Wife of The Wire and IT: Chapter Two actor James Ransone speaks out after he took his own life aged 46
Topics: Mental Health, Los Angeles
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic via Getty Images
Topics: Mental Health, Los Angeles
As tributes pour in for the celebrated actor James Ransone in the wake of the news of his death, his heartbroken wife has broken her silence with a poignant message to her sadly deceased husband.
Ransone, 46, was known by many for his work on 12 episodes of the prestige TV classic The Wire, where he played Ziggy Sobotka, as well his more recent work on the Stephen King adaptation IT: Chapter Two.
But on Friday (December 19) police attended his property in Los Angeles, California, at around 2pm and found him dead from an apparent suicide, following reports of an unresponsive person. There were no indications of foul play, with the Los Angeles Medical Examiner now investigating the tragedy.
His wife Jamie McPhee shared a tribute to her husband as news of her husband's death broke, posting a picture of the couple together with Ransone placing his hand on her pregnant stomach.
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McPhee, who had two children with Ransone, Violet and Jack, said in an emotional statement: "I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again. You told me – I need to be more like you and you need to be more like me – and you were so right."
Her tribute continued: "Thank you for giving me the greatest gifts – you, Jack and Violet. We are forever."
Fellow actor Natasha Lyonne commented below McPhee's post: "Love you with everything I got and holding our beloved brilliant peejo with grace gratitude and cosmic peace into this life and the next - family forever... beautiful jamie you are the best of us we love you."
Meanwhile, many of the other actors and directors who knew Ransone have shared their heartbreak at the actor's sudden death. David Simon, creator of both The Wire and acclaimed war drama Generation Kill which also starred Ransone, simply shared a picture of the star and said the loss was 'grievous and awful'.
Simon went on to say: "He committed not only to the work but to the camaraderie that turns every good film production into something familial and caring."
Ransone had spoken publicly about his mental health issues throughout his career, sharing his struggle with heroin addiction in the years before starring in Generation Kill as the tobacco-chewing foul-mouthed Cpl. Josh Ray Person.
He told Interview Magazine in 2016 that he had used heroin 'for five years' before getting clean at the age of 27. “People think I got sober working on the ‘Generation Kill.’ I didn’t. I sobered up six or seven months before that.
“I remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year. I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, 'I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.'”
Meanwhile a fundraiser for the actor's wife and two children has already amassed over $65,000, which shared some further information about the man known to his loved ones as 'PJ'.
Organizer Camille Garmendia shared that Ransone 'was funny, magnetic, brilliant, and endlessly alive. Above all else, he was an extraordinary father.'
The GoFundMe goes on to share: "His wife, Jamie, known by her friends as Skipper, and their children, Jack and Violet, were the center of his world. They loved him infinitely, and he loved them just as fiercely in return.
"Their bond was deep, joyful, and unmistakable to anyone who witnessed it."
Garmendia then explains the purpose of the page, which aims to raise $120,000 for the star's family. "This fund has been created to support Jamie and the children as they navigate life after an unimaginable loss," she explains.
"Its purpose is simple: to give Jamie the space to focus fully on Jack and Violet, to care for them, protect their sense of security, and ensure they have a bright future—even without James’s light present in their everyday lives."