While thinking of the sad and ...
Question: While thinking of the sad and sudden death of
John Spencer and what the producers of
The West Wing will do to alter their story line, I came upon a repeat airing of
Aaron Sorkin's
The American President, starring
Michael Douglas. In that movie, actor
John Mahoney (of
Frasier fame) has a small but key role as head of an environmental lobby. While watching his performance, I was struck by his fine acting but more by his physical similarity to the late Mr. Spencer. Perhaps the
West Wing producers, rather than "kill off" Leo McGarry's character, which has been important to the most recent story arc, could see if Mr. Mahoney is available to assume the role, just to finish out the series and give the McGarry character a proper send-off. Fans of both
The American President and
The West Wing, I feel, would not be too bothered by the change, and Mr. Mahoney is a fine actor and could bring dignity to the role. What do you think?
Answer: I agree that John Mahoney is a terrific, world-class actor and would fit in well with the world of
The West Wing. But not as Leo McGarry. The more I've thought about it, the more I'm convinced that the show would honor John Spencer by putting his character to rest, not trying to replace him even with an actor of this caliber. It's a terrific casting choice, to be sure, but why would he want to do it? And more important, why would the producers?
And here's this from Chris L.: "I was deeply saddened to hear of John Spencer's passing. He was a truly great actor and will be missed. I think a great way to fill his shoes would be to bring back Rob Lowe and have his character replace Leo on the vice-presidential ticket. It would be a great nod to history and a great incentive to lure back old viewers. And I don't think it would be any more improbable than Leo being on the ticket in the first place!" Good point. Quite a few have suggested this option. It would certainly make news and, more important, help the show achieve the sort of thematic closure many of us are hoping for this season. But could it actually come to pass? I have no idea.
