- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn M. Speshock III
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- John Spencer was born John Speshock III in Paterson, New Jersey, the only son of Mildred (Benzeroski), a homemaker and occasional waitress, and John Speshock, a truck driver. He grew up near Paterson, New Jersey, and left at age 16 to attend the Professional Children's School. In 1963, he landed a recurring role on The Patty Duke Show (1963). After that ended, he attended Fairleigh Dickenson University and later New York University, but dropped out to return to acting. John had been an acknowledged alcoholic, who remained sober ever since getting therapy. He had quit smoking in 1999, which he described as "hell on earth". He passed away of a heart attack on December 16, 2005. He will be missed.
- IMDb mini biography by: Zach Dresch
- ParentsMildred SpeshockJohn Speshock
- Grey Hair
- Gravelly smoke burnished Voice
- Art sadly imitated life for John in the end. His The West Wing (1999) TV character, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, had a history of alcoholism and suffered a heart attack of which he recovered. John, who was himself a recovered alcoholic (since 1989), died of a heart attack four days before his 59th birthday in December of 2005. After his death, his character in The West Wing also died of a heart attack.
- As a child, he won several 4H awards for the tomatoes he grew. He was an avid gardener. He also collected art & antiques, and was involved in both the New York and L.A. AIDSWalk, which benefits local clinics and AIDS patients.
- Before he was known to television audiences, John was well-known in New York for his brilliant stage performances throughout the 70s and 80s.
- An only child of a working-class family (his father was a truck driver who never finished grammar school and his mother was an occasional waitress), both of his grandfathers were alcoholics.
- January 2000 - John lived with his long-time girl friend, actress-choreographer Patricia Mariano.
- They [his parents] wanted me to be educated -- a doctor or a lawyer. They weren't happy that I chose the arts. They wanted me to have a good life. It's ironic that I made the leap in a different way.
- [Upon winning an Emmy for his role in The West Wing] I've never wanted to do anything but act. It saved my life, it's the reason I get up in the morning, it's my opiate. The prize for me was always getting the next gig so I could do this wonderful thing that I love. So this, my friends, is deliciously redundant.
- The West Wing (1999) - $70,000 /episode(2001)
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