Actor James Ransone Dies By Suicide At 46

Hollywood actor James Ransone, better known for playing Ziggy Sobotka on “The Wire” , has died at the age of 46.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Ransone died by suicide in Los Angeles on Friday, December 19.

He was a married father of two, and his wife, Jamie McPhee, shared a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on her social media.

Records listed the cause of death as hanging and his body was prepared for release.

James Ransone played the son of Frank Sobotka, the Baltimore dock worker, in the second season of “The Wire”, appearing in 12 episodes in 2003.

He also appeared in shows such as “Generation Kill”, “Treme”, and “Bosch”, with his final TV role in a 2025 episode of “Poker Face”.

In film, he appeared in “Prom Night” (2008), “Sinister” (2012) and its sequel, “Tangerine” (2015), “Mr. Right” (2015), “It Chapter Two” (2019), and “The Black Phone” (2021) along with its sequel in 2025.

In 2021, James Ransone publicly revealed that he had survived sexual abuse as a child.

He said his former tutor, Timothy Rualo, abused him at his home in Phoenix, Maryland, over six months in 1992.

Ransone detailed the abuse in an Instagram post, describing how it caused him years of shame and contributed to struggles with alcohol and heroin addiction.

After achieving sobriety in 2006, Ransone reported the abuse to Baltimore County police in 2020.

Prosecutors later declined to pursue charges, and no legal action was taken following the investigation.

KanyiDaily also reported how Nollywood actress Doris Ogala tried to commit suicide due to her failed relationship with Pastor Chris Okafor of the Grace Nation Bible Ministry.