John Spencer 1946-2005

John Spencer passed away today of a heart attack. Most in this community recognize him as the abrasive Captain Paulson who was eventually done in by Seether in Wing Commander IV. More recently he has starred in the West Wing as Leo McGarry. Yet another Wing Commander and movie actor great has died.

Another Captain of the TCS Lexington is gone

Rest in peace, John.

Oh, man. Rest in peace indeed.

59 years is too young, man! RIP, John. (They will probably also pay tribute at the next Academy awards.)

Rest in peace, John, good luck up there

I`m sorry to hear that.. very sorry...

I like John Spencer. Great actor. I will remember him from Wing Commander 4. He usually plays bureaucrats. Did a mighty fine job. RIP John Spencer.

I came on board with Wing Commander not too long before Wing Commander 4 came out; I had the game in my hand about 2 months after it came out (since I was broke and in high school), so when I think of WC, I tend to think of a blending between III and IV.

Paulson was integral to my WC experience. In fact, the person who introduced me to the series would refer to teachers we didn't like as "Paulson" (a name we said, dripping with overly-dramatic false disdain) and another teacher we enjoyed having as "Tolwyn".

I got the feeling John Spencer was kind of pigeon-holed into the role; he played it effortlessly, sometimes bordering on complete characature even when WCIV wasn't the most subtle of stories. But the more I saw of his short role, the more I realized that he was *really* good at it. The reason he was casted (type-casted?) into the role was because he was just that good at playing a jerk and brought more to that role than a lot of bigger, bankable stars could've.

I'm sorry to see him pass on. He was one of those faces that popped up on my TV from time to time and I enjoyed giggling to myself when no one else would ge the joke. I hope he's at peace.

I'm sorry to learn that he has passed away. He was a good actor, and died far too young. I hope than Mr. Spencer goes to heaven, unlike his character Paulsen.

One of my favorite characters. Goodbye Mr. Spencer.

May he rest in peace.

IMDB reported this yesterday:

The funeral scene for late The West Wing star John Spencer's character has been filmed. Spencer, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest last December, played Air Force veteran and White House chief of staff Leo McGarry in the hit TV series. The tear-jerking funeral episode, which employs a real Air Force guard of honour, will be aired in the US in April, the New York Post reports.

OMG

btw your title says "John Spencer 1946-2005" but it's 2006

Sorry to do that to you, but if I didn't someone else would have

But... He died in 2005? didn't he?

Yeah, he did. He died around the day this thread was created.