John Spencer (actor)
| John Spencer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
John Speshock, Jr. December 20, 1946 New York City, New York |
| Died |
December 16, 2005 (aged 58) Los Angeles, California |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Laurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa, New Jersey |
| Nationality | USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–2005 |
| Notable work | Leo McGarry on The West Wing |
| Home town | Totowa, New Jersey |
| Partner(s) | Patricia Mariano |
| Parent(s) |
John Speshock, Sr. Mildred Speshock |
| Awards |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 2002 The West Wing |
John Spencer (December 20, 1946 – December 16, 2005) was an American actor. He won an Emmy Award in 2002 for his role as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing.
Early life
Spencer was born John Speshock, Jr. in New York City, and was raised in Totowa, New Jersey.[1] He was the son of blue-collar parents Mildred (née Benzeroski), a waitress, and John Speshock Sr., a truck driver.[2][3] Spencer's father was of Irish and Czech descent,[4] while his mother was of Ukrainian and Rusyn ancestry.[5][6] With his enrollment at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 1963, Spencer found himself sharing classes with such fellow students as Liza Minnelli and violinist Pinchas Zukerman. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, but did not complete a degree.[1] Spencer often referred to himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool liberal" and described Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of his heroes.[7]
Career
Spencer began his television career on The Patty Duke Show, and eventually began appearing in supporting roles in feature films commencing with 1983's WarGames. He won an Obie Award for the 1981 off Broadway production of Still Life, about a Vietnam War veteran, and received a Drama Desk nomination for "The Day Room." He became a full-fledged supporting actor with the hit 1990 courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent portraying a tough, veteran homicide detective, starring opposite Harrison Ford. The same year, Spencer joined the cast of the television series L.A. Law, playing rumpled, pugnacious, street-wise trial attorney Tommy Mullaney. Spencer's work also extended to video games, portraying the role of Captain Hugh Paulsen in the 1995 video game Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. Spencer's subsequent film and television work primarily consisted of supporting roles such as a colleague and friend to Billy Crystal's basketball ref in Forget Paris and a prickly FBI official in The Rock.
In 1999, Spencer was cast as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the hit NBC political drama series The West Wing. McGarry was later a senior staff consultant to President Josiah Bartlet and a vice presidential candidate until his death in 2005. Both Spencer and McGarry were recovering alcoholics. Spencer's role on the show eventually earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002, after being judged on the show's third season episodes "Bartlet for America" and "We Killed Yamamoto".
Death
Spencer died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 16, 2005, four days before his 59th birthday.[5] At Spencer's private funeral, his West Wing castmate, Kristin Chenoweth, sang the musical number "For Good" from the Broadway musical Wicked. Spencer's remains were interred at Laurel Grove Memorial Park in his hometown of Totowa, New Jersey. At the time of his death, Spencer had filmed two of the five West Wing episodes that were in post-production: "Running Mates" and "The Cold"; Spencer's death was subsequently written into the show's seventh and final season, in which McGarry was said to have died of a heart attack on election night. Spencer's name remained in the opening credits throughout the remainder of the show's season. A tribute to Spencer, read by the show's lead Martin Sheen, was delivered at the start of episode 10 (Running Mates) of the final season.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Meteor | Control Center Worker | Uncredited |
| 1983 | WarGames | Jerry | |
| 1985 | The Protector | Ko's Pilot | |
| 1987 | Hiding Out | Bakey | |
| 1989 | Black Rain | Oliver | |
| 1989 | Far From Home | TV Preacher | |
| 1989 | Sea of Love | Lieutenant | |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Det. Lipranzer | |
| 1990 | Green Card | Harry | |
| 1992 | In The Arms Of A Killer | Det Cusack | |
| 1995 | Forget Paris | Jack | |
| 1996 | The Rock | FBI Director James Womack | |
| 1996 | Albino Alligator | Jack | |
| 1997 | Cop Land | Det. Leo Crasky | |
| 1997 | Cold Around the Heart | Uncle Mike | |
| 1998 | The Negotiator | Police Chief Al Travis | |
| 1998 | Twilight | Capt. Phil Egan | |
| 1999 | Ravenous | Gen. Slauson | |
Television
Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Still Life | Obie Award | Won |
| 2000 | The West Wing | Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series | Won |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | ||
| 2001 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | ||
| 2002 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |
References
- 1 2 Lee, Jennifer 8. "Obituary: John Spencer, 'West Wing' actor". The New York Times. December 17, 2005.
- ↑ "John Spencer Biography (1946-)". Film Reference. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ↑ "John Spencer (1946 - 2005)". Find a Grave. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ↑ "West Wing Actor John Spencer Dies". People. December 16, 2015.
- 1 2 "Obituary: John Spencer, 58, actor on The West Wing" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly. January 1, 2006. p. 4.
- ↑ Custer, Richard D. "A Family Historian’s Guide to Discovering Carpatho-Rusyn Ancestry". FEEFHS Journal. Volume 14, 2006. p. 9.
- ↑ PBS. "Transcript of October 16, 2004 interview with John Spencer". The Tavis Smiley Show. Retrieved October 1, 2015.