John Spencer

 John Spencer, born John Speshock Jr. (December 20, 1946 – December 16, 2005)

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 2002. 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 became a full-fledged supporting actor with the hit 1990 courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent, portraying a tough veteran homicide detective, starring opposite Harrison Ford. 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. Spencer died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 16, 2005, age 58. At the time of his death, Spencer had filmed two West Wing episodes that were in post-production. He is buried at Laurel Grove Memorial Park in Totowa, New Jersey.