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Nathan Barksdale, ‘The Wire’ inspiration, dies at 54

Former gangster Nathan Barksdale — who inspired several characters such as Avon Barksdale on American crime drama The Wire — died in federal medical prison in North Carolina on Tuesday, reported Rolling Stone. The native of Baltimore, Maryland, was 54 years old. A spokesperson for Baltimore’s health department, as well as an official at the medical prison in Butner, North Carolina , confirmed Barksdale’s death but cited no specific cause for it.

The real Barksdale — who was known by the nickname of Bodie, a low-level drug dealer in the fake Barksdale organization — rose to power during the 80s by dealing heroine out of the Murphy Homes in West Baltimore. The group serviced and controlled many of the city’s high-rise public housing projects that were demolished later – an event mimicked in The Wire’s third season.

Barksdale’s operations were notoriously violent and as per reports, he was shot over 20 times and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee. In 1983, he was acquitted in the killing of fellow drug trafficker Frank Harper, who also happened to be his mentor in the trade. But in 1985, Barksdale was convicted for torturing three people and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Upon his release, he joined an anti-violence programme called Safe Street and counselled children who were at risk. Unfortunately, he ultimately lapsed back into addiction. Eventually, Barksdale became involved in a Drug Enforcement Administration wiretap investigation into members of the Black Guerilla Family gang and pleaded guilty in May, 2014,  for participating in a heroine conspiracy. He was subsequently sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison.

The late drug kingpin was proud of his connection to The Wire and even released an autobiographical DVD about his life. The video featured an interview with Wood Harris, who played Avon on the show. However, the creator of the series David Simon — who also worked for The Baltimore Sun during Barksdale’s reign in the 80s — noted Avon was not an exact proxy of Nathan. “There are some anecdotal connections between his story and a multitude of characters,” he said. “We mangled street and given names throughout The Wire so that it was a general shout out to west-side players. But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th,  2016.

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