'West Wing' Actor John Spencer Dies at 58- AP news

I love this guy, i can't believe this. He was an amazing actor and was amazing as Leo on the West Wing. Say a prayer or whatever you want, a good man has passed.

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer
11 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES - John Spencer, who played a dedicated politico on "The West Wing" who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday, his publicist said. Spencer, 58, died at a Los Angeles hospital, said publicist Ron Hofmann. He would have been 59 next week.

Spencer played Leo McGarry, the chief of staff to President Jeb Bartlet ( Martin Sheen) through the first few seasons of the NBC series. In a sad parallel to life, his character suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job.

The character recovered and was picked as a running mate for Democratic presidential contender Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits; the campaign has been a central theme this season for the drama.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051216/ap_en_tv/obit_spencer

He was an amazing actor - and Leo was sort of the heart of the West Wing.

Bryant

VP McGarry?!?!

Heartbreaking, i was really looking forward to this.

You will be missed.

may god rest his soul.

a tizzy. I thought he looked ill when they had him having a heart attack on the show. Talk about life imitating art.

so we wouldn't have seen him as VP anyway.

Sad day though. He was a great character actor and died far too young. :(

I hope not. That's one of the few shows I watch. :cry:

but Rob Lowe has been invited back for the season/series finale and TV Guide has insiders who say this is the end. The show is way too expensive to keep going, especially as ratings have dropped since the debacle of Season 5. The West Wing hasn't cracked the top 20 once this year. The live episode had the best ratings and that was still well below old WW numbers. After the live episode the show was shelved for the November Sweeps period. The show has been fourth in its time period with an 5.3 rating and an 8 share. The live episode was the peak, 7.7/11, but the wedding episode this week was back around 5 again.

Here's the TV Guide insider piece:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/AskAusiello/default.htm?cmsRedir=true&rmDate=12142005&cmsGuid={24B6F544-CF25-4D2D-86D2-3E32E9B74288}&cmsSrch=true

:( That's one of my favorite shows! :cry:

They move a great show out of a prime spot, release new episodes apparently on the whim of a fruitbat, and wonder why they loose share.

Just typical.

-Hoot

Nice, great actor, who always just seem like a regular guy.

I have the best video of Al Gore visiting the "West Wing" with John Spencer and it's so sweet! You can go here and see the clip. :cry: http://www.dropdeadred.net/westwingfan/index.php

I've seen every single West Wing episode, and he was one of my absolute favorite characters. This is just so sad...

And the irony of it! His character Leo McGarry gets a heart attack, and now he dies of one himself!

I hope nobody will kick me for bringing up the TV show, of course it doesn't matter at a time like this, but how do you think they will handle it? Don't you think the should halt the regular programming for a week and do some kind of tribute episode to John? And how do you think they'll handle his passing in the show? How far ahead are they on the recording schedule? Guess they'll have to bring in a new VP candidate soon enough... :(

I'll miss you John, you were a great man.

Rest in peace.

:cry:

him from L.A. Law. I loved him in that show! Fifty-eight is also very young. This is very sad news.

I've really liked Spencer since way back--when he was on LA Law...So sad. RIP, my friend.

:cry: He was my favorite on the show. I'll miss him.

RIP

This is terrible! I'm stunned and grieving for his family...

He was such a great character actor... and his role as Leo on the West Wing has been pivotal from the beginning. He is irreplacable... and will be greatly missed.

Rest in Peace John...

:patriot:

I confess I have not watched West Wing since episode 10 of Season 5. The show did not feel the same without Sorkin's writing and I did not like what Wells was doing with the characters. The one thing that did stand out is that even with the writing going downhill, his performances were just as good as they were during the show's peak. It is what made me stick by the show as long as I did.

Goodbye,John. If they are going to write your character's death into the show, I hope Aaron comes back to give the sendoff both of you deserve.

My favorite character. Shit.

My favorite character. Shit.

My favorite character. Shit.

My favorite character. Shit. May your passing be calm; friend.

Great actor. Very convincing in his roles.

Terrible.

as well as West Wing.

of the grotesque heart attack in the forest......

Doubt Aaron Sorkin would have put an actor and an audience thru such a hideous experience.

:evilfrown:

RIP Mr. Spencer

:cry: He was all a lone and nobody noticed he was missing. My heart broke with that and I just bawled.

It was very disturbing. I haven't been that shaken by anything on TV since the Buffy episode where she's in delusional denial of her mother's death through the whole thing.

Sometimes entertainment is supposed to do more than pimp our instincts. I thought it was a good scene.

And the way it was resolved nice and neat in a couple of days. She called the FBI on her cell phone and they traced it? Right.

It rebounded with later episodes that year (The Supremes remains a favorite) but it had lost a lot of its audience by then.

I really enjoyed the campign trail episodes of this year and last, but the fans who carried the show to high ratings for four years have deserted it. Leo's heart attack scene was tragic and moved the show in a bad direction. Not the least of which was the promotion of CJ even though a previous episode had revealed that she was the press secretary for all 8 years.

Totally tacky. Never watched again. Tried. Stupid writing.

Sorkin had a gift.

Rest in peace, John Spencer.

actor on television. He will be missed.

We all die, but saying goodbye forever hurts every time.

He played recovering alcoholics on both LA Law and West Wing, and in fact John Spencer was in recovery himself, for many years before West Wing. I just liked him so much.
Sad.

I was blessed to see his wonderful work on the screen. May peace be with him as well as his family. Please know that he was loved.

I love "character" actors and one of the things I liked about West Wing is that actors like Spencer got to shine on the show.

For some reason, not script/Leo related, I wondered about Spencer's health in recent episodes. I was was hoping life would not imitate art. In one of the articles today Schiff mentioned Spencer had some health problems but he seemed to have rebounded. Damn.

RIP, John. You will be missed.

One of the best actors on tv. How sad. Rest in Peace, John. You mad so many of us smile.

...and so sad, I really liked Leo..he was only 59, damn, such a shock!RIP, Leo!

He and Jerry Orbach. God dammit.

I am totally stunned and saddened. He was also great in Presumed Innocent. I had hoped to see him as VP but alas that is not to be. I hope his family is doing OK.

and bryant69 is right...

leo was the heart of the show.

RIP, John.

Fifty eight is WAY too early.

A wise, shrewd, gutsy, hard-hitting Democrat on the show, and a great actor in real life.

You are a role model to all of us.

Rest in Peace.