Goodbye Leo...

John Spencer, the actor who played Leo McGarry on one of my favorite tv shows, died on December 16, 2005. I apologize that it took me so long to post about it. Things have been a bit hectic here.

Anyway, I don't usually get attached to celebrities, but I remember John Spencer for one fine performance that made me finally understand alcoholism. Before this, I could not understand why alcoholism was a disease. A person, I thought, should have enough self control to put down the bottle before they become destructive. But alcoholics simply do no have this self control. Playing Leo McGarry, John Spencer, says "The problem is that I can't have just one drink. I need 5." Ok, so just writing it down does not convey how well this line was delivered, nor does it have the same significance. But let me tell you that John Spencer, in so delivering that line, made me feel sympathy for alcoholics as victims of a terrible disease.

John Spencer also delivered this line to Bradley Whitford, playing Josh Lyman. It's about helping a friend in need:

This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'