A Tribute To Omar Little In Honor Of Michael K. Williams' Passing

I think by now most people heard the news of Michael K. Williams' tragic passing, which was an absolute gut punch to read. RA did a great job summing up the wonderful work of an actor that left us way too early, which seems to be happening way too often as of late.

However as one of the resident diehard fans of The Wire here at Barstool, I wanted to pay homage to my favorite character on my favorite TV show in Omar Little. The stickup man with a sawed off shotgun, a pack of Newports, and a heart of gold that demanded he live his fast life by a code. The Wire does a great job showing that life isn't full of black and white characters but instead different levels of gray, with Omar being the epitome of that. One minute he could be helping a single mother get some food to feed her baby, the next he could be shooting the boy Mike Mike in his hind parts. Finding out the baddest dude in a show full of them was gay was a shocking revelation to many but only added to the depth of a character who was a viewed and imitated as an inner city superhero/boogeyman played brilliantly by MKW.

I remember when my wife watched The Wire for her first time and flipped the fuck out when SPOILER Omar was killed by Kenard. She said she was going to stop watching despite making it through 95% of the show and falling in love with a ton of different characters. That's the kind of pull Omar had on our hearts in a show full of people you rooted for no matter how fatal their flaws were. 

There are plenty of Omar quotes and scenes that people would put as first ballot in the TV Hall of Fame. Omar haunting the Barksdale crew about how if they come at the king they best not miss while whistling "A Hunting We Will Go" as he became a man on fire after Brandon was tortured then killed. Mr. Little going out for a box of Honey Nut Cheerios in his silky pajamas and getting the entire supply of a stash house out of respect. Pretty much every conversation with Bunk or Butchie or Brother Mouzone that had multiple levels to it as two professionals talked shop. 

My personal favorite scene of the entire series after rewatching it roughly a dozen times was that lawyering weasel Levy trying to paint Omar as just an every day thug with no accountability because he ate off drug dealers before Omar described how they were actually one and the same, two guys making their careers off of the game and suffering of the people of Baltimore.

What a legendary character played by an incredible actor and by all accounts an even better person. I looked for a video that summed up Omar and this was the best I could find.

RIP Michael K. Williams and thank you for bringing Omar Little to our lives along with so much more.