Description:
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.
Birthday
December 20, 1946
Born In
Paterson, New Jersey, USA
Height
170 cm
Parents
Mildred Speshock
Trivia
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.
Quotes
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.
Salaries
$70,000 /episode(2001)
Trademarks
Grey Hair
