He has died of a heart attack. On “West Wing,” he was running for vice president with Jimmy Smits.
This is so sad. He’s long been one of my favorite actors, on many shows.
Here’s a photo of him with his longtime girlfriend at an awards ceremony. (I was unable to save the image, so am linking it for you.)
Update [2005-12-17 20:24:4 by susanhu]: Some more from E! Online:
“I can’t believe that he is gone,” costar Bradley Whitford said in a statement. “We have all lost a dear, dear brother.”
Allison Janney remembered her West Wing colleague as the “consummate professional actor.” Series creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer Tommy Schlamme hailed Spencer as “an uncommonly good man.”
An NBC spokesman said Spencer died at a hospital. It was not known when the actor last worked on the set. After airing a new episode last weekend, the show is on hiatus until January. […]
As McGarry, Spencer acted out a heart attack in an October 2004 West Wing episode, “The Birnam Woods.”
Spencer’s sudden death would seem to throw into disarray the series’ season-long presidential campaign storyline. With Martin Sheen’s President Bartlet terming out, McGarry is party to one of two tickets seeking to claim the White House for their own. Earlier this fall, McGarry accepted the V.P. slot on the Democratic slate headed by Jimmy Smits’ Congressman Santos.
In an episode that was slated to air Jan. 8, McGarry is front and center in a TV debate with his Republican counterpart, played by Brett Cullen. As recounted on a spoilers blog on the fan site, The West Wing Continuity Guide (http://westwing.bewarne.com/), Spencer’s dialogue during an exchange on health insurance is, given Friday’s events, eerie.
“By an overwhelming percentage, the first warning symptom of a heart attack is death,” Spencer’s McGarry says, per the blog. “I’m fortunate to be here.”
Spencer’s life mirrored McGarry’s even down to their backstories–both men were recovering alcoholics.
In a 2000 interview with the Associated Press, Spencer argued that, of the two, McGarry was the “better man.”
“He has qualities that I wish I had more of,” Spencer told the wire service. “I often say to Aaron [Sorkin], ‘You’re writing the man I’d like to be.’ ” …Read all at E! Online— it’s an EXCELLENT piece
