John Spencer (Role) : Leo McGarry

Birthday                       : December 20-1946

Birthplace                    : New York, New York, USA

Birth Name                  : John Speshock

Recent Role                 : Leo McGarry on The West Wing

Height                         : 5′ 6½” (1.69 m)

Gender                        : Male

John Spencer was born in New York and was raised in New Jersey. His mother Mildred was a Ukrainian-American waitress and his father John Speshock, was an Irish American truck driver. He attended Professional Children’s School in Manhattan. Later, he enrolled in Fairleigh Dickinson University but dropped out before completing any degree.

John made his acting debut with appearance on ‘The Patty Duke Show’. In the 1990 courtroom thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’, he was seen portraying Harrison Ford’s detective subordinate. During 1990-94, he played attorney Tommy Mullaney on ‘L.A. Law’. He next appeared in the 1995 romantic comedy ‘Forget Paris’. In the same year, he appeared in the FMV game Wing Commander IV as Captain Hugh Paulsen. In 1996, he was seen in ‘The Rock’ as FBI director Womack. He was also a part of 2000 theatre production of ‘The Exonerated’. In the 1983 movie ‘WarGames’, he made a brief appearance. For his performance on 1981 off Broadway production of ‘Still Life’, John Spencer won an Obie Award. He also received a Drama Desk nomination for ‘The Day Room’. In 2002, John won his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and the role for which he got the award was of Leo McGarry on ‘The West Wing’. John Spencer is known for his work done to spread awareness about AIDS.

John died on December 16, 2005 with heart attack. His other notable appearances were on ‘The Protector’, ‘Hiding Out’, ‘Black Rain’, ‘Far From Home’, ‘Cop Land’, ‘The Negotiator’, and ‘Ravenous’ etc.

Role on ‘The West Wing’

On the very popular drama ‘The West Wing’, John played Leo McGarry from first season to season six. He’s best friend to President Josiah Bartlet and was the senior advisor to the President and also the democratic candidate for Vice President.