Actor Reg E. Cathey, who co-starred on HBO’s The Wire and Oz and won an Emmy for his role on Netflix’s House of Cards, has died at the age of 59.

The Wire creator David Simon remembered working with Cathey fondly in a tweet on Friday:

Reg Cathey, 1958-2018. 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. Reg, your memory is a great blessing. pic.twitter.com/OHEUbAhTg0 — David Simon (@AoDespair) February 9, 2018

An Alabama native who grew up in West Germany and studied at the Yale School for Drama, Cathey was a celebrated character actor for decades, first rising to prominence on PBS’ math-centric kids’ show Square One, which debuted in 1987. Later, he became a familiar face to fans of acclaimed HBO dramas, playing drug dealer Scalio on Simon’s miniseries The Corner and prison staffer Martin Querns on Oz before starring as political operative Norman Wilson in Seasons 4 and 5 of The Wire.

More recently, Cathey played Frank Underwood’s favorite D.C. rib cook Freddy Hayes on House of Cards, notching three consecutive Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category and winning the award in 2015. His other recent TV credits included Grimm, Lights Out, Law & Order: SVU and last year’s Oprah Winfrey-starring HBO movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.