: "RIP to Melvin "Little Melvin" Williams, 73, who made me begin to rethink the drug war. You ended it free, brother."
RIP to Melvin "Little Melvin" Williams, 73, who made me begin to rethink the drug war. You ended it free, brother. pic.twitter.com/UjtshQAmzz
— David Simon (@AoDespair) December 3, 2015
