Dec 17, 7:12 AM EST
The Associated Press
Actor John Spencer, who played the role of Leo McGarry in "The West Wing," mirrored his character in several ways: Both were recovering alcoholics and both were driven.
"Like Leo, I've always been a workaholic, too," he told The Associated Press in a 2000 interview. "Through good times and bad, acting has been my escape, my joy, my nourishment. The drug for me, even better than alcohol, was acting."
Spencer died of a heart attack Friday. In a sad parallel to life, his character on the show had earlier suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job.
Spencer died after being admitted to a Los Angeles hospital during the night, said his publicist, Ron Hofmann. He would have been 59 on Tuesday.
He was "one of those rare combinations of divinely gifted and incredibly generous," said Richard Schiff, who plays Toby Ziegler on the NBC series.
"There are very few personal treasures that you put in your knapsack to carry with you for the rest of your life, and he's one of those," Schiff said. He said Spencer had been struggling with health issues but seemed to have rebounded.
As McGarry, Spencer played the savvy and powerful chief of staff to President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Martin Sheen). In recent episodes, he was picked as a running mate for Democratic presidential contender Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits; the campaign against Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) has been a central theme for the drama this season.
"John was an uncommonly good man, an exceptional role model and a brilliant actor," said Aaron Sorkin, who created the series, and Tommy Schlamme, one of the original executive producers, in a joint statement.
"We feel privileged to have known him and worked with him. He'll be missed and remembered every day by his many, many friends," they said.
Actress Allison Janney, C.J. Cregg on the series, described Spencer as a consummate professional actor. "Everyone adored him," she said.
"We have all lost a dear, dear brother," said Bradley Whitford, who plays Josh Lyman.
NBC and producer Warner Bros. Television praised Spencer's talent but did not address how his death would affect the Emmy Award-winning series, in production on its seventh season.
), this should throw a real challenge to the writers at the West Wing, who now have a VP candidate being played by a suddenly dead thespian.