Okay, the show is twenty years old, but at this point I’ll take my comfort wherever I can get it.
Sometimes an actor plays a part so well they sear their way into your consciousness. Such an actor is the late, great John Spencer who portrayed White House Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry, on The West Wing.
All of the actors on the show -- who Spencer has said “make me better than I am” --are extraordinary, and I love every one of them. But there is something about Spencer – maybe it’s his Czech-Ukranian-Russian ancestry -- whose Leo serves his country with heart, soul and authority and is, at the same time, willing to admit when he’s made a mistake.
Spencer, born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, was no stranger to the issues that Leo deals with. A recovering smoker, alcoholic and drug user, Spencer died of a heart attack – Leo suffers a heart attack on the show – several months before his 59th birthday, in 2005.
Gone too early but never to be forgotten.