John spencer biography

John Spencer (actor)

American actor (–)

For other people named John Spencer, see John Spencer (disambiguation).

John Spencer

Born

John Speshock Jr.


()December 20,

New York City, U.S.

DiedDecember 16, () (aged&#;58)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Resting placeLaurel Grove Memorial Park, Totowa, New Jersey
OccupationActor
Years&#;active–
TelevisionLeo McGarry on The West Wing

John Spencer (born John Speshock Jr.; December 20, – December 16, ) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing and for his role as attorney Tommy Mullaney in L.A. Law. His performance on The West Wing earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in

Early life

John Spencer was born John Speshock Jr., on December 20, , 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] Spencer's father was of Irish and Czech descent,[3] while his mother was of Ukrainian and Rusyn ancestry.[4][5] Spencer’s parents were disappointed when he chose to become an actor.[6] With his enrollment at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in , 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 beginning with 's WarGames. He won an Obie Award for the off Broadway production of Still Life, about a Vietnam War veteran, and received a Drama Desk nomination for The Day Room. In he appeared on Broadway as Dan White, the killer of Harvey Milk, in Execution of Justice, alongside Stanley Tucci and Wesley Snipes. Spencer was a supporting actor in the hit courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent, portraying a tough veteran homicide detective, starring opposite Harrison Ford. Spencer's work also extended to video games, portraying the role of Captain Hugh Paulsen in the 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 referee in Forget Paris and a prickly FBI Director in Michael Bay's film The Rock.

L.A. Law

In Spencer joined the cast of the television series L.A. Law, playing street-wise attorney Tommy Mullaney from to [8][9] Spencer originally was not going to take the role but after reading five pages of the script he was convinced and said "it was one of the best scripts I'd read". Spencer said the character's disheveled wardrobe was based on his own.[10] Spencer said he and co-star Cecil Hoffman spent time in New York City to prepare for the role.[11]

The West Wing

In , Spencer was cast as Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing. McGarry was White House Chief of Staff to the fictional U.S. President Jed Bartlet throughout the series' run. He was a recovering alcoholic, a compulsive worker, and a former U.S. Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War.[12][13] McGarry would later be chosen as Matt Santos's running mate in the show's seventh and final season. Spencer's role on the show earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in , for the show's third season episodes "Bartlet for America" and "We Killed Yamamoto."

Personal life

Spencer was married once and was divorced in the s; he had no children.[14]

Spencer quit drinking in after over 20 years of addiction to alcohol.[15] He was extremely close with his West Wing co-star Martin Sheen.

Death

Spencer died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 16, [4] Many of Spencer's West Wing co-stars paid tribute to him at his funeral, including Martin Sheen, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Alan Alda, Jimmy Smits, Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney, James Mangold, David E. Kelley, and Bradley Whitford.[16][17]Kristin Chenoweth sang the musical number "For Good" from the Winnie Holzman and Stephen SchwartzWizard of Oz 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 episodes of The West Wing’s seventh and final season that were in post-production – "Running Mates" and "The Cold" (Episodes 10 and 13, respectively).[18] In both episodes, McGarry was portrayed as a candidate for vice president. The show's writers decided to adapt Spencer's absence by saying that McGarry died of a heart attack on election night. McGarry had already suffered a near-fatal heart attack in the show's sixth season. Spencer's name remained in the show's opening credits of each remaining episode aired in the months after his death.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards

References

  1. ^ abLee, Jennifer 8. "Obituary: John Spencer, 'West Wing' actor". The New York Times. December 17,
  2. ^"John Spencer Biography ()". Film Reference. Retrieved October 1,
  3. ^"West Wing Actor John Spencer Dies". People. December 16,
  4. ^ ab"Obituary: John Spencer, 58, actor on The West Wing"(PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly. January 1, p. 4.
  5. ^Custer, Richard D. "A Family Historian’s Guide to Discovering Carpatho-Rusyn Ancestry"Archived October 6, , at the Wayback Machine. FEEFHS Journal. Volume 14, p. 9.
  6. ^"Obituary: John Spencer". the Guardian. December 19, Retrieved September 24,
  7. ^PBS. "Transcript of October 16, interview with John Spencer". The Tavis Smiley Show. Retrieved October 1,
  8. ^Ryon, Ruth (August 4, ). "Closing His Bel-Air Wing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3,
  9. ^"West Wing Actor John Spencer Dies". Peoplemag. Retrieved October 3,
  10. ^"John Spencer, 58; Actor Best Known for Emmy-Winning Role on TV's 'The West Wing'". Los Angeles Times. December 17, Retrieved October 3,
  11. ^"'L.A. LAW' DUO RESEARCHED OWN PAST". Orlando Sentinel. March 19, Retrieved October 3,
  12. ^"Obituary: John Spencer". the Guardian. December 19, Retrieved September 24,
  13. ^"An Khe - The West Wing Episode Guide". . Archived from the original on February 7, Retrieved October 3,
  14. ^"Obituary: John Spencer". the Guardian. December 19, Retrieved September 24,
  15. ^"West Wing Actor John Spencer Dies". Peoplemag. Retrieved September 24,
  16. ^"Actor John Spencer has died". . December 18, Retrieved September 24,
  17. ^"John Spencer, 58; Actor Best Known for Emmy-Winning Role on TV's 'The West Wing'". Los Angeles Times. December 17, Retrieved September 24,
  18. ^Rebecca Williams (January 29, ). Post-Object Fandom: Television, Identity and Self-narrative. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp.&#;60–. ISBN&#;.
  19. ^"Obie Awards s". Obie Awards. The Village Voice. Archived from the original on October 3, Retrieved January 20,

External links