NEW YORK — Michael K. Williams’ death a year ago shocked his biographer because “The Wire” star had been “very happy” and in a “very good place” at that time, his writing partner Jon Sternfeld recalled.
“It was extremely out of nowhere because he was in a very good place,” said Sternfeld, adding that he had spoken with the actor just days before he suffered a lethal overdose of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.
Sternfeld had been working closely with Williams for more than two years to craft an autobiography that was nearly done when the actor died on Sept. 6, 2021.
“Scenes From My Life,” released Aug. 23, covers the career of the late actor, known for seminal TV dramas such as “The Wire,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “Lovecraft Country.”
“I actually spoke to him twice before he passed, which was strange,” Sternfeld told the Daily News. “We would usually only talk once a week, but we talked on that Wednesday and he called me back on that Friday. And we talked a lot about his theater days.”
The former New Rochelle high school teacher and ex-literary agent shared that Williams caught him off-guard when he wished Sternfeld a happy Rosh Hashana.
“And he went on this long talk about how he loves being in Brooklyn sitting on his patio or his rooftop and watching the different Jewish families dress up and break bread together for the new year and get dressed for temple and sing.
“He talked about that communal feeling, even from a Jewish community that he wasn’t in; he felt this real connection and love.”
Williams lived and died in a Kent Avenue apartment in Williamsburg.
The sudden death came as a shock to Sternfeld.
“People knew I was working on the book with Mike so I had plenty of people reach out and I stayed away from the computer for a while,” he said.
“And then when I got online, it was surreal because he was this guy I had gotten to know, who I loved. And he was gone. And he was gone in a very public way. ... Almost everybody was positive about it. But it was still just surreal. I don’t have any famous friends so I had never been through anything like that. And I just sort of was in a daze for a while.”
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