A 1973 photo shows Isiah Whitlock, Jr., in costume for a role in a production of “The Matchmaker” while he was a student at Southwest Minnesota State University.

MARSHALL — Over the span of his career, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., acted in a wide variety of film roles and appeared in TV series like “The Wire.” But Whitlock, a member of the Southwest Minnesota State University class of 1976, also took time to meet with younger generations of university students, faculty members said.

“He was so giving like that,” said Sheila Tabaka, professor of theatre at SMSU. “When he was here, he really loved being with students.”

Whitlock died Tuesday in New York after a short illness, the Associated Press reported. He was 71.

This week, faculty in the SMSU Entertainment and Theatre Arts program reflected on how Whitlock kept ties with the university. A Wednesday post on the program’s Facebook page read, “In the midst of a successful and busy professional acting career on stage and screen, he still returned to SMSU regularly to share his time and talents. We will miss him so much.”

Whitlock was born in South Bend, Indiana, and attended SMSU on a football scholarship, SMSU spokespeople said this week. After injuries ended his athletic career, Whitlock auditioned for a part in the theatre program’s production of “The Crucible.”

According to Whitlock’s website, “from then on, (he) was proverbially shot out of a cannon.” He went on to study theatre in San Francisco, and acted in a wide range of roles in plays, movies and TV shows. His credits included a small role in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” and he worked with Spike Lee on several movies from 2002’s “25th Hour,” to “Da 5 Bloods” in 2020. Whitlock also had roles in the HBO series “Veep” and “The Wire.” He was best known for playing state Sen. Clay Davis in “The Wire.”

Whitlock received SMSU’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2004. Whitlock returned to SMSU frequently, often to connect with students interested in the entertainment industry and theatre. In April 2025, Whitlock attended an alumni reunion in Marshall hosted by the theatre program.

Tabaka said theatre alumni often come back to meet with SMSU students and do workshops.

“In entertainment, all those paths cross all the time,” she said. Being able to have alumni like Whitlock share about their experiences with acting and the entertainment industry has an impact for students. “Having someone of Isiah’s stature come in was phenomenal,” Tabaka said. She said Whitlock didn’t “hold court” with students – instead, he would ask them what they wanted to know, and was willing to share about the ups and downs of his career.

Tabaka said Whitlock also met with students when they were in Los Angeles or New York.

“He was really something,” Tabaka said. It was “devastating” to learn about Whitlock’s death, she said. “It’s tough.”