MERGED-->RIP John Spencer

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

shari schultz

ONE love, blood, life
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
11,102
Location
Sconnie
RIP John Spencer

latest role was Leo McGarry on the West Wing. He was one of my favorite characters.

john_spencer_pic.jpg


He was only 58.
 
Versatile character actor and Emmy Award nominee John Spencer plays Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, on Aaron Sorkin and John Wells’ NBC drama “The West Wing.” His work on the show was rewarded with an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series both in 2001 and 2002.

With scores of television, film and stage credits, Spencer began his career as an actor on “The Patty Duke Show.” However, he is best known to television audiences as the tough and funny New York attorney Tommy Mullaney on the hit series “L.A. Law” (1990-94). Spencer also appeared in one of NBC’s most highly rated television movies, “The Tangled Web” and starred in Joseph Wambaugh’s “A Jury of One.” He has also guest-starred on NBC’s “Law & Order,” and “Miami Vice,” as well as “Spenser: For Hire,” “Early Edition,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Tracey Takes On…”

Spencer’s film credits include the thriller “The Negotiator,” with Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, “Twilight” with Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon, “Copland” with Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, and “The Rock” with Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris. Spencer also appeared in the comedies “Forget Paris” with Billy Crystal, “Green Card” with Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell, and “Albino Alligator,” with Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway.

Spencer’s work on Broadway and off-Broadway earned him an Obie Award for his performance in “A Still Life.” He received critical acclaim plus a Drama League Award for his portrayal of Dan White in the Broadway production of “Execution of Justice.” Also, he received a Drama Desk nomination for his role in “The Day Room.” Other stage appearances include “LakeBoat,” “Amulets Against the Dragon Forces,” “Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” “Good as New” and “Pera Palas.” Spencer recently appeared in the Broadway production of “Glimmer, Glimmer, Shine.”

A native of New Jersey, Spencer now resides in New York when not working on “The West Wing.” His birthday is December 20.
 
he had a heart attack this morning and passed away...

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 16) - John Spencer, who played a tough and dedicated politico on "The West Wing" who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday. He was 58.

Spencer died at a Los Angeles hospital, said his publicist, Ron Hofmann. He would have been 59 next week.
 
Last edited:
Oh no!

I really liked him. He had such a wonderful voice.

His poor family. :sad:
 
FUCK!

Horrible loss. Really sad. I'm shocked.

Does anyone know if WW was done shooting yet? Will they have to re-write storylines?
 
namkcuR said:


Does anyone know if WW was done shooting yet? Will they have to re-write storylines?

Usually, the filming of a season wraps up by March, but West Wing has been on a weird schedule of late. Last year, they ended the season in March, which means it was obviously done shooting by, say, January. So either way, I don't think they finished filming the season yet.

Which would obviously lead to an interesting dilemma.

Still, very sad to hear about this.
 
R.I.P. John Spencer

I just read this on imdb:

sag04-38.jpg

Actor John Spencer, who won an Emmy award for playing chief of staff Leo McGarry on The West Wing, died Friday of a heart attack; he was 58. Spencer's publicist, Ron Hoffman, said that Spencer died at a Los Angeles hospital, and no further details were available at press time. Born in New York to a lower middle-class family, Spencer began his acting career in 1963 with a recurring role on The Patty Duke Show; stage work throughout the country followed, and he earned an Obie award for the Vietnam veteran drama Still Life. Spencer didn't really become known to a wide audience until the mid-80s, though, when a number of character parts in both film and television led to a regular role in the hit series LA Law. His role as tough New York attorney Tommy Mullaney, who was a transplant to Los Angeles, spanned a four-year run, and roles in a number of television movies and feature films (including Cop Land, The Rock, and The Negotiator) followed. But it was The West Wing, which launched in 1999, that brought Spencer his most memorable role, as well as a number of Emmy nominations, five in all; he won the Best Supporting Actor award in 2002. Like his character, Leo McGarry, Spencer was also an alcoholic as well as a self-proclaimed workaholic, and used his own experiences to illuminate Leo's personal and professional lives. Recently, his character (who suffered a heart attack on the show) was tapped as the vice-presidential candidate to Jimmy Smits' presidential contender Matt Santos. Services and funeral arrangements are currently pending.


I know he wasn't a huge movie star or whatever but still I really liked to see him on the screen. He wasn't even in his sixties. I think he was a great actor and will be very much missed, may he rest in peace. :sad:
 
OMG this is so sad....not only did I LOVE this actor but he was in so many of my favorite shows and movies! My dad was also 58 when he died. :sad: Waaay too young.
 
Well that was a shocker. I did enjoy the character Leo on the WW the few years I watched it. I haven't watched it in a couple of years. How sad for his family, being so close to Christmas. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Such sad news. :sad:
 
From E! Online:

[q]Death of a "West Wing" Star
by Joal Ryan
Dec 16, 2005, 3:25 PM PT
back to story

Leo McGarry survived his heart attack. John Spencer was not as fortunate.

