Nathan Barksdale

Nathan Barksdale (1961 – February 13, 2016) was a Baltimore drug dealer dramatized in the HBO series The Wire, but the extent to which any of the show’s characters or plot lines are based on his life is disputed. His life is the subject of the unreleased docudrama Baltimore Chronicles: Legends of the Unwired, which purports to be the true story behind The Wire. He was in the early stages of writing his autobiography at the time of his death.

Barksdale was raised in the Lexington Terrace projects in Baltimore. He was involved in boxing, as were other family members. When he was young, a man ran over Barksdale’s leg with his truck after Barksdale stole from the man. As a result, Barksdale underwent an amputation and subsequently became addicted to opiates.

Barksdale was a drug dealer in West Baltimore who purportedly survived twenty-one gunshots, some of which were fired while Barksdale was in hospital after a prior, failed murder attempt. In 1986, Barksdale was sentenced to fifteen years in state prison for battery. In 2003, he was acquitted of a federal charge of being a felon with a gun.

Barksdale’s name appeared in the Baltimore Sun's 1987 series Easy Money: Anatomy of a Drug Empire, the author of which was David Simon, who went on to be the creator, executive producer, and head writer of The Wire. In the newspaper series, which focuses on the criminal career of Melvin Williams, Simon depicts Barksdale as a ruthless killer and a drug addict. Simon also writes that Barksdale once tortured three people in the Baltimore projects and that his battery conviction was related to the torture incident.

Baltimore Chronicles: Legends of the Unwired is the unreleased, low-budget docudrama that is based on Barksdale’s life. It is directed by Bruce Brown, and Drew Berry is the writer and producer.Kenneth A. Jackson is the executive producer, and singer Troy May of The Manhattans is the narrator.Legends of the Unwired consists of dramatizations of alleged events in Barksdale’s criminal career, interviews with his family and friends, and interviews of Barksdale by actor Wood Harris, who plays drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on The Wire.

...
Wikipedia