John Spencer

John Spencer (born John Speshock Jr.; December 20, 1946 – December 16, 2005) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing (1999–2006) and for his role as attorney Tommy Mullaney in NBC legal drama series L.A. Law (1990–1994). His performance on The West Wing earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002, out of five total nominations.

Early life and education John Spencer was born John Speshock Jr., on December 20, 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, and was raised in Totowa, New Jersey. a plastic moulder, truck driver, and later, a construction contractor. Spencer's father was of Slovak descent, while his mother was of Ukrainian and Rusyn ancestry. Spencer’s parents were disappointed when he chose to become an actor. 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. Spencer often referred to himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool liberal" and described Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of his heroes.

Career Spencer began his television career on The Patty Duke Show, and eventually began appearing in supporting roles in feature films beginning 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. In 1986 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 1990 courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent, portraying a tough veteran detective, starring opposite Harrison Ford. In Law & Order Episode "Prescription for Death", he played Howard Morton the father of Suzanne Morton. 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 referee in Forget Paris and a prickly FBI Director in Michael Bay's film The Rock.

L.A. Law In 1990, Spencer joined the cast of the television series L.A. Law, playing street-wise attorney Tommy Mullaney from 1990 to 1994. 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. Spencer said he and co-star Cecil Hoffman spent time in New York City to prepare for the role.

The West Wing In 1999, 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. He was a recovering alcoholic, a compulsive worker, and a former U.S. Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. Spencer's role on the show earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002, 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 1970s; he had no children. He quit drinking in 1989 after over 20 years of addiction to alcohol. He gave up smoking in 1999.

Death On December 16, 2005, Spencer died at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 58, after suffering a heart attack the night before. Many of Spencer's former co-stars and collaborators 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. Kristin Chenoweth sang the musical number "For Good" from the Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz Wizard 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). 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; the character 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 Year Title Role Notes 1982 Echoes Stephen 1983 WarGames Air Force Captain Jerry 1985 The Protector Ko's Pilot Key Exchange Record Executive 1987 The Verne Miller Story George Sally Hiding Out Bakey 1989 Far from Home TV Preacher Sea of Love Lieutenant Black Rain Captain Oliver Simple Justice Detective Phil Sullivan 1990 Presumed Innocent Detective Lipranzer Green Card Harry 1992 In the Arms of a Killer Detective Cusack TV movie When No One Would Listen Walter Wheeler 1995 Forget Paris Jack Cafe Society Ray Davioni 1996 The Rock FBI Director James Womack Albino Alligator Jack 1997 Cold Around the Heart Uncle Mike Cop Land Detective Leo Crasky 1998 Lesser Prophets Ed Twilight Captain Phil Egan OK Garage Bill Gunter The Negotiator Police Chief Al Travis 1999 Ravenous General Slauson

Television Year Title Role Notes 1963–1964 The Patty Duke Show Henry 7 episodes 1976 Ryan's Hope Orderly 2 episodes 1986 Miami Vice Lieutenant Lee Atkins Episode: "The Good Collar" Spenser: For Hire Joe Moran Episode: "Home Is the Hero" 1987 One Life to Live Evan Sutton 1 episode 1987–1988 Another World Frank Julian Unknown episodes 1988 As the World Turns Don West Unknown episodes 1990 Law & Order Howard Morton Episode: "Prescription for Death" 1990–1994 L.A. Law Tommy Mullaney 71 episodes 1994 Duckman Agent Dennehy Episode: "Not So Easy Riders" 1995 Touched by an Angel Leo Episode: "The Driver" 1996 F/X: The Series Carl Scofield Episode: "High Risk" 1997 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Hank Landry / Mr. Gadget Episode: "Lethal Weapon" Tracey Takes On... Ray Weggerly Episode: "Crime" Early Edition Howard Banner Episode: "Jenny Sloane" 1998 Trinity Simon McAllister 3 episodes 1999–2006 The West Wing Leo McGarry 135 episodesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2002)Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2000, 2001)Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama SeriesNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2000–01, 2003–04)Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2002–05)(final appearance) 1999 The Outer Limits Colonel Wallis Thurman Episode: "Summit" L.A. Doctors Dr. Edmund Church Episode: "The Life Lost in Living"

Video games Year Title Role Notes 1996 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Captain Hugh Paulsen

Awards 1981 Still Life Obie Award

Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2005 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series