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Actor Known for ‘The Wire,’ ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ Dead at 52

Jan 21, 2013  •  Post A Comment

An actor known for a series of TV roles including appearances on the HBO drama “The Wire” and NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” has died. The New York Times reports that Robert F. Chew, 52, died Thursday at his home in Baltimore after suffering a heart attack.

Chew, who played drug kingpin Proposition Joe Stewart on “The Wire,” also appeared in the 2000 HBO miniseries “The Corner.”

Chew was already an established theater actor when he began appearing in TV. His television work was featured in shows created by or based on the works of Edward Burns and David Simon, the story says.

His character on "The Wire" sought to broker deals among drug dealers instead of relying on physical violence, according to the piece.

"We were looking for somebody that was sensible and even paternal, as almost a foil to the rest of the brutality and ambition that you were seeing in that underground economy,” Simon told The Times. “So you needed him to be incredibly human, funny, connected to whoever’s in the room, and yet he’s a gangster.”

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Robert F. Chew

 

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