Spencer, who played chief of staff turned vice presidential hopeful McGarry on The West Wing, died Friday morning of a heart attack, the actor's publicist said. He was four days shy of his 59th birthday.

Executives at the long-running NBC presidential series, now in the midst of its seventh season, used the word "saddened" more than once in addressing Spencer's death. In a joint statement, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer Tommy Schlamme called Spencer "an uncommonly good man."

"He'll be missed and remembered every day by his many, many friends," Sorkin and Schlamme said.

An NBC spokesman said Spencer died at a hospital. It was not known when Spencer last worked on the West Wing set.

As McGarry, Spencer acted out a heart attack in an October 2004 West Wing episode.

Spencer's death would seem to throw into disarray the series' season-long presidential campaign storyline. Earlier this fall, McGarry accepted the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket headed by Jimmy Smits' Congressman Santos.

In an episode that had been slated to air Jan. 8, McGarry engages in a vice presidential debate with his Republican counterpart, played by Brett Cullen.

Spencer won the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for playing McGarry.

Previously, Spencer made his prime-time mark in L.A. Law joining the show in 1990 as breath-of-fresh-air litigator Tommy Mullaney in 1990.

[/q]

[q]"West Wing" Star's Sudden Death

by Joal Ryan
Dec 16, 2005, 5:25 PM PT

Tragically, for John Spencer, life didn't imitate art.

A year after his West Wing alter ego survived a heart attack, Spencer was felled Friday morning by a deadly one. He was four days shy of his 59th birthday.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

E! News Live Top5 Videos

A 2002 Emmy winner for the long-running NBC presidential series, Spencer was an original and still key cast member as Leo McGarry, the battle-tested chief of staff turned vice presidential candidate.

"I can't believe that he is gone," costar Bradley Whitford said in a statement. "We have all lost a dear, dear brother."

Allison Janney remembered her West Wing colleague as the "consummate professional actor." Series creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer Tommy Schlamme hailed Spencer as "an uncommonly good man."

An NBC spokesman said Spencer died at a hospital. It was not known when the actor last worked on the set. After airing a new episode last weekend, the show is on hiatus until January.

As McGarry, Spencer acted out a heart attack in an October 2004 West Wing episode, "The Birnam Woods."

Spencer's sudden death would seem to throw into disarray the series' season-long presidential campaign storyline. With Martin Sheen's President Bartlet terming out, McGarry is party to one of two tickets seeking to claim the White House for their own. Earlier this fall, McGarry accepted the V.P. slot on the Democratic slate headed by Jimmy Smits' Congressman Santos.

In an episode that was slated to air Jan. 8, McGarry is front and center in a TV debate with his Republican counterpart, played by Brett Cullen. As recounted on a spoilers blog on the fan site, The West Wing Continuity Guide (http://westwing.bewarne.com/), Spencer's dialogue during an exchange on health insurance is, given Friday's events, eerie.

"By an overwhelming percentage, the first warning symptom of a heart attack is death," Spencer's McGarry says, per the blog. "I'm fortunate to be here."

Spencer's life mirrored McGarry's even down to their backstories--both men were recovering alcoholics.

In a 2000 interview with the Associated Press, Spencer argued that, of the two, McGarry was the "better man."

"He has qualities that I wish I had more of," Spencer told the wire service. "I often say to Aaron [Sorkin], 'You're writing the man I'd like to be.' "

Born on Dec. 20, 1946, Spencer was a teenager when he made his TV debut as a clean-cut suitor of Cathy Lane, the English identical cousin of Brooklynite Patty Lane, on the mid-1960s sitcom The Patty Duke Show.

By the time Spencer made his first lasting prime-time impression, he was far removed from the world of sitcom fantasy--not to mention teenagers. In 1990, it was a craggy, middle-aged Spencer who blew into NBC's L.A. Law. His hustling litigator Tommy Mullaney was just the kick in the tailored pants that the tiring legal drama needed. Spencer remained with the series until its 1994 demise.

After L.A. Law, Spencer had supporting roles in films such as Forget Paris and The Rock. His other movie credits include Presumed Innocent (the role that caught then-L.A. Law producer David E. Kelley's eye) and Black Rain, where he was invariably cast as a cop.

The West Wing came along in 1999, its long hours enough to keep even a self-described workaholic such as Spencer occupied, although he continued to work on the stage.

From 2000-04, Spencer earned five consecutive Emmy nominations as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He won once, in 2002.

Smits, who worked with Spencer on both West Wing and L.A. Law, said he was grateful his friend would continue to live on via his work.

"John was a true pillar of a man, he set the stage for kindness and generosity," Smits said in a statement. "His humor and smile were infectious, he will be greatly missed." [/q]
 
Back
Top Bottom