Farewell to John Spencer of "The West Wing"

A powerful actor, John Spencer, is dead of a heart attack at a young 58 years old.

Spencer won an Emmy in 2002 for his role as McGarry, who was the right-hand man to President Jeb Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen. Ironically, his character had suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job. This season, McGarry was running for vice president.

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Before “The West Wing,” Spencer was best known for playing quirky attorney Tommy Mullaney on the hit drama “L.A. Law.”

Spencer’s performance on The West Wing was one of the best reasons to watch television in the last few years. I’m very sad that I’ll never see him play other roles.