I was very saddened the other day to learn that John Spencer, the actor who played White House chief of staff Leo McGarry on The West Wing died of a heart attack. It's a testament to his talents as an actor that I would feel the loss so keenly -- he was a perfect fit as the exacting, rough-edged but compassionate McGarry, and brought a great depth to the character.It was also a tragic example of life imitating art, as his character suffered a near-fatal heart attack at the beginning of last season.
This season, Leo McGarry had stepped into the role of the democratic vice-presidential candidate. From what I've gathered, the show was three episodes ahead of itself, which means that four episodes from now they're going to have to take a rather severe narrative turn.
But then, speculating on how a television series will adapt to the tragic death of a cast member is perhaps a bit macabre. Enough to say, we're made poorer in the loss of such an actor.
Ah John Spencer, we hardly knew ye.
1 comment:
So I'm not the only one. I loved Leo McGarry on that show. And it's sad, that I just got back into the show this past season and have been able to watch back episodes on Bravo every night. He was a fantastic actor and will be sadly missed by many people.
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