His Emmy acceptance speech in 2002 is one of the all-time greats, and I defy you to read it without shivering:
Look at my compadres. They are so happy for me, and that says it all about The West Wing. We were there. We work so hard to serve this brilliant writing. I serve at the genius and the art of Aaron Sorkin, one of the greatest writers of all time. An actor is only as good as the material he gets, and we are given gold, week after week after week. I don't know how he does it.John Spencer: 1946-2005An extraordinary cast of actors; each and everyone of them makes me better than I am. Wonderful directors, Tommy Schlamme, whose passion, artistic passion, is boundless. John Wells, a gentleman and a scholar...and a producer.
You know, I 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 my next gig so I could do this wonderful thing that I love. So this, my friends, is deliciously redundant. Thank you.
i know im takin a karma hit for this, but i hit this one first. as my away message will testify. i dunno even why im pointhing this out, 'cept maybe for the fact that ive been sick for three days, and the lack of cigarettes has made me quite testy.
-rhys
(and yes, dammit, i always sign my posts)
.....congratulations?
Posted by: Holly at December 18, 2005 12:50 PMTechnically, if you want to get all competitive, I think JOHN SPENCER "hit this one first", as his OBITUARY will testify.
I miss John Spencer already. He is quickly being elevated to John Ritter status in the corner of my mind responsible for fond remembrances of celebrities who went way too young.
Posted by: Joan at December 18, 2005 12:52 PMyeah, don't ask me what kind of strange bug crawled up my ass last night, i don't even know what i was on about. i think it was past my bedtime and thusly apologize for the above asshatery.
-Rhys
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/west-wing/index.php#requiem-for-a-heavyweight-143935
Posted by: Holly at December 19, 2005 02:18 PMIt was only this year, in the past few months in fact, that I really watched The West Wing (on DVD). John Spencer's performances meant a great deal to me. This is really sad; I had hoped to meet him one day. Thanks for posting about it; somehow I missed it in the news, rehearsing and travelling.
Posted by: Ron at December 21, 2005 01:34 PM