Nathan Barksdale Dies; Drug Kingpin and Inspiration For The Wire Was 54

Nathan Barksdale – the Baltimore drug kingpin who served as the inspiration for Avon Barksdale and several other characters in the acclaimed HBO series The Wire – has passed away.

He was 54 years old.

While running his city’s largest heroin distribution ring in the 1980s, Barksdale was shot more than 20 times and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee.

Shortly thereafter, he was arrested on assault charges and sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

It was during his trial that Barksdale first caught the attention of Baltimore Sun reported David Simon, who went to create The Wire.

After qualifying for early release in 1994, Barksdale became a spokesman the anti-violence initiative Safe Streets.

He also worked closely with the cast and production crew of The Wire in helping to bring the story of Baltimore’s rampant drug and violent crime problems to the screen.

Barksdale was even the subject of a documentary about his life and rehabilitation that was released at the height of the show’s popularity.

“In real life he was one of the most notorious and resilient gangster drug kingpins Baltimore has ever seen,” says the film’s narrator at one point. “He was a magnet for violence.”

Sadly – yet somewhat appropriately – Barksdale was ensnared in a DEA wiretap in 2014 and sentenced to four years behind bars.

He died in federal prison earlier this week.

Along with Melvin Williams who served as the basis for several characters and played the character of the Deacon on the show, Barksdale is the second Wire inspiration to prematurely pass away in past year.

View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Passed Away in 2016

Lindsay Lohan Gives Shoutout to Cocaine Kingpin Pablo Escobar, Begs For Roles on Instagram

It’s no secret that Lindsay Lohan loves cocaine.

The girl loves her booger sugar so much she’s endorsed Brazilian political candidates on the basis of their lax stances on transporting blow into the US.

If drugs weren’t involved, getting Lindsay Lohan to give a sh-t about politics would be like training your cat to fetch the paper and then read it to you.

Anyway, Linds once again expressed her fondness for yayo and the kingpins who sling it in a bizarre Instagram post paying tribute to notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar:

Lindsay posted a screen shot reading, “Magical realism is defined as what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe.”

Fans of the Netflix series Narcos – which centers around the incredibly violent and lucrative exploits of Escobar and his Medellin Cartel –  will recognize it as the show’s epigram. 

In case her point was too subtle for you, Lindsay hashtagged the pic, “#SugarMan.”

It may seem strange for an actress with a well-documented cocaine problem to give a shout-out to the man who made his billions smuggling literal tons of the stuff into the US (taking just a few hundred lives in the process) but that’s Lindsay for ya.

The timing is more than a bit odd, as Lindsay is attempting to jumpstart her career at the moment, and reminding potential employers of her long criminal history is probably not the best method of weaseling her way back into their good graces.

Of course, it probably doesn’t matter, as her comeback seemed pretty lame and half-assed from the start, anyway.

In addition to her continued efforts to make a Mean Girls sequel happen, Lindsay has been jawing on social media about how totes awesome a Carmen San Diego movie would be.

Now, if only producers knew where to find a redheaded actress who could really inhabit the role of a sketchy criminal who travels to foreign lands to avoid prosecution.

Wait a minute…we’ve got it! Someone get Rachel McAdams on the phone